Testimonials - Cycle Australia
I have done five Cycle Across Oz trips beginning in 2002 before tasking on the big one in 2013. I have probably seen more of Australia from a bicycle seat than a lot of Australians. I have met some of the most friendly people in the world on these cycling adventures. I came back in 2013 for the big one and had a lot more fun.
Woody Graham, Columbia, South Carolina, USA - veteran of 5 tours including the 2013 Cycle Around Australia tour. Woody clocked up his 800,000th km on the last trip - to the moon and back a few times
We find Cycle across Oz the perfect balance of organisation and flexibility for our long distance touring. Kath and Collis take all the admin pain out of cycle touring and have a gift for making the whole group feel at ease, despite diverse backgrounds and cycling goals. If you are seeking an exciting and well thought through touring adventure, this is it. The trips are also a fantastic bargain and represent amazing value (shhhhh, don’t tell....)!
Simon Milne
Sydney
These rides are huge events but kept intimate due to limited numbers of riders. The logistics of organising is mind blowing to me including preparing the extensive itinerary, organising the range of accommodation (in the middle of nowhere), utilising past contacts and making new ones. They ensure vehicular support throughout (if the body or bike requires) but also for carrying the luggage, cooking delicious meals over the firepit, helping with repairs and disasters, and importantly providing friendship, laughter and entertainment and ultimately ensuring an amazing and memorable experience. I highly regard Collis and Kathy Ivy and if you want an epic adventure, very reasonably priced, you should ride with Cycle Across Oz. I know I will be adventuring with them in the future !
Ingrid Piepereit, Melbourne, Australia - veteran of 2 tours including the 2015 Loop from Uluru to Darwin via Kakadu and the 2016 Gulf to Gulf from Port Augusta in Spencer Gulf to Karumba (Gulf of Carpentaria).
Huge thank you to Collis and Kathy for organizing and providing support for such a huge ride, it all went very well. Loved the bush camps – the fires were awesome, the poetry and storytelling were a highlight, with some very talented people in the group. And of course Kathy’s culinary delights with the camp oven, always had a main and dessert, all very YUMMY and plenty of it for the cyclist hearty appetities. I wouldn’t mind more bush camps just for the delicious food. WELL DONE Kathy.
Thank you to everyone for great time and great company for the rides across the top and then across the bottom, both very different. Hard to choose between the two but I especially enjoyed across the bottom, Nullarbor awesome.
Pat Dorey, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - veteran of 3 tours including 2 legs of Cycle Around Australia 2013
Thanks to Kathy and Collis for all of your hard work to pull off such a great trip. Australia is a beautiful county and I enjoyed seeing it from a bicycle seat (that seat finally became more of a friend than an enemy by the end of the trip). I really had a great time riding from Darwin to Perth and wish I could have been able to do the whole thing … maybe I’ll be back when I retire. Thanks again.
Joan Donahue, Columbia, South Carolina, USA - rode Darwin to Perth = 2 legs of Cycle Around Australia 2013
Wanted to thank you guys for such a great trip. I thought you guys did a fantastic job at organising us all & keeping things running smoothly. It felt like a real family atmosphere. Loved the bush camps & the great meals you cooked Kath. I'll be recommending you guys to those I ride with here in Tassie, see if I can't get some others to come along & have some fun too.
Mark Pritchard, Tasmania, Australia - 2013 Perth to Melbourne
Nach 2013, 6 Monate Rund um Australien, nunmehr zum zweitenmal an einer von Cycle Across OZ organisierten Erlebnisradtour teilgenommen. Ich kann mich nur bei Kathy und Collis Ivey, die für das Unternehmen stehen, für die toporganisierte Tour bedanken. Es war ein excellentes Erlebnis diese 5 Wochen mit mit diesem Unternehmen und den Radfahrkollegen unterwegs gewesen zu sein. Sehr gerne wieder auf einer der Touren von Cycle Across OZ
Franz Georg Henn - Meckenheim, Nordrhein_Westfalen, Germany - rode his first tour with Cycle Across Oz around Australia 2013 and also Gold n Waves Ride 2018
I have done two rides with Cycle Across Oz, Darwin to Adelaide in 2006 and Broome to Perth in 2011, both highly enjoyable and well organised rides. Collis and Kath Ivey are two wonderful people who seem to have the knack of looking after their customers whilst allowing as much adventure as you want.
John Tracy, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia - veteran of 4 tours which gives a whole Cycle Around Australia experience
By virtue of their thorough planning, affordable costing and careful staging of each of their rides, Collis and Kath Ivey have made long distance, adventure bike riding accessible to people ranging in age from somewhere in the thirties to some over 70.
