How good is a change of pace! Fresh from another ski season in Japan and a tour of HK, we’re back in Melbourne preparing for more TotallyTandem action in 2019. And it’s shaping up to be another cracker! I do realise that it’s now April but for us it feels like the start of a new year, and with only 9 months in our home town before we take off for another snow tour, there’s plenty to keep us busy.

Travelling offers a constant perspective jolt and since finishing the bike trip in 2015, the urge to keep moving has TotallyStayed with us. We’ve managed to sustain a lifestyle between Oz and Japan and have just returned again from the Northern island of Hokkaido sporting classic goggle tans. It was another bumper season with lots of lovely snow and a parade of gorgeous visitors. We love to share our second home and had a brilliant time touring around friends and family who braved the temperatures of Japanese winter. Don’t fret if you missed this winter, we’re definitely heading back for another one!

Three months absolutely flew by and just as the snow started to melt, we headed to HK to share the TotallyTandem Motivational Series. And boy oh boy it was quite the climate change! Shedding our thermals and slipping on the flip-flops (we have too many British subscribers to blog about wearing ‘thongs’), we spent a busy week in HK seeing the sights and catching up with friends.10 years has passed since we last visited HK and it was a real treat to reunite with mates from all over the world. And of course, make some new friends too!

We were lucky enough to be invited to speak at 3 international schools and present to the members of the Royal Geographic Society. It is always a genuine pleasure to share our journey and I love the challenge of redesigning the talk to suit each audience and venue.

Weaving themes of bravery and resilience around our story, I love the unique questions that arise with each talk, my favourite this tour being

“If you could do it again, is there anything you would change?”

to which I replied, “Absolutely yes, but 100% no”

While we don’t subscribe to regret, we definitely try to incorporate the lessons we’ve learned into our future plans and we are excited to unveil the latest on Falkor’s upgrades. Did somebody say, bomb-proof wheels?

Deciding to ditch the 26″ wheel on the back, Bren has been busy measuring and calculating and we’ve opted for 20″ wheels on both front and back now. The reasoning behind this change is based on the minimal issues we had with the front wheel during our tour to Chile. For anyone needing a refresher on Bremma’s wheel related touring dilemmas, here is a recap;

Front wheel  vs Rear wheel

Rebuilds; 2 vs 6

Punctures; 19 vs 44

Broken Spokes; 24 vs 50

Tyres replaced; 9 vs 15

We’re keen to put the rear wheel PTSD behind us, so you can see why we think we’re onto a good thing here!        Experimenting with 2 x 20″ rims means decreasing the lateral tension on each spoke which, from experience, will lessen the amount and frequency of broken spokes. It also means decreasing the amount of spare parts and tools we’ll have to carry and so lessen the overall weight of our loaded bike. 20″ wheels also means we have clearance in the frame for 4ply motor bike tyres, translating to thicker rubber, stronger side walls, less punctures and hopefully an increase in reliability.  Another huge plus is that we will no longer have to carry 2 different sizes of spare tyres and tubes.

We’re also really excited to have installed a brand new Rohloff hub on the rear wheel. Without going into the intense science of this amazing internal gear system, it means we no longer have chain rings on the back (of which we broke 8 during our tour) and the internal gearing gives us equal tension on both sides of the wheel eliminating the need to offset spoke tension, adding to the overall strength of the wheel. There has been much debate over the increased weight of the thicker tyres and the Rohloff hub, but even with these additions, the reduction in weight of the spare parts we have to carry still makes our entire rig lighter than before.

She definitely looks very different and apart from the smooth gear changes, the handling doesn’t seem to have changed much. We’ve already been enjoying some rides in our local area as we get used to the new set up and prepare ourselves for the next adventure. Fret not mum, it’s just a small ride approx 200km over 3 days at Easter in the Victorian Alps. And the best news about this next tour is that we’re getting Hugo the Kombi involved so we can drive to the starting point and enjoy the tour from the very first pedal turn without slogging out a few 100kms on a busy motorway.

This is all of course in preparation for more adventures in the future, but before then, there is the long form book to finish and the kids book series to publish. And of course more work, study, speaking gigs and travel. How much can we smoosh into the next 9 months? Our plans continue to grow and we do our best to fit in as much as we can.

Scroll down below to see some highlight pics of the last 12 months.

Special thanks to;

Everyone in Niseko

Team Tozer for yet again carting bike parts around the globe, delivering 2 new 20″ tyres to us in Niseko. Legends!

Tomo for always pushing me to think beyond

Team Farley for reunions and incredible tacos

Team Lawson for so many things and always holding onto us

Alex for continually encouraging me to reach further

RGSC for being such gracious hosts and supporting us in all of our HK talks

Harrow International School for showing us their beautiful campus and sharing their upper school assembly with us

Renaissance College for inviting us to meet the next generation of leaders

Owls School Mui Wo for the sharing their dreams with us

Everyone who gets involved with our chats & the TotallyRandom ideas we have

Our Melbourne family for a wonderful welcome home

All of our mates around the globe for your lovely messages and striving to stay connected

All the small new humans that inspire us with their perpetual energy & infectious delight at the world

And to all of our followers for staying in touch and daring to think outside the box – with every new thought is a world of possibility