Africa - bike for Africa - please help me!

For some photos of her trip

http://flicrocks.blogspot.com/

looks like a good one

An update from Flic would be good to see

george

25 June
Update 7
Flic continues with her improvement. Dad and I have both spoken to her on the phone a couple of times, and she's sent me a couple of text messages, though there are a couple of words in there that take a bit of translating, where predictive text got the better of her. Her speech is becoming clearer and she's talking quite a lot to Mum and Rachel about lots of different things. Her lung infection has now cleared up, and that means she's allowed out of her hospital room, which is great news. It was driving her up the wall being confined in there. I spoke to her yesterday while she was out in some sort of garden or courtyard near the hospital, by a fountain. She went to the gym today and was on the treadmill. Mum said she mentioned running, not walking, but they kept her under control.

She's still very tired, still having trouble concentrating, is feeling very frustrated at her circumstances and is very much looking forward to getting back to Australia. We're hoping that might happen as soon as the first week of July, and Omega, the evacuation firm who'll be bringing her home, will be flying a doctor and a nurse out at the end of this week to assess her and decide exactly when she comes home.

http://www.wanderingword.com/nucleus/rad.php

Sounds like Flic is not quite 100% yet but this is excellent news:



06 July

Back in Australia :)

Okay, so I'm back in Melbourne! Technically, not so hard when you get sent from Australia the gnarliest doctor, Tim, and nurse, Kylie (a hot shot medical team) as accompaniment and are upgraded to Emirates first class. I was picked up from the airport in Australia by ambulance, and taken straight to hospital, where I'll be spending the next week.

http://www.wanderingword.com/nucleus/rad.php

You guys are just the sweetest. I can't believe how supportive you've all been with your comments. I feel a bit guilty now because I've come back to Australia, so I'm not going to be finishing the trip, but I'm still in hospital, so it would have been a little bit difficult. I'm planning on travelling again, maybe with a bike.

On the plus side, I'm looking forward to taking my bike in for its free warrantee servicing -- brilliant policy, right? It will be interesting to see their faces when they ask what exactly I've been doing to get it the way it is.

Again, thank you all so much. I can't believe the kindness. xo

Now that was good to see.

Don't feel guilty Flic.
Accidents happen.

Take it easy and I hope you make a full recovery.

george

You guys are just the sweetest. I can't believe how supportive you've all been with your comments. I feel a bit guilty now because I've come back to Australia, so I'm not going to be finishing the trip, but I'm still in hospital, so it would have been a little bit difficult. I'm planning on travelling again, maybe with a bike.

On the plus side, I'm looking forward to taking my bike in for its free warrantee servicing -- brilliant policy, right? It will be interesting to see their faces when they ask what exactly I've been doing to get it the way it is.

Again, thank you all so much. I can't believe the kindness. xo
URA!! Glad to hear that you are back home with the ones you love and are on the road to recovery! Good on you, Flic!

I feel a bit guilty now because I've come back to Australia, so I'm not going to be finishing the trip, but I'm still in hospital, so it would have been a little bit difficult.

Yeah, what a wuss you've turned out to be: a minor detail like almost dying and you throw in the towel... :p

Anyway, from what your mum posted your insurance took care of everything. Is there any way we could donate a buck or two to the aid organisation the people who scooped you up off the road are associated with?

And BTW - damn good to hear from you.

everythings goin' well... I've been moved to a rehab where I can start phiso (even riding exercise bikes). The food is more edible here too.

On the downside they have told me I can't ride for while. Even worse tho they said I can't surf for 6 to 12 month... I cried....

But everything will be fine, xo.

Good to hear you are OK and safely back home.

I believe the worst thing that happened was having your dreadlocks chopped off.:eek:
don't those doctors know anything?

Take care girl and keep us up to date.

george

again thankyou all for the advice. I'm a little anxious about buying a second hand bike because I really don't know if I'll end up buying a piece of crap (though I guess you all think the bikes I was looking at were pieces of crap anyway)... its just, I'm not this hardcore cyclist (obviously!), I find it hard to understand what can really go wrong with a bike besides it getting a puncture, its chain breaking, or its breaks failing...

Try to search for a second hand bike, go see and photo them. Then you can post here the photo, and people can tell you what they think about them.
You need to know your size. Go to a bike shop that don't know you and say that you want to buy a entry level MTB bike for about 500$. See what size they give you. Now try to find bike this size.
When you look 2nd, check for Trek, Specialized, Khs (NOT Ksm :), Fuji, Kona, IronHorse...
One thing I didn't see people ask you, do you have money to spend? What is the cost of one month in Africa?. You can take about 2 month off your tour and spend the money on a really good tour bike and very good locks (hard get nicked). This way you will enjoy the trip. When you buy a bicycle you can ask the store to give you lessons of bike basic maintains.

