I met Rowan Burns, in person, on August 22, 2003 in Noigent Le Roi, France on the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200K long distance cycling event. We had communicated briefly on Bike Forums, an online cycling forum, and had indicated that we would each be riding that event, but we had not agreed to meet anywhere. However, at Noigent Le Roi, the last stop on the event, Rowan took a chance and called my online name when he saw me coming through the control carrying a plate of food. There weren't many Canadians on the event, and only 6% of the 4000+ riders were female ... so he had a reasonable chance that it was me! We chatted for about 15 minutes before each going our separate ways.

We communicated casually on cycling forums and in 2004, I came to Australia for a 3-month cycling trip. While in Australia, I participated in a cycling event (Great Southern Randonnee), which Rowan also participated in, and then later my cycling partner and I stayed with Rowan for a few days in Tasmania. The stay was extended by a couple days when my freehub broke and I had to have it replaced.

When I returned to Canada in December 2004, to begin my Bachelor of Education, Rowan and I started to communicate regularly by email, and started to get to know each other better. On April 22, 2005, Rowan asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said yes.

Rowan came to Canada in August 2005, and we did a short cycling tour of the Canadian Rockies. We also participated in the UMCA 24-hour race (a cycling event) in Iowa, and then travelled to Colorado to participate in the Last Chance 1200K Randonnee. On our way to Colorado, on September 9, 2005, we stopped in Cheyenne, Wyoming to have a look around. On a dock over a small lake, Rowan asked me to marry him, and I said yes ... but we did not decide on a wedding date at that time. Unfortunately, he had to return to Australia to work in September, and I had to return to Canada to go to school.

We continued to communicate by email and phone calls, and the decision was made that Rowan would come to Canada and try to get a temporary employment visa in order to be with me. We did our research, everything looked fairly straightforward, and he arrived in Canada on a 6-month visitor’s visa in July 2006.

I was living with my parents at the time, while attending university, and they welcomed him into their home, and got to know him.

In August 2006, Rowan and I travelled across Canada and into the US, to Boston, in order to participate in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200K Randonnee. From there we went to Iowa to participate in another UMCA 24-hour race, and returned to Canada in September 2006 so I could resume my courses at university.

Meanwhile Rowan tried to acquire the temporary employment visa, but was turned down by the Canadian government despite having contracts with several companies. The reason given was that there were enough Canadians to fill those areas of employment. He had to return to Australia in January 2007.

Nevertheless, being able to spend 6 months together helped cement our relationship and develop our love for each other. In addition to spending time cycling together, we were able to learn more about each other in different areas and do other things together. For example, we had the opportunity to make a short video for one of my classes. We thoroughly enjoyed creating it from conception to completion all on our own, and confirmed that we worked very well together.
Nonverbal Communication Movie Project

We continued to communicate by email and phone calls, discussing everything that was happening in our lives, and our hopes and dreams for the future. We made plans to meet in London, UK in August 2007, and spent a month cycling around England, Belgium and France. We also participated in the Paris-Brest-Paris 2007. In September 2007, I returned to Canada to resume my courses at university, and Rowan returned to Australia to work.

But we were already making plans to get together in a few months time because we do not like to be apart. During my spring break in February 2008, I flew to Australia to spend a couple weeks with Rowan. We spent a little over a week of that time on a cycling tour to Wilson’s Prom, and the rest of the time sight-seeing around the area where Rowan lives. Since I was nearing the end of my university program, we discussed plans and options to be able to spend our lives together on the same continent.

As a part of that, I made inquiries into a student exchange through my university so I could attend a university in Australia, but I did not qualify for that program. Then I made inquiries into transferring the courses I had already taken into an Australian university. I was accepted by the University of Tasmania, but unfortunately we could not afford for me to attend. To finish my degree in Canada from that point would cost approximately $6000 for tuition and books. To finish my degree in Tasmania would cost over $20,000.

Rowan made plans to come to Canada for about a month in August 2008 to see me, and then in a phone call in June, he suggested that we get married while he was there. I agreed. Getting married in Canada would allow my parents to participate in the wedding with us, which was important to both of us. We also decided to make the wedding special to us.

Our relationship developed around cycling, and we both love the outdoors and the mountains, so we decided to get married in the Canadian Rockies, on Lake Annette, near Jasper. We also decided to cycle a century (100 miles) prior to the wedding. On August 24th, almost exactly 5 years after we met, we did just that. We woke early, cycled 100 miles, and finished just before my parents, and my cousin and his wife arrived. My cousin is the mayor of Banff, and has the authority to perform wedding ceremonies. We had a lovely, quiet ceremony on a dock in Lake Annette surrounded by the mountains and the ones we love.

Rowan and I spent 10 days together after the wedding, and then he had to return to Australia and I had to finish my last year of university. Nevertheless, we continued to communicate through those months by email, and by almost daily phone calls. Thank goodness for phone cards!!

Then, on February 7, 2009 (Black Saturday), Rowan lost his home and many of his possessions, and narrowly escaped with his life in the devastating Australian bushfires. That was an extremely difficult experience for both of us. For me, it was having an idea of what he was going through, but not being able to be there with him ... and often having to wait for information about what was happening, hoping he was all right. I felt completely helpless. Nevertheless, I tried to provide as much support as I could from where I was ... finishing my final practicum with a Grade One class. I desperately wanted to see him again, and the last few month of waiting were agonizing.

I had been planning to come to Australia in June 2009 after I graduated from University with my Bachelor of Education, and despite the devastation and disruption of the bushfires, we decided to stick with that plan because we wanted to be together as soon as we could. I arrived in Australia on June 12th, and Rowan and I have been living together in a cabin near Taggerty since my arrival. We enjoy being together, working together on the little cabin, and travelling around the area together.

And now we've celebrated our first anniversary together!! :)

We have had a fairly long relationship, and despite most of it being a long-distance relationship, we have gotten to know each other very well through our months together in person, and through our extensive communication with each other via email and phone calls while apart. We love each other very much and want to remain together for the rest of our lives.

Charlene & Rowan's Wedding Photos
Charlene & Rowan's Lives Together Photos
Charlene & Rowan's New Home Photos
Photo Collection of Australia