John Cullen's 2016 BEAT CANCER TOUR: December 2015

I was given a call By Sam at the Cancer Council to see if I was interested in writing a few lines about my accident, training, and fundraising efforts for them to submit to the media to try and get the Beat Cancer Tour some exposure.

'Of Course' was my immediate answer, then my composition went to the Cancer Council's media advisor, Georgia, who refined my words to make it 'media legible'.

Thankfully the paper liked the story, and along with Felicity's story, which is more relevant being a cancer survivor, a day was set up where some photos could be taken.

So we met at the Beat Cancer Tour's sponsoring bike shop Bicycle Express where we had a few photos taken with a mechanic working on a bike. It was funny in parts as none of us knew where to look or what to do, so quite a bit of direction was needed.

We then were given a couple of brand new bikes and Felicity and I went around the corner to a side street and rode up and down it five or six times, which is where the main photo for the article came from. The 'training ride' was all of 500m!!

Next we went to the Hilton (where we will be staying with the pro's during the Tour Down Under, and met a couple of masseurs who set up their tables and we had a couple of photos of us pretending to get a massage.

Next we went across the road to a cafe where we ordered some breakfast food (even though it was early afternoon). The photographer wanted all sorts of different photos of us eating, chatting, and looking at eachother, and in the small photo you can see the smirks on our faces as we kept on trying not to laugh at each other.

It was a fairly simple day, and then by surprise a few months later the article appeared in the Sunday Mail!

To Donate To My Beat Cancer Tour Fundraising:

http://sa.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=880491&Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.beatcancertour.com.au%2f

After my accident my Merida was written off and thankfully the driver's insurance company gave me a decent payout based on its replacement value, not its current value.

So then the search was on of what to get next. My older bike was a Cannondale and, although 12 years old now, it still serves me well and is an enjoyable and comfortable bike to ride, so they were definitely on the list.

My bike shop, Megabike, stock Fondriest and also Bianchi. Bianchi have been around for a long time, are ridden by the Lotto Jumbo pro team, and have some cool frame designs. However, they are associated with this light coloured green, a colour that I am definitely not a fan of!

Fondriest TFZero SS No. 5

So then it was onto Fondriest. Fondriest bicycles are made in Italy and named after Maurizio Fondriest. Maurizio won the 1998 World Championships, along with 4 stage races, and 4 one day races during his career.

After reading reviews and speaking to other Fondriest owners, including my son Oliver who has a TF3 (and has no other experience with road bikes to compare it to apart from his Fondriest R20), it was then that I chose the Fondriest brand. The next choice was which model.

Megabike not long after released an article about a Limited Edition TFZero Super Sport. Only 9 were to be made in the world, and the frame was to be made by the famous custom frame builder Sarto, and were to be built to each owners individual specifications.

Pick Up Day!!

The order was put in and deposit was paid, now it was just a waiting game.

After approximately four months I had the call to say that it had arrived!

The bike build was No.5 out of nine (which is great as 5 is one of my lucky numbers!), and has full Campagnolo Super Record groupset with a 53/39 front chainring, 11-25 rear cassette, Selle Italia SLR saddle, Bora Ultra 35 wheelset, Keywin Titanium peddles, and 2 Arundel carbon bottle holders. All up it weighs 7.1kg which is extremely light for an XL sized bike, As a comparison, my Cannondale is 2.1kg heavier!

Finally At Home!!

The day I picked it up, Ollie and I went for a quick ride up Norton Summit, and compared to my 12yr old Cannondale it felt like a glider!!

No. 5 out of 9.

I then did the Megabike Saturday morning ride, then on Sunday did the Triple Challenge being three ascents up to Mt Lofty via Norton Summit Rd, The Old Freeway, and Greenhill Rd - 110kms.
The next day I went out to Birdwood and back via Checkers Hill, Corkscrew Rd, and the Old Freeway to the bollards - 152kms. Each ride was thoroughly enjoyable, very smooth, and the bike felt very accurate and precise when cornering and steady at speed too.

It is such a lovely bike to ride and I am very happy with my decision and I am really looking forward to being on this machine for the Beat Cancer Tour!!