How About Spreading Some Christmas Cheer This Year?

There's no doubt that Christmas is a time of giving but two things certainly are worth giving to more than anything else.

Bikes of all sorts left

Port Melbourne

 with tonnes of toys.

Christmas is a time when many people go without, many of these are children who come from underprivilaged families.  Almost 35 years ago 40 motorcyclists in Melbourne decided it was their duty to do something about the kids who were not going to be able to celebrate Christmas like many others.

Through the Salvation Army this quickly spread and is now a worldwide event that takes place every year.  Over 200,000 motorcyclists around the world have now taken part and donated toys and money to those who most need it ... the true meaning of Christmas.

Again I took part and rode up the Tullarmarine and Calder Freeway's to Calder Park to do my litle biut and donate to the cause.  It was a great day and one that seems to make the whole point of Christmas a little more special.  I suggest that any biker take part in a toy run wherever they can, it really does make a difference.

Another great cause is Riders For Health.  While reading the biography of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's epic ride from the northern most tip of Scotland to southern most Africa I couldn't help but be touched by their story of the riders in a number of African nations who ride out to remote villages and not only assess the health of the local people but also teach them about health and what the people can do to manage their own health.

Riders for Health manages over 1,400 motorcycles, ambulances and other four-wheel vehicles used in the delivery of health care in seven countries across Africa.

They work with ministries of health, international and African non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private-sector organisations, local community-based organisations and religious groups, to improve access to health care for 12 million people. As a social enterprise, they charge their partners a not-for-profit fee to ensure the sustainability of the programmes.

At the core of their work is both training and preventive vehicle maintenance. By running reliable vehicle fleets, they ensure that the chain in health care delivery is never broken by failing vehicles thereby increasing health worker productivity. It is also far cheaper to keep a vehicle running efficiently over time than to repair it when it breaks down completely.

Their programmes provide training and employment opportunities to build local capacity. Their network of highly skilled technicians regularly travels to service vehicles in the communities in which health workers serve. This means they don’t waste valuable time travelling to a garage when they could be with their patients.

In addition to training health workers to drive safely in the difficult terrain, they also train them to carry out daily checks on their vehicle.

The majority of the population of sub-Saharan Africa live in rural areas where the best roads are little more than dirt tracks. Public transport is infrequent and delivering health care on foot or by bicycle between sparse villages is an exhausting and ineffective task.

Put simply, without reliable transport the millions of dollars that is invested in vaccines, drugs, bed-nets, condoms and trained health professionals every year will be wasted because they will fail to get to where they are needed on time.

I know this is far removed from where we are in our comfortable homes with healthcare just around the corner which makes it even more important to support something like Riders For Health because everyone deserves the very basic of healthcare.

Why not make a donation to them this Christmas?  Or for more information check out www.riders.org

Silent Auction Lets Fan See JLo

There's no doubt about that a silent auction is always a bit of fun and sometimes a great way to pick up a bargain.  That's exactly what happened for Karen Thomas, an employee of Computershare, who scored herself tickets to a Melbourne show of Jennifer Lopez's Dance Again world tour.

Karen was the highest bidder for a pair of tickets, which came generously from Frontier Touring, and for less than 200 bucks she was able to see one of the gigs of the year - yes, I can't believe I am saying that either, but it was pretty good.

Not only did Karen get to see JLo she was also able to watch new comer Kate Alexa who was the support.  Despite having a family in the industry Kate is certainly getting places with her talent.

In all it was a great night for Karen, but more importantly a great night for the Long Ride as the monies raised goes straight to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Thanks for your support Karen.  In the future hopefully we will have a few more silent auctions so keep an eye out for them.

The latest corporate sponsort to join the Long Ride 2013 is one of Australia's leading companies yet one that not too many people would ever have heard of, yet they are one who do a hell of a lot for charity, and proudly.

 

Established in 1987, Compu-Stor prides itself on being one of the largest and longest serving Document Storage companies in Australia. The core services they provide for their customers include Records Management; Document Storage; Document Scanning and Imaging of Records; Secure Confidential Destruction; Records Management Services via Web-Based Systems; Offsite Backup Solutions; Sentencing; and, Project Support.