I didn't look on the date!
Now I see that its month old. Just ignore my previous post.

Flic a friend of mine was in a terrible car accident. She shattered her hip and broke both femurs in addition to fracturing several vertebrae. The doctors told her there was little hope to be able to walk normally again and zero hope for riding again.

But ya know what? A little over a year later and she did a 2000km bike tour with my brother through Europe and has managed a complete recovery.

So take what the doctors say with a grain of salt, it's up to you how you recover not them.

Good healage Flic, and better luck with your next tour! :beer:

--J

the whole thing is make believe!

Flic,
A lot of us are pulling for you.
John

I used to have a Diamondback mountain bike I bought for about $300 back, oh, 5-7 years ago. I just got rid of it recently because I really screwed up the gear crank because I didn't take care of it and road it to death. I know better know. :D But anyway, it was a pretty inexpensive bike (though rather heavy) and it worked beautifully for quite a while and could've worked for longer if I had put in the proper care. I put a LOT of mileage on that puppy, believe me, and I did a few one night tours with my parents. Thing could go anywhere and do anything and it was pretty darn comfortable, too. I highly recommend Diamondback, if they sell them in Australia.

Flic,
A lot of us are pulling for you.
John

+1

Flic's tour...... you couldn't make it up.:D:D

george

Hang in there Flic!

Following a sport accident last, I had a knee operation that turned out extremely bad. Looks like I won't ever get to run again. But I just got back on the bike recently. It hurts but feels great to be riding again.

Hang in there. You have more courage and more fans than you know.

Cheers

Flic there's two things you can't give the flic.

Your determination and your bike.

What an adventure! I should be doing something else but could not stop reading.

You are an inspiration to us all.

Get well soon.

Flic,

I am totally blown away by this entire story - as a friend of mine would say: "you can't make this s**t up!"

All the best for a swift recovery and return to 2 wheels!!

cheers you're all bein' so kind. Not much goin' down now, still in rehab. They've started takin' me shoulder pain serious now which is brilliant, the bloke today was havin' a play with it when I was just wearin' a bikini top so he could see what was goin' down. I'm stoked. The big downer I guess is all the things they reckon I can't do for 12 months... drink, recreational drugs, surf and then longer still skateboard or play basketball. I can't get me head tattooed right now either

Now this will kill yous, I'm not meant to be ridin' a bike for a while either. So it'll havta wait I guess. I'm not sure what the policy on motorbikes is though.

Good luck with your vantures, I hope you are as lucky as I have been. xxx

Flic, the good part is that you're still posting, after all your outcome could have been very different! The 12 months is a temporary thing. Just get better and maybe spend some time writing up your impressions of knockin about in Africa in a lot of detail.:D
cheers you're all bein' so kind. Not much goin' down now, still in rehab. They've started takin' me shoulder pain serious now which is brilliant, the bloke today was havin' a play with it when I was just wearin' a bikini top so he could see what was goin' down. I'm stoked. The big downer I guess is all the things they reckon I can't do for 12 months... drink, recreational drugs, surf and then longer still skateboard or play basketball. I can't get me head tattooed right now either

Now this will kill yous, I'm not meant to be ridin' a bike for a while either. So it'll havta wait I guess. I'm not sure what the policy on motorbikes is though.

Good luck with your vantures, I hope you are as lucky as I have been. xxx

Flic with no dreads

http://www.wanderingword.com/nucleus/rad.php?blogid=8

If she's making it up, she's bloody good at it :-)

george

cheers you're all bein' so kind. Not much goin' down now, still in rehab. They've started takin' me shoulder pain serious now which is brilliant, the bloke today was havin' a play with it when I was just wearin' a bikini top so he could see what was goin' down. I'm stoked. The big downer I guess is all the things they reckon I can't do for 12 months... drink, recreational drugs, surf and then longer still skateboard or play basketball. I can't get me head tattooed right now either

Now this will kill yous, I'm not meant to be ridin' a bike for a while either. So it'll havta wait I guess. I'm not sure what the policy on motorbikes is though.

Good luck with your vantures, I hope you are as lucky as I have been. xxx

Hello Flic,

As one of those on this forum who was a sceptic (to put it mildly) of your trip to Africa, I would like to apologize. You are a TRUE adventurer - you followed your dream, your passion, and for that I have deep admiration. All the best in your recovery, and if you EVER come to Canada (British Columbia), you are most welcome to find accommodation and rest in our home.

