Griffen 2014

15 www.oaclub.org.uk Jamie Cook (2010) , Men’s Captain at the University of London Boat Club, received the Parmigiani Spirit Award in October 2013. The award was open to university rowers worldwide who demonstrated the core values of rowing in their social, academic and sporting life and, through those values, also enabled or inspired exceptional success in other people’s lives. 2010– Cycling the Six: An update from Steve Fabes (1999) There’s only one road that pierces the northern reaches of Alaska which marked the end of my fourth continent by bicycle, almost four years and 55,000 km after setting out from London. The Dalton Highway has a dark reputation, enhanced perhaps after it was featured on the TV series Ice Road Truckers whose tag line didn’t fill me with confidence - “In the dark heart of Alaska, there’s a road where hell has frozen over”. As I inched up the Atigun Pass and over the continental divide, the snow began to fall. Frozen mud rendered brakes and gears unusable. Cloud and mountains were muddled in the murk. Beyond the descent stretched the North Slope - a vast, even expanse of tussocks and pools. In the distance were the dark blots of roaming musk oxen on the plains, and up above honking snow geese in malformed Vs and Ws, heading to warmer climes as I continued to the top of the continent. Finally I arrived into the town of Deadhorse on the Arctic Ocean – I could pedal no further north. As I appraised the bleak industrial outpost I pondered the assumption that the eponymous horse died of the cold, not ruling out boredom. I arrived with wind-blasted eyes, face a rosy hue, beard and barnet knotted, bike mud-encrusted and front tyre bare. At a guess I had never been as dirty in my adult life, but none of that mattered. I’d made it. My next adventure – Australia, will be followed by a two-year jaunt across Asia and Europe (the home straight) back to London. To follow my progress across six of the earth’s continents by bicycle take a look at the blog. www.cyclingthe6.com