the adventurer

Of our four children, number three was always guaranteed to be the first to volunteer, the first to try something new, the first to take a risk. As children, the older two would send Rachel down a suspect slippery slide first to make sure it was safe, send her to speak to strangers or ask a question, try a new food, play a new game. She disappeared at Wet and Wild, a moment later we heard her joyful screams as she cannoned down the biggest and scariest ride - first and fearless and sometimes careless! She would be the one to jump from a jetty, climb up a cliff or head straight for the biggest waves. Part of her gap year was spent as a volunteer in Fiji and she took a semester off Uni to backpack around Europe.

And today she begins another adventure, a solo bike tour up the East Coast of Australia. Colin and I will be the support crew for the first few days, mostly for our own benefit! Her type 1 diabetes makes everything that bit more complicated and challenging.

We are enormously proud of her and enormously worried for her; typical parents thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Her bike is now sporting some new safety equipment and her head a new helmet.

She has courage and determination, is curious and insightful, has the ability to live in and enjoy the moment, is attuned to all her senses, is adaptive and creative, loving and kind. She takes a chance, gives it a go and takes things as they come. She is deep and lives life fully.

And so it begins...

Rachel's blog https://adventuringfordummies.wordpress.com

Her bike, the day before departure. It won't look so bare and unladen for a very long time.

the day before departure