Early Tuesday morning risers may have spotted two gentlemen pedalling out of Bridge of Earn with the world at their feet.
Slowly navigating along Main Street with temperatures already pushing above 20 degrees, bags fully packed and excitement moving through the gears, this was no run-of-the-mill expedition around the region.
Instead the wheels were in motion for the beginning of an epic and life-defining journey that will transport Frazer McKinlay and Aussie mate Rory Pogson through multiple countries and cultures over the next four to five months.
The intrepid pair are, incredibly, cycling from the scenic Perthshire town where Frazer grew up to the finest show in football - the World Cup - which is this year taking place in Qatar and begins late November.
If the initial 4000-mile plus trek wasn’t enough, the adventure will then continue by biking back to Australia where former Perth High School student Frazer now calls home.
Opening days and weeks will include tackling the east coast of Scotland, through England to Dover where the boat to Calais, France awaits before meandering through numerous countries in Europe, eventually arriving in Turkey.
From there, the plan is to pedal down Iran to meet up with a ferry that will sail across the Persian Gulf to Qatar.
“There has been a lot of zooming in on Google Maps to actually see there is a road to somewhere,” laughed Frazer (30), speaking to the PA before setting off.
“For a while it was a pipe dream but we started to look at the map and thought it was possible. We’ve both decided to quit our jobs, save up a bit of money and hit the road.”
Frazer and Rory - the latter from the city of Orange in New South Wales - have experience of long-distance cycling behind them having journeyed from Japan to the World Cup in Russia back in 2018.
That quest of epic proportions was an eye-opener and fuelled passions to kick-off the next challenge.
“I definitely haven’t packed as much this time round,” smiled Frazer, who played for St Johnstone as a youngster. “I’ve learned from being on the road before.
“We’re still travelling pretty heavy and it won’t be a case of head down and pedalling. We’ll be keeping the heads up, looking around and taking it easy. But we still are trying to do 100km a day.
“On the last trip I learned how to fix the bike properly so I’m not worried of anything going wrong. I think we can go into this trip a lot more confident.
“We’re hoping to gather some stories, experiences and put it into a book once it’s all over.
“We all get fed a perception of certain countries without really knowing what is going on or what the people are like.
“One thing I loved about the last trip was realising how kind, friendly and helpful people are everywhere in the world.
“You need to have trust in people and feel good about asking for help. Most people out there are good people.”
There will, without doubt, be arduous days and times when the legs are telling the head that enough is enough. The moments of joy, euphoria and simply feeling more alive than ever before will override the pain.
“I don’t know anyone else who has done this same trip,” Frazer admitted.
“I’ve done a few trips in different places and you always come across cyclists who have taken on some crazy journeys.
“That is probably part of what has inspired us. I was never really a keen cyclist but more keen for an adventure.
“Once I got into the long-distance cycling, it was like poetry. It felt like it worked.
“The situations I’ve found myself in while travelling by bike have been experiences that I’ll remember forever.
“It has partly shaped the person who I am. It’s like a constant mediation when on the bike.
“Each pedal you can think about anything you want or nothing at all. It gives me a lot of euphoria, actually.”
There was euphoria when Australia - unfortunately not Scotland - recently qualified for the World Cup thanks to a dramatic penalty shootout play-off win over Peru.
Frazer, although spending his childhood and teenage years in Perthshire, has extra reason to be cheering on the Socceroos at the global showpiece. His cousin Jackson Irvine plays for them.
“If Australia hadn’t qualified, we would have bypassed Qatar,” said Frazer. “But as soon as the big, wobbly, goalkeeper saved that penalty we were absolutely dedicated to making it.
“We’ll get to a couple of the Australia games. I don’t think Jackson is that surprised. He just shook his head and said: ‘Of course’.
“We’ll actually be looking for games of football everywhere we go. We haven’t organised anything yet but we’ll look out for any street football that is going on.”
All in, from Perthshire to Qatar and then onto Australia, Frazer and Rory will undoubtedly create more memories to last a lifetime. That prospect will never not bring a sense of fulfilment for them.
Frazer concluded: “I think we’re looking at somewhere between a year and a year-and-a-half depending on the weather and whatever else is happening in the world.
“Being on the bike is just such a great speed to experience the world and meet new people.”
Frazer and Rory will be providing updates of their unique journey on Instagram and through a specially-created website at https://small-world-big-heart.com/
