In 2015 I rode in the inaugural Fireflies Antipodes tour, starting in Christchurch and ending in Queenstown. This was largely motivated by having lost my father to cancer 18 months earlier. The ride was an emotional journey as much as a physical one, particularly when we arrived in Queenstown and were unexpectedly welcomed with a pōwhiri that left most of us struggling to hold back the tears. A few days after the ride I received the sickening news from Copenhagen that my brother Marc, who had been diagnosed with cancer only weeks earlier, wasn’t doing well at all. I was fortunate enough to be able to get to Copenhagen in time to spend a couple of days in lucid conversation with Marc before he passed away fearlessly, surrounded by love and family. I’m proud to once more be raising money for the Snowdome foundation’s efforts in combatting blood cancers, and commend Wilf and The Sweetshop for the vast effort required to pull together Fireflies Antipodes 2017.