In addition to experiencing aspects of our own country that we never could appreciate in the same way from the comfort and speed of a car, bus or train, for me highlights have included such things as the bush camps, when stages between road houses or towns have been too great to complete in a single day’s ride, and above all, the good humour and support of Collis and Kath and our fellow adventurers."
"Cycle Across Oz found a new way of providing a "life enhancing" experience by organising a "round the continent" ride in five stages from March to September in 2013. A few years ago I could not have imagined that I would do such a thing, but with the careful planning and staging of each day's ride, Collis and Kath made the whole thing possible.
Theo Van der Veen, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia - veteran of 3 tours including the big one around Australia in 2013
Woody Graham, Columbia, South Carolina, USA - veteran of 5 tours including the 2013 Cycle Around Australia tour. Woody clocked up his 800,000th km on the last trip - to the moon and back a few times
We find Cycle across Oz the perfect balance of organisation and flexibility for our long distance touring. Kath and Collis take all the admin pain out of cycle touring and have a gift for making the whole group feel at ease, despite diverse backgrounds and cycling goals. If you are seeking an exciting and well thought through touring adventure, this is it. The trips are also a fantastic bargain and represent amazing value (shhhhh, don’t tell....)!
Simon Milne
Sydney
These rides are huge events but kept intimate due to limited numbers of riders. The logistics of organising is mind blowing to me including preparing the extensive itinerary, organising the range of accommodation (in the middle of nowhere), utilising past contacts and making new ones. They ensure vehicular support throughout (if the body or bike requires) but also for carrying the luggage, cooking delicious meals over the firepit, helping with repairs and disasters, and importantly providing friendship, laughter and entertainment and ultimately ensuring an amazing and memorable experience. I highly regard Collis and Kathy Ivy and if you want an epic adventure, very reasonably priced, you should ride with Cycle Across Oz. I know I will be adventuring with them in the future !
Ingrid Piepereit, Melbourne, Australia - veteran of 2 tours including the 2015 Loop from Uluru to Darwin via Kakadu and the 2016 Gulf to Gulf from Port Augusta in Spencer Gulf to Karumba (Gulf of Carpentaria).
Huge thank you to Collis and Kathy for organizing and providing support for such a huge ride, it all went very well. Loved the bush camps – the fires were awesome, the poetry and storytelling were a highlight, with some very talented people in the group. And of course Kathy’s culinary delights with the camp oven, always had a main and dessert, all very YUMMY and plenty of it for the cyclist hearty appetities. I wouldn’t mind more bush camps just for the delicious food. WELL DONE Kathy.
Thank you to everyone for great time and great company for the rides across the top and then across the bottom, both very different. Hard to choose between the two but I especially enjoyed across the bottom, Nullarbor awesome.
Pat Dorey, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - veteran of 3 tours including 2 legs of Cycle Around Australia 2013
Thanks to Kathy and Collis for all of your hard work to pull off such a great trip. Australia is a beautiful county and I enjoyed seeing it from a bicycle seat (that seat finally became more of a friend than an enemy by the end of the trip). I really had a great time riding from Darwin to Perth and wish I could have been able to do the whole thing … maybe I’ll be back when I retire. Thanks again.
Joan Donahue, Columbia, South Carolina, USA - rode Darwin to Perth = 2 legs of Cycle Around Australia 2013
Wanted to thank you guys for such a great trip. I thought you guys did a fantastic job at organising us all & keeping things running smoothly. It felt like a real family atmosphere. Loved the bush camps & the great meals you cooked Kath. I'll be recommending you guys to those I ride with here in Tassie, see if I can't get some others to come along & have some fun too.
Mark Pritchard, Tasmania, Australia - 2013 Perth to Melbourne
Nach 2013, 6 Monate Rund um Australien, nunmehr zum zweitenmal an einer von Cycle Across OZ organisierten Erlebnisradtour teilgenommen. Ich kann mich nur bei Kathy und Collis Ivey, die für das Unternehmen stehen, für die toporganisierte Tour bedanken. Es war ein excellentes Erlebnis diese 5 Wochen mit mit diesem Unternehmen und den Radfahrkollegen unterwegs gewesen zu sein. Sehr gerne wieder auf einer der Touren von Cycle Across OZ
Franz Georg Henn - Meckenheim, Nordrhein_Westfalen, Germany - rode his first tour with Cycle Across Oz around Australia 2013 and also Gold n Waves Ride 2018
I have done two rides with Cycle Across Oz, Darwin to Adelaide in 2006 and Broome to Perth in 2011, both highly enjoyable and well organised rides. Collis and Kath Ivey are two wonderful people who seem to have the knack of looking after their customers whilst allowing as much adventure as you want.
John Tracy, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia - veteran of 4 tours which gives a whole Cycle Around Australia experience
By virtue of their thorough planning, affordable costing and careful staging of each of their rides, Collis and Kath Ivey have made long distance, adventure bike riding accessible to people ranging in age from somewhere in the thirties to some over 70.
