Finn Cotton's fundraising bicycle ride to Australia
7th Apr 2010
Northease resident Finn Cotton, and his friend Mohan Everett from Lewes, bicycled to Australia to raise funds for the British Red Cross. They set off from Newhaven on 3 Sept 2009, and Finn returned to Northease on 7 April 2010.
Alison, Finn's mother, wrote about Finn & Mohan's adventures while they cycled across the world:
30 April 2010
The Malaysian coast turned out to be completely devoid of tourists and every day the boys discovered another empty beach where their schedule allowed them to rest during the heat of the day. Food was delicious and cheap - 60p for a plate of chicken and rice, £1.50 for 3kg of 'the best mangoes in the world'.
Tropical rainfall was almost a daily occurrence, and one storm filled their tent with water. They tried sleeping under some nearby shelter but were devoured by mosquitoes, so they returned to the tent and spent the night lying in water. The next morning Finn finally discarded his torn and soaking £20 sleeping bag - which had been so woefully inadequate throughout the trip.
When Finn & Mohan reached the bridge at the Singapore border, they met a large group of cyclists with ultra-lightweight bikes and expensive Lycra gear, who laughed at their flip-flops and worn-out rattling bikes!
Air conditioning and champagne awaited them at the Singapore home of Jo and Chris Harrison, Charlie Beer's sister and brother-in-law, where they spent a few grateful days before Finn flew home and Mohan flew to meet a friend in Australia, where he is now working as a carpenter and living in a brand new leak-proof tent.
Finn is back home, resting and catching up with friends before his job at Glyndebourne starts. He will then start at Manchester University in September. His advice for would-be Gap Year adventurers is: take public transport and buy an expensive sleeping bag.
The pair raised £500 for the British Red Cross, and reckon they actually cycled about 9,000km.
24 March 2010
Finn is now cycling through Malaysia. He and Mohan spent some time sight-seeing in Thailand with Mohan's sister, then she flew home and they set off from Bangkok on 9th March. They struggled for hours to find the right road out of the city. They weren't allowed to cycle on the route they found on Google Maps and eventually had to get a train to the first station on their route, from where they enjoyed excellent roads and comfortable, cheap accommodation, friendly people and delicious food. There is a nice story on their blog www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com describing their fortuitous discovery of an orphanage in the middle of nowhere, where they were able to stay the night in some luxury!
On 21st March they crossed the border into Malaysia and are now cycling through the jungle over some steep hills, in temperatures of up to 38 degrees C. Fortunately the roads are still good and, by starting early then resting in the shade between midday and about 3, they are achieving around 120km a day.
I spoke to Finn yesterday and he said they'd camped in the jungle the night before, because they weren't near civilisation, and that there are lots of snakes and colourful birds but they haven't yet seen any leopards! They are heading for Singapore, from where Mohan will fly to Australia and Finn will fly home. Time and money constraints mean that if he were to fly to Australia he would have to fly home almost straight away to start his Summer job before University, so it isn't worth going to this additional expense.
Finn is arriving back here on 7th April, with a battered bike, and no shoes but flipflops. We are all very excited to see him, and he says he can't wait for some cold grey weather.
Finn & Mohan at a Thai orphanage
Read more about Finn and Mohan on their blog: www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com
1 February 2010
I did speak to Finn yesterday. He, Mohan and Mohan´s sister took a boat from Chenai to the Andaman Islands. It was a gruelling 3 day voyage, travelling ´bunk class´ which meant no air condition or fans, down in the bottom of the ship, and having to push and shove through the crowds to get any food. The Andamans are making up for it - beautiful, unspoilt white sandy beaches, and pristine jungle. They plan to fly on to Thailand soon, having tried and failed to hitch a lift on a yacht. Finn also mentioned nearly running over a large black cobra in India: luckily he was cycling too fast to react as it shot between his wheels.
On the beach in Goa
Read more about Finn and Mohan on their blog: www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com
2 January 2010:
The boys have had trouble uploading photos onto the blog (although it was updated yesterday) since November but I include a good one. Actually I think this is on the blog.