 

Compu-Stor is proud to be ISO 9001:2008 compliant. This provides their customers with the comfort and knowledge that their processes and procedures are to best practice and standard. Compu-Stor believe in working with their customers to find the best solution to fit to their needs.

 

Compu-Stor provides services to a diverse range of customers, from Legal Firms, Accountants, Insurance Companies, Government Departments, Healthcare Sectors, and many more industries. This allows them to ensure they have an extensive range of skills to accommodate all customers and their requirements - no matter what the size. Compu-Stor prides itself in providing solutions across all aspects private and public sectors.

 

Compu-Stor prides themselves on giving back to the community where they can and by coming onboard for the Long Ride they allow me to join a very special group of charities that they support including: The Returned Services League of Australia; St Vincent de Paul; Sids and Kids Western Australia; Australian Council on Smoking and Health; and Bright Spark Foundation. 

 

I'm sure that Compu-Stor are proud to be a part of the Long Ride, just as I am proud to be associated with such a great company and join the group that they already support.

 

 

Goodbye Grandad

For many of us, the Long Ride is not only about challenging ourserlves, it's about taking on the challenge for someone else.

Many riders have been touched by prostate cancer in one way or another, for me it was my father who had it a few years ago and is now thankfully in remission.  Since taken on my first Long Ride in 2011 I have met many other people who have been touched by the disease, many are people who have come along and supported me.

While my Long Ride's will always be dedicate to my father the 2013 event will take on the a special significance as it will now also be dedicated to my Grandfather, Len, who passed away earlier this week.

Funnily enough Grandad never was into motorbikes, in fact he never held either a bike or car licence for his entire 90 years, but he always supported me in riding and always took an interest.  I remember my first little Yamaha MX80 when I was a kid, it sat in his backyard under the porch for the best part of a few years as I 'tried' to rebuild it and not once did he complain, he just held the torch as I worked on it.

Aftert completing the last Long Ride, Grandad took some interest but coming from England and never really travelling in Australia, I don't think he grasped quite how far the distances were.  Never mind he would still ask about the 'bike'.

Thankfully Grandad only had a short illness and I was able to say goodbye to him before he passed. 

Goodbye Grandad, I know you'll be riding with me in 2013, and you'll finally see some of Australia.

Casual Dress Raises A Casual 800

As part of the ongoing fund raising activities fellow Manager within TSG at Computershare, Patrick Drew suggested that we have 2 weeks of casual dress with the premise being that staff donate $5 each.

It was a great idea that saw almost everyone donate and achieve an amazing total of $827.60 taking the overall total donated to now well above $4000.

I can't thank the TSG staff who have supported the Long Ride so far enough, and especially Pat for driving this initiative.

While this has been going on there has been some great corporate support as well as many local councils and associated businesses showing an interest.  Much of this support will actually dictate my journey home as I stop in every town that has helped me to make sure a I say thank you.

Golfers Hit In Right Direction

For the second year running the Meredith Golf Club, between Geelong and Ballarat has come up with a great way to raise funds for the Long Ride.

The small club in country Victoria attracted nearly 40 golfers who all took part in a day long tournament to win prizes not normally seen in a golfing tournament.

With prizes up for grabs for both handicapped and non-handicapped players it proved to be a great day that raised $1297.85 which will all got to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through the Long Ride.

Organisers of the event worked tirelessly to ensure that there were plenty of prizes for the tournament and also a raffle that catered mostly for golfers.  A huge thankyou must not only go to the golfers who travelled to Meredith to play but also the many companies that threw their support behind the vent, these were -
   Barwon Heads Resort
   13th Beach Golf Course
   Tutt Bryant Hire
   Mercure Geelong
   Portarlington Golf Course
   The House of Golf (Geelong)
   Crown Casino
   as well as the many other people who supported the day.  Without this sort of support we couldn't make days like this such a huge success for the PCFA and the Long Ride.

CityLink ... the missing link.

Hmmm ... it’s interesting that CityLink say they will refund motorists for the debacle that occurred today when both the Domain and Burnley tunnels were closed due to a computer glitch.

This is fine if you have an eTag or day pass (you have to chase this yourself) but what about the many more motorists that don’t usually use CityLink and yet were still affected by the many traffic jams around Melbourne that were a flow on from the closures?