I look forward to meeting you one day...

thankyou all for still bein' so kind to me. You're all radical, honestly.

Flic, I still think you're a crazy m*****f****r.

But glad to hear you're on the mend.

g'day all. I'm getin' discharged from rehab next Friday if everythin' goes the way its meant to and then I just gots to be a out-patient. I'm so bloody lucky! Stoked!! Also I only got mistaken for a boy once this week! Gnarly!! On the downside tho I started tryna knit 2 days ago, things are gettin' desperate!!

I hope yer all havin' a brilliant time! xoxoxoxo

Hope you make a full recovery soon Flic

Flic

You in a bikini and knitting will be in my head as I cycle from Perth to Melbourne across the Nullabor.
Put another shrimp on the barbi !

See you soon

george

On the downside tho I started tryna knit 2 days ago, things are gettin' desperate!!
What's wrong w/ knitting? ;) Heal up so you can go back to Burundi and finish the trip!

I gots left out of rehab today! Things still aren't exactly the way I'd like them to be, I don't wanna whinge, its just tough I guess. Have a gnarly trip ridin' across Australia... Ya crazy mate!!! And have a rad time everyone else.

Was great to have a chat the other day, must do it again

but Face to Face next time!!

One day at a time girl.

and I really hope gnarly means good

george

Hi, Flic.

Glad to hear you're healing.

G'day yas all! Hope ya all goin' rad!!! Things are OK in Flic town... Had a bit of shoulder surgery which seems to be helpin'. Still can't ride me bike yet tho, but I'll get there.

Have a gnarly time doin' what ya doin'... Never conform, Make it Count

xxx

Good to hear that! :)

Hi Flic, great to hear things are improving! Hang on in there.

Hey Flic! Good to see you posting :D

Good to hear you are feeling better Felicity :)
I'll be there in a couple of weeks, and if Cave doesn't steal my bike, we WILL go for a ride.

See you soon gal.

Gnarly times ahead

george

I just spent the whole morning reading through this thread from it's innocent beginning all the way to the almost tragic end. All I can say is whoa what a trip!... Lesson learnt for me is that you must follow your dream and not be so worried about the details in advance, everything is possible. And no, I don't think Flic got into an accident because she was in Africa, that could have happened anywhere it was just bad luck.

Flic: here you've got a new fan, I will be now following this epic thread hoping to hear about the plans for your new bike touring or surfing or whatever crazy adventure.

--
Gnz

Hi Flic,

I've enjoyed reading your posts and perusing your blog, etc. Allow me to pass along my best wishes for a contiuned and speedy recovery, and tell your family I appreciate what they've been through and admire the support they have provided you. It must have been a really tough thing for them, especially being so far away. One thing I didn't note, however, were you wearing a helmet when you were struck? Perhaps that has been covered, but I didn't see it. Just curious...

Good to hear you are feeling better Felicity :)
I'll be there in a couple of weeks, and if Cave doesn't steal my bike, we WILL go for a ride.

See you soon gal.

Gnarly times ahead

george

Y'know, by George, you've planted the beginnings of a seed of the start of an idea in my head...

Flic, I've got a tandem bike - shouldn't be too much of a balance problem for you - wanna go for a ride?

----- edit
you can borrow my wife's helmet if you need to

Last night I arrived at Flic's house in Melbourne.

I am glad to say I found her well and that Edward ( her bike) is not too badly damaged either.

and her hair is growing back so the beloved dreadlocks will soon be flowing again.

Flic has a very supportive family, and I thank them for putting me up too.

george

sorry to bring back an old thread but someone linked this to me and i just read it all. what a story!!!

Yep, story indeed.

I was very, very, very skeptical at first. Then, after I removed both of my feet from my mouth, I felt inspired by the drive and determination Flic showed during her trip.

Did I mention I was skeptical?

Has anybody heard from Flic lately? Her website hasn't been updated for over a year.

good story

I gotta say, a lot of what people put down as "necessities" on this forum aren't really necessities, just convenient things to have.

Things which I would say are fundamentally necessary to completing your trip are a working bicycle, a patch kit, tire levers, and a pump (because you are certain to have many flats), water, food, money, clothes, and a climate appropriate shelter.

Depending on your luck, trip length, and your bicycle, you will probably also need a spare tire, some lube, hex keys, a few spare tubes, some spare spokes and a spoke wrench, a first aid kit, a pocket knife, a lighter, a headlamp,.

A head injury stopped this trip, not mechanical problems.

A head injury stopped this trip, not mechanical problems.

That just goes to show you that she wasn't stopped for lack of $1000 bike or $200 panniers. A car accident would still take you down, even with all the expensive gear that members were promoting as absolutely necessary.