From Delhi, Finn, Mohan, and Miguel, cycled to the Taj Mahal at Agra, then on to Ranthambore National Park where they were lucky enough to see wild Bengali tigers (by jeep, not bicycle). They toiled on over terrible roads - 'like cycling over rubble' which took their toll on the bikes. A high spot was staying in a Maharaja's palace, now a hotel which they highly recommend - www.karauli.com - owned by a princess and combining colonial splendour with charming dilapidation. They also were invited to camp in the grounds of Hindu temples on more than one occasion.
Beyond the National Park they were defeated by the roads and took a train journey to Mombai, where they resumed cycling and arrived at Goa a week later. They have been enjoying a rest, indeed a holiday, over the festive season, and are intending to head off towards Chennai on the east coast any day now, where they will cross to the Andaman Islands and get their Thai visas. There is no public ferry service from the islands to Thailand but they will try and hitch a crossing with a cargo goods ship - they have heard from other travellers that this is possible.
I think they are now looking forward to leaving behind their short spell as tourists lying about on beaches by day and partying by night, as they feel that Goa is 'not really like India'. Although Finn spent Christmas Day on the beach, he rather regretted missing the snow and his stocking.
19 November:
Finn and Mohan had rather bad weather in Greece and Turkey. They got wet and cold, and their tent proved not to be waterproof. After toiling through dramatic scenery, sleeping in roadside hovels, they arrived at Istanbul where they were delighted to be able to afford ten days in a cheap hostel whilst waiting for their visas for India to be processed. They had decided to play safe (and warm) and fly straight from Istanbul to New Delhi, missing out Iran and Pakistan as advised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Finn's new haircut from a Turkish barber!
They arrived in Delhi on Saturday 14th, were met at the airport by a driver from one of their sponsor companies, Gossypium (whose fairtrade cotton products are made in India), and whisked to a 'luxury' hotel where Gossypium treated them to a night. Finn said this was a god-send as they would have been 'eaten alive' otherwise.
On the 16th they were due to meet a friend from Brighton, arriving with his bike on the plane to join them, and I guess they are now on their way to Agra, to see the Taj Mahal, but as I haven't heard for a few days I can only speculate to what extent they are being 'eaten alive'!
Read more about Finn and Mohan on their blog: www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com
15 October:
Well, Finn and Mohan are in Greece now - they took the ferry from Brindisi in Italy a couple of days ago, having had a week's rest at Rimini whilst waiting for a parcel from their Mums to arrive (containing silly nonessential things like tea bags, spare phone batteries and a replacement mp3 player). Their planned route seems to change daily: the last suggestion was to cycle to Istanbul then fly - Finn didn't say where.
Their blog www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com was last updated at Brindisi whilst waiting for the ferry, and I was alarmed to read of a narrow escape when a car pulled out in front of Finn as he sped downhill - for the full story visit the blog!
As time goes on I worry a bit more about them. They are keen to leave expensive Europe, but I think the cultural challenges ahead will tax them more than they realise.
The boys also featured in an Italian newspaper when they met a journalist in Monza. Have a look at Finn e Mohan
- Google can perform a hilarious translation for you!
25 September:
Finn and Mohan are in Italy having had a rather gruelling and cold trip across the Swiss Alps. Their blog www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com has been updated with photos of Switzerland and Italy, plus a couple of short videos that are rather amusing. Meanwhile an Australian journalist from The Northern Star, Byron Bay, has taken an interest in them and did a story on Saturday 19 Sept. Read it at: Nothern Star - He is hoping to get some sponsors on board over there.
17 September:
Finn and Mohan are in Switzerland. Yesterday they were at Interlaken, about to head into the Alps. I looked at Google maps and it looks rather snowy up there. They say the scenery's amazing and that they feel incredibly fit and healthy! They have posted lots of photos taken in France on the blog www.cycle2australia.blogspot.com.
A journalist from Byron Bay (their destination) has picked up the story and is going to feature it on Saturday. He says he hopes to interest potential sponsors over there, and eventually to have a bit of a reception when they arrive. Let's hope they make it.
3 September 2009:
Finn Cotton, son of Rodmell Parish Councillor Alison Cotton, went to Rodmell school and lives in Northease. Together with his friend Mohan Everett from Lewes, he set off from Newhaven on this fundraising trip on the morning of Wednesday 3rd September 2009. Finn and Mohan are bicycling to Australia to raise funds for the British Red Cross, and expect their expedition to take 9 months.