I had staff who were over 3 hours late to work, and as some of the work is time critical we were affected greatly by this.  I myself sat in the car for two hours before having had enough I turned around and went home, frustrated by this at least I was able to jump on the bike and make my way through the traffic somewhat, still to turn up to work many hours passed the time I would’ve liked to start at.

Simply refunding motorist who use CityLink is not good enough how about refunding the wasted fuel or work hours that everyone else has had to endure?  It’s ridiculous that a city can close down because of one set of tunnels.  CityLink should be forced to allow free travel or somehow compensate motorists and businesses affected by this morning’s debacle.

Wide Bay - Community Banking Helping The Community

Wide Bay Australia Ltd is Queensland’s largest and Australia’s fourth largest building society.

With a philosophy of helping ordinary Australian's achieve their dream of home ownership Wide Bay is also very strong on helping the local community with many initiatives.  Wide Bay's head office is located in Bundaberg, 380km north of Brisbane and is one of the many stops on the Long Ride return leg.

With this in mind it seemed fitting that Wide Bay has supported my Long Ride with a donation made through the ride to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

It's this local support that is seeing Wide Bay quickly become recognised as a well respected and trusted financial institution.  I can't thank Wide Bay enough for their support, it's this kind of support that makes the Long Ride such a success.

More information about Wide Bay and the many services they offer please visit www.widebayaust.com.au

Increased Survival with Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer after Chemotherapy

More good news for men with castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer who have failed chemotherapy. Two new therapies have recently been approved for use in Australia, cabazitaxel (Jevtana) and abiraterone (Zytiga). Cabazitaxel was listed on PBS from 1st August 2012.

Yesterday, in the New England Journal of Medicine, the results of the phase 3 trial into the effectiveness of enzalutamide (formerly known as MDV3100) were published. Enzalutamide targets multiple steps in the androgen receptor signaling pathway, the major driver of prostate cancer growth. It is taken orally, once-daily.

Enzalutamide significantly prolonged survival of men with castrate-resistant metastatic prostate cancer after chemotherapy with a median increase in overall survival from 13.6 months to 18.4 months.

Clinical trials of enzalutamide in earlier stage prostate cancer are on-going.

For more information please visit www.prostate.org.au

TMC Come Up With The Right Solution

There's little doubt that the Long Ride would be a success without the help of many people and organisations, one such is The Macintosh Corporation (TMC), who for the second time have shown great support both morally and financially.

Founded in 1992, TMC started providing staff who were Macintosh specialists, this has grown to provide staffing solutions across PC and Macintosh platforms for an extremely diverse array of businesses.

With a committment to providing the highest level of staffing solutions there was little wonder that TMC wanted to get involved in a national event that would demonstrate their committment to the community and it's needs.

It goes without saying that the financial contribution from TMC is a massive help with the fundraising however, it is the moral support that drives me on to make sure that this is a huge success.

"I am truly impressed by your efforts," expressed Annette Briffa, Managing Director of TMC.

"It is an incredibly necessary cause! Good luck and congratulations on the physical participation.  Handing over the money seems so much easier."

With this sort of support it makes the thought of a 10,000 kilometre ride through all of the conditions that Australia can throw up seem so much easier.

If you have a staffing requirement that needs a solution contact the team at TMC they will certainly be able to give you what you need.  Phone them on (03) 9529 4811 or email office@tmcagency.com.au

Black Dog Wrap Up

The 2012 Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre was an incredible event, receiving unprecedented traditional and social media coverage, heart-warming support throughout every community in which we travelled, and of course a massive presence by riders around the nation. Around 500 riders took part, and over 200 rode all the way the Red Centre. To date more than $252,000 has been raised for the Black Dog Institute and the awareness raised of depression and suicide prevention is both incalculable and invaluable.

 

Plans for the 2013 Black Dog Ride are already underway check out www.blackdogride.com.au for more details.

 

 

 

Fundraising - August update

The first major fundraising efforts were made during August taking the total raised or promised now sitting at just under $3000.

On top of the workplace breakfast held earlier in the month the August raffle of a night at the Sand Resort in Torquay raised $538.  Amongst all of the many entrants was the winner Dianne MacKenzie from Computershare who said that the prize was the first time she had ever won anything.

Congratulations Di, the prize is a fantastic one, a night in one of Australia's leading resorts.  Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket or two, it really is appreciated.

