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On his return to Ballarat Mr Strong was encouraged by his European friends to consider living in Spain, even though he doesn\u2019t speak the language fluently \u2013 yet! He\u2019s no stranger to living in a foreign land, having worked as a guest professor in Sweden for six years.<\/p>\n
Mr Strong has always been an active person understanding the importance of balancing a busy work schedule with time for personal activities.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s run 11 marathons, participated in multi-day cycling events as well as other endurance activities, so the challenge of an 800-kilometre cycling trip seemed very appealing.<\/p>\n
With the help of a Spanish\/German friend he shared a home in the small village of Valldevia in the north of Spain, near Girona, and established Cycling Tours Spain.<\/p>\n
His bags were packed and off he set, and within weeks of arriving COVID-19 struck and he was in lockdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI count myself very lucky to have been isolated in such a perfect location,\u201d Mr Strong. \u201cWith only 40 people in the village I could walk every day in the local forest.<\/p>\n