RETIRED cabbie Jake Farrell feels fitter and healthier at 71 than he did in his 40s. And he puts it all down to his bike riding.
The Packenham resident took up the sport in his 40s and now three decades on he is taking on his biggest adventure yet – cycling Spain’s Camino Trail.
People have walked the famous trail to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela for more than 1000 years as part of a spiritual pilgrimage to the grave of the apostle Saint James the Great. Legend says he was buried at the cathedral after he died.
Jake, who lives in Villa Maria Catholic Homes’ Shanagolden Village retirement community in Pakenham, headed off in July and the trip is his first time outside of Australia. He will also visit Italy, Austria, Germany, France, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada.
“That will be an extra bonus on top of everything else,” said Jake, describing it as a trip of a lifetime. “The spiritual side of it for me is important too. I had heard about this trail and it was something in the back of my mind I’d love to do.
“At one stage I thought it was beyond me. I thought, I’m getting too old to be doing that sort of thing. But now I am getting fitter and feeling quite happy about cycling. The hills don’t worry me any more.”
He said the Camino Trail bike ride has motivated him to get on his bike most days and train.
“With the training I am doing for the bike ride, I’m fitter now than when I first started riding,” he said.