With the end of the month coming round, the first financial donation was made to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australian through the Long Ride, an amount of $1041.80.

Black Dog Ride - Day 3

While day 3 of the Black Dog Ride signalled the end for myself and a few other Melbourne based riders, it was by no means the end of the whole ride or the cause.

It had rained over night in Swan Hill and looked like it could continue raining through the next day, thankfully it had stopped and to my amazement I found that my brakes were now working, if only just ... it was better than nothing.

At 9am all riders heading for Alice Springs formed at the reception area for the caravan park and after a few words about rider safety we said goodbye to them as they headed off to the next stop at Ouyen.  It was a little sad to see them on their way, good friends had been made, people like Alan who amazingly only has one arm having lost his right one to an accident yet this doesn't stop him as he has a bike with all left hand controls.

They headed off and we packed our bikes ready for return ride home.  A quick refuel and up here the prices are getting high, $1.60 per litre for 98.  Then on to McDonald's for breakfast.  After a fill of bacon and egg McMuffin's we rode out of town.

Almost immediately we were stuck behind a convoy of grey-nomads from South Australia, all doing 80 kilometres per hour.  Apparantly they travel at these speeds to conserve fuel.  For Christ's sake, if you are so tight as to want to save a dollar per journey then stay at home and stop clogging the roads.

We rode past Lake Boga, which has water in it again, I don't think I can remember a time when there was water in it, it does seem to reguvenating the area, the caravan park had people in it and the local boat dealing seemed to be doing business.

A little further down the road is the Swan Hill Observatory.  If you are ever in the area, especially in summer, you should visit this place.  It's run by a colourful husband and wife and if you have an interest in space, or are jsut keen to see some amazing sites then they are more than willing to show you.  It is one of the best places of its type that I have been to.

From here it was the 60 kilometre ride back to Kerang where we had stopped the previous day however, this time we wouldn't be stopping, we'd continue on down the Loddon Valley Highway to Bendigo.  By now the weather had turned and it was starting to become bitterly cold. 

We pushed on and as I was leading the pack I was the first to come up across a two trailered cattle truck doing almost the same speed we were doing.  As I got closer I realised that fluid was spraying on me.  Oh my god I thought, was this cattle waste?  It certainly looked like it as my jeans started to turn a funny yellish brown colour.  I was being sprayed in water down poo.  I cranked it open and flew past at about 160kph, I could wait to get past that truck.

A little further down the road I cam across a horsefloat and the same thing started to happen, this time instead of coming from the horse it was actually starting to rain and come down quite fast.  I quickly decided that Serpentine would be the next stop, a place that has  crossroads and a service station and roadhouse on either side, as far as I could tell this was the entire town.

We stopped here and refuelled, both the bikes and then ourselves.  The dim sims were bloody good, and apparantly so was the hot chocolate.

From here it was just 47 kilometres to Bendigo but as the weather was still very cold it might be a trying ride so we headed there.  Once in Bendigo it was just a quick stop to put on the wet weather gear and then off on the down the Calder Freeway to home.  Amazingly 100 k's from home the sun came out and was actually quite nice, a pity it hadn't been like this the whole way.

In all my part of the Black Dog Ride covered just 950 kilometres over 3 days, and it was just a small part of the overall adventure, but by taking part I hope I was able to give something to the community.  I certainly go something from the ride and hope that I now have a greater understanding of mental illness, depression and bipolar disorder.

If you feel that you might be suffering from a mental illness it is nothing to be ashamed of.  Contact the Black Dog Institute; Lifeline or Beyond Blue for more information or help.

If you would like more information on the Black Dog Ride check out the website.

Black Dog Ride - Day 2

If day 1 of the Black Dog Ride was something special, then day 2 took things to a new level.

It all started with the lovely people of the Ascot Big 4 caravan park putting on a breakfast for us.  Pancakes and fruit, not something I would normally have for breakfast but very nice all the same.  They fact that they did this for us shows how important people take the ride and what it stands for.


Sidney Myer Place in Bendigo was a great
place to mee the locals.

The next step was for us all to head to the city centre and have our bikes on display at Sidney Myer Place for a few hours, while this took place it was a great chance for the public to not only look at our bikes but also to speak about depression and mental illness in general.  There was a great turn out, and the general feeling was the public did enjoy and appreciate our effort.  This is also where the Tasmanian riders joined us.

