Tour De Mo – Pat and Tim’s Mo Your Own Way Challenge

Cycling can be more than just an efficient and healthy way to get from point A to point B. It can be a focal point in creating a community of people to achieve a standalone goal. Whether it be a particular fitness focused goal, or even just a good excuse to get out and about on a glorious Sunday morning. Cycling can be more than just a ride.

We spoke to one of our Mo legends Pat, who is teaming up with his mate Pat to Mo their Own Way this Movember the 19th to the 21st in their very own ‘Tour De Mo’. A 1000km journey through Noosa and the Gold Coast in 3 days to spark a conversation on mates checking in on each other. Here’s what Pat told us about the journey so far.

Pat, can you give us a little info about yourself?

I was an active kid growing up, participating in development teams for both athletics and Rugby League. After sustaining multiple facial fractures from Rugby and leaving school in year 10, my priorities shifted to partying, smoking and drugs. I ended up losing my license a few years later down the track which created a black hole of depression and me not wanting to make anything of my life.

With no license to drive, a colleague sold me a road bike so I could commute 40km to and from work. This is where things began to shift - I began to lose weight (100kg to 58kg) and feel full of life again. It sparked my ambition to do triathlons where I met my now wife of 3 years and Tim!

Riding has showed me a whole new world, filled with fitness, travel and amazing people.

I’ve met such positive people from all walks of life, who all at some point, have been through something that has moulded them into the person they are today. The best thing about this community is that they all talk. They talk about everything with no filters and it’s just a breath of fresh air to know when you’re feeling down, you can just hit up one of the crew and go for a ride or run.

After my own journey and the positive impacts moving has had on my life, I now encourage anyone to give it a go. You don’t need lycra or to be a fast runner, you just need to embrace the journey and the community around you.

What about Tim’s story?

Tim has a similar story to mine. He was a lawyer, not loving his work, a smoker and partygoer. He had a lightbulb moment after hearing someone say, "the worst thing in life is for a parent to bury their own child". From then, he made the decision that this was not something he wished upon his own parents. Tim is the kind of person who is always up for anything, a real go getter and doesn’t do things half-hearted. If Tim commits to something, he won’t back down.

Tim joined the Tri Nation Triathlon Club which kicked off his fitness journey. He has competed in multiple Ironman competitions and a half marathon finisher, who has also completed in multiple single and multi-day running races around the world. During one of these races, Tim tore a quad in a snake hole but pushed through to finish the event. He then flew overseas to recover which ultimately led to a clot moving from his leg to his lung. He nearly died from this and lost part of a lung, but luckily is still with us like a cockroach, you just can’t knock the guy down.

Tim now owns and is Head Coach at Tri Nation Triathlon in Brisbane, Head Coach at Brisbane Run Squad and coaches the Brisbane Girls Grammar cross country team. He is also about to embark on an attempt to break the current world record to run a lap around the world! Tim’s one of those guys that is great to speak to about any issue, he has been through a lot himself and knows just how important moving and exercising is, and how to motivate you to get you moving. What he lacks for in hair on the head he makes up for in enthusiasm.

Can you explain your Mo Your Own Way challenge?

The Mo Your Own way challenge in a nutshell, is two guys covering 1000km in 3 days just by using a pushbike and running. We know that we will be going through a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows, both on roads, physically and mentally but that’s what men everywhere are going through every day. We want the message to be - just call a mate for a chat. If there’s something going on or you need help, there’s nothing wrong asking for it. I called Tim for help to make this happen and we are calling on our mates to help us make it to the end.

What inspired you do this challenge and why together?

Before and through the COVID-19 lockdowns Tim had done a few crazy events and challenges just to keep himself going and trying to motivate the local community. This inspired me to do something big, but I also wanted to make a change for someone that needed it. So, I gave him a call and it pretty much went:

Pat: Big Dog, let’s do something big.

Tim: 100% let’s do it, what are we going to do?

Then we decided men’s mental health was where we wanted raise some money and our schedules lined up for November, so it was just a no brainer - let’s do Movember!

What conversations do you aim to spark with this challenge?

We want men out there to just talk, talk about everything and anything. With lockdowns, job losses, COVID-19, divorces and separations, guys don’t like to talk because it has this stigma of being weak. You’re a harder man to be able to acknowledge you need help than you are to sit there in silence suffering alone. Riding and running isn’t for everyone, but we want our journey to inspire the next generation of boys turning to men to know it’s ok to be vulnerable.

How do you plan on celebrating after this challenge?

We will be eating, eating a lot and I’m sure celebrating with a few cold beverages. We’ll be staying down the coast for two days with our families to recover at the beach and I made sure the accommodation had a spa bath. Then hopefully after a few days recovery we’ll both be back on the bike and running but with some extra wind in the sails, knowing we’ve done something to help make a difference for others. Tim will be in prep to run around the world and I’m hoping to be able to carry the momentum and see what else I can do for the community beyond this challenge.

It's not too late to create your own Tour De Mo and Mo Your Own way this hairy season. Whether it be something as big as a marathon, to something as courageous as taking song requests and belting out your best karaoke songs on social media. The floor is yours when you Mo Your Own Way this Movember for men’s health.

To find out more about Tim and Pat’s epic Tour De Mo, jump on their Mospace profile or head to their Instagram to keep updated on their challenge.