In addition to experiencing aspects of our own country that we never could appreciate in the same way from the comfort and speed of a car, bus or train, for me highlights have included such things as the bush camps, when stages between road houses or towns have been too great to complete in a single day’s ride, and above all, the good humour and support of Collis and Kath and our fellow adventurers."
"Cycle Across Oz found a new way of providing a "life enhancing" experience by organising a "round the continent" ride in five stages from March to September in 2013. A few years ago I could not have imagined that I would do such a thing, but with the careful planning and staging of each day's ride, Collis and Kath made the whole thing possible.
Theo Van der Veen, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia - veteran of 3 tours including the big one around Australia in 2013
I have ridden 7 Cycle Across Oz trips from the first Perth to Melbourne crossing in 2002 and every ride until 2013. Prior to my first trip, I had never ridden more than 120 kms in a day, though I had ridden a 1,000 km tour over 10 days in my mid 20's. Cycle Across Oz provide an amazing platform for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things. The canvas is the ever changing and the ever same scenery of the Australian Outback, its country towns and their friendly residents and its Big Sky and the Southern night sky. We have made some great friendships and the testimony is that the same riders keep coming back for more. Take a chance and reach for the Extraordinary. The most recent trip down the Murray River was great - no better introduction for a grand tour with shorter days and amazing diversity of scenery - join in and train for the bigger legs that follow
Mark Carrington, Sydney, NSW, Australia - veteran of 7 tours
Great organisation, support and company and just a great way to enjoy cycling across Oz.
Dave and Jo Whitney, Leeds, Yorkshire, England - veteran of 2 tours
Mark Carrington, Sydney, NSW, Australia - veteran of 7 tours
Great organisation, support and company and just a great way to enjoy cycling across Oz.
Dave and Jo Whitney, Leeds, Yorkshire, England - veteran of 2 tours
"Broome to Perth has been a truly amazing, breathtaking and outstanding experience. It's now been sometime since I finished this tour but I still think about and talk about this trip EVERY DAY!! The 'small group' on tour made this experience special and personal. Many friends were made, and many meals cooked together and enjoyed . It's not a race ... But a time for personal achievement and a time to take in the Beautiful Australian Sceneries. You only need to do one tour ...... And you are HOOKED .. It's like you just cannot get enough ...... Counting the days now ... For 2015"
"wow what a wonderful trip - Cairns to Darwin to Broome what a sensational way to challenge oneself whilst enjoying the spectacular sceneries, savoring the many different foods and beverages and learning more about oneself when meeting new people with same interests but with different diverse backgrounds .
We are one lucky bunch of peoples to know Collis and Kathy,
to lead a team around Australia on bicycles does not only take
years of dreaming .. the routes and destinations and logistics
months of planning .. the accommodation, the bush camps, the meals, the rest days, our birthdays
weeks of worrying... because its not an easy task to "lead a mob"
days of full commitment .. to each and everyone of us who joined up for all or part of this journey
and
Guts .... absolute hardcore Guts to pull this off !!!
Jacquei Quach, QLD, Australia - veteran of 4 tours
Thanks to everyone for making our leg such a great trip. It was a pleasure to meet up with familiar faces and make new friends between Darwin and Broome. We come from all over the world and and we all achieved different things It was a shared experience with Kathy and Collis at helm. The 2 trips we have done are an amazing experience of Australia!
Debra Murray and Martin Forster, Perth, WA, Australia and now Torrin, Scotland - 2 tours covering Darwin to Perth in 2011 and 2013
"wow what a wonderful trip - Cairns to Darwin to Broome what a sensational way to challenge oneself whilst enjoying the spectacular sceneries, savoring the many different foods and beverages and learning more about oneself when meeting new people with same interests but with different diverse backgrounds .
We are one lucky bunch of peoples to know Collis and Kathy,
to lead a team around Australia on bicycles does not only take
years of dreaming .. the routes and destinations and logistics
months of planning .. the accommodation, the bush camps, the meals, the rest days, our birthdays
weeks of worrying... because its not an easy task to "lead a mob"
days of full commitment .. to each and everyone of us who joined up for all or part of this journey
and
Guts .... absolute hardcore Guts to pull this off !!!
Jacquei Quach, QLD, Australia - veteran of 4 tours
Thanks to everyone for making our leg such a great trip. It was a pleasure to meet up with familiar faces and make new friends between Darwin and Broome. We come from all over the world and and we all achieved different things It was a shared experience with Kathy and Collis at helm. The 2 trips we have done are an amazing experience of Australia!
Debra Murray and Martin Forster, Perth, WA, Australia and now Torrin, Scotland - 2 tours covering Darwin to Perth in 2011 and 2013