Cycling 38,000 kilometres from Melbourne to Cushendall

By Jordan Moore

David McCourt received a warm welcome when he returned to his hometown of Cushendall, 18 months after he left Melbourne in Australia on his push-bike.

After a broken arm, 38,000km and 26 countries he was finally home, though he hopes this is only the beginning of his adventures.

David decided to take on the challenge after being inspired by a friend who had cycled around Australia.

He also decided to raise money for charity, taking the trip as an opportunity to fundraise for the ASRC, which helps those seeking asylum in Victoria, Australia.

Initially planning to set off in 2020, he had to wait two more years, due to the pandemic, for the trip of a lifetime.

"I went from Australia up into south east Asia, India, then up into central Asia, all the stans, bar Afghanistan (which he hopes to visit at some point) and then into the Middle East and on into Europe.

"There were all these different regions on the trip and all these different cultures, ethnicities, religions, food", David said.

The Cushendall man also showed me his bike which featured a number of modifications to ensure it, and David, finished the journey in one piece: "Everything on the bike I have chosen for this trip because I knew I would be away for a long time.

"As to what is on the bike, I basically have everything I need to camp by myself in the middle of nowhere."

I have the tent on the back, sleeping mat, sleeping bag at the front, head torch and all that sort of kit.

"I had my full kitchen so a stove, pots and pans so I could cook my own food."

However, as David would find out on the trip, his pots and pans would come in far handier than he ever imagined, when he offered to cook a roast for a family in Iran.

"I was in Iran and I was being hosted by this lovely fella and he had an oven so I wanted to do a roast for him and I got excited about it.

"Somehow I got wrangled into not just cooking a roast for him but for 30 people and so he and his uncles all lived in this apartment block across three stories.

"I found myself running up and down three apartments cooking roast potatoes and vegetables, across three floors, up and down, up and down for 30 people."

As most people would expect, such a long journey does not come without its fair share of trouble and David's trip was no different.

He broke his arm four months into cycle when he was still in Australia and had to go back to Melbourne to have surgery. He also woke up with a terrible fever one morning, but he told himself he just had to carry on and in his own words "there was never a question of me not finishing".

Although David is heading back to Australia, and bringing his beloved bike with him, he has his sights set on more challenges down the road.

Next up is a cycle around Africa, though he is not putting a timeframe on when he might start that one...

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