12/09/2025
This ‘Forrest Gump’ bikepacker is on an unlikely 30-year world tour.
Sydney-born Mic Whitty is touring around Australia — and the world — stopping at war graves along the way.
With his yellow postal bike laden with gear, Mic can choose to wake up to ocean views, glorious sunrises or rolling green hills.
While it looks like an idyllic lifestyle, the reality is that Mic is living rough — and he has been for 11 years.
He became homeless in the UK when a gambling spiral left him broke, in debt and taking money from his work.
”It was the beginning of my downfall,” Mic told Richard Fidler on ABC Conversations.
Almost daily, Mic struggled with thoughts of taking his own life to end the intense shame he felt.
“I don’t blame any of this on depression… I got depressed because of what I did,” he said.
Mic retreated from his life.
For almost a year, he slept rough in woodlands on the outskirts of Welsh towns.
Thanks to the support of strangers, Mic slowly re-entered the world. He posted a message on Facebook telling worried friends he was OK.
“I had so many positive replies and expressions of love… It still, nine years on, brings me to tears,” Mic said.
As he reconnected with mates, Mic sifted through the belongings he’d been storing in their homes and found his grandfather's WWI diary.
He was struck with the idea of riding his bike to Gallipoli, sleeping in a hammock along the way.
Once he arrived, Mic learnt that there are many war cemeteries at Gallipoli and felt compelled to visit them all.
“I noticed that… it had been over a year since the previous person had signed in the visitors’ books,” he said.
Realising he had, “Nothing else better to do”, Mic set a monumental goal.
“A bit like Forrest Gump, I’m on a 30-year trip to cycle to every Commonwealth War Grave cemetery in the world,” he said.
If all goes to plan, he will have visited nearly 25,000 cemeteries by 2045.
“If I happen to die beforehand, that solves the problem of, ‘What the heck do I do until I die?’” Mic said.
Almost 10 years since he started his tour, Mic has no regrets.
“I haven’t looked back. I absolutely love it,” he said.
“It’s not about the cemeteries — it’s the people I meet along the way.”
Mic has now cycled 67,000km, visiting over 4,000 war grave cemeteries across more than 20 countries.
He’s currently tracking his way up the east coast of Australia — aiming for Cooktown in time for Christmas.
While still technically a rough sleeper, Mic is now wild camping by choice and says his experience in Wales showed him an inner strength he didn’t know he had.
“We’re all a lot tougher than we think we would be when tested,” he said.
✍️ Story by Fiona Purcell
📰 Read more: https://ab.co/ConversationsMicWhitty
🎧 Stream Mic Whitty’s full interview — along with the 20th Anniversary Collection of Conversations — on the ABC listen app.