Our departure time was 11am but in the meantime we had to get fuel, the nearest service station being Caltex in the main street, wasn't this a mistake?  Yet as we rode our way through Bendigo on a route I didn't even know existed I couoldn't help but marvel at just how beautiful this city really is.

The ride through Bendigo showed just
how beautiful Bendigo is.

The first stop of the day was to be Charlton, where we would be treated to lunch by the locals Lions club.  This wasn't a problem but getting there started to be as a number of us found that the fuel from the Caltex servo in Bendigo was potentially contaminated as our bikes began to lose power and cough and fart.  Thankfully we made it there.

The 105 kilometre ride to Charlton was great, if not cold.  The people of Wedderburn were wonderful as they sat in the main street and cheered us on, this was just a sign of what was to come.

After a lunch of sausages, and a quick check of the bikes it was off to Kerang via Boort.  This meant that we would be taking some great back roads, and almost the entire length of the way people were coming out of their homes to wave us on.  At the time we didn't realise it but the Black Dog Ride has a special significance to this part of the world.

After 95 kilometres we arrived at Kerang where again the Lions club put on a morning tea for us.  It was here that we had a touching tribute to Maggie, who was a real character of the Black Dog Ride.  Maggie was last year awarded the oldest rider on the oldest bike award. yet sadly she passed away earlier this year after a fatal accident.  Many riders had tears has they remembered a great mate.

It was at Kerang I met too amazing people.  The first was some bloke wgo caught me admiring his bike, a beautiful Royal Enfield, the bike I almost bought before the Yamaha.  The second was the local Anglican priest.  He was covered in tatts and rings, and rode a Triumph Bonneville, yet he seemed to be more interested in my bike.  It's amazing the people you meet.

Before we left Kerang we were told that people of Swan Hill had got behind us so much that we would get a police escort into and through the town centre, before heading to our nights accomodation.

Oh Shit! Now I have no rear brakes.

The ride to Swan Hill was just 70 odd kilometres, and for the most part seemed simple enough, that is until I went to use my rear brake and found that the lever wouldn't return, what was more concerniung was that it seemed that the brakes weren't working at all.  Oh well, for the rest of this day I would have to use just the front brake.

When we got to Swan Hill we formed up behind the local highway patrol car did a lap of the mainstreet, before turning to the Big 4 caravan park on the Murray River.  It's a beautiful park, with extremely friendly staff, probably one of the best parks I have ever been to.

After settling into our cabins we had time for a quick shower and a bit of TV, and to our surprise the Black Dog Ride was on the national nine network news.  One of their journalists is taking part in the Sydney leg, Simon Bouda and so coverage is guaranteed, it's also going to be on the morning weather reports.

The second night of the Black Dog heard Ric Raftis give an
honest account of why he does this special event.

The second night of the ride saw us treated to a brilliant dinner again put on by the local Lions club.  Held at the townhall, this dinner saw a number of the local councillors attend and address us, as well as another presentation put on by Ric Raftis, where he touchingly admitted to us that he suffers from bipolar disorder and now works tirelessly to help those afflicted with mental illness.  He's truly a great man.  The night held more significance for Swan Hill as it is the area in Australia that has the highest suicide rate, and surprisingly most of these are young people.  The local council has worked tirelessly to reduce this horrendous trend and are very grateful for the work being done by the riders and Black Dog Institiute.  It was here that a 'Winston' Black Dog was also auctioned for over $300, a great effort.

Well now it's time to settled down and watch a bit of TV and then to bed.  The final day of the ride for me sees me having to try and fix my rear brakes before heading back home to Melbourne ... for those heading to Alice Springs, the journey has really only just begun.

Black Dog Ride - Day 1

There's no doubt about it, a good cause always brings out the best in people and day 1 of the Victorian leeg of the Black Dog Ride was no exception.  It was an early start at the BP Service Station at Calder Park and what a start it was.  Around 40 bikes lined up ready to tackle the appalling weather that had been sent our way.

The starting point near Calder Park brought terrible

conditions.  Everyone was trying to get their bike undercover.

As the rain cxame down even heavier we headed off towards our first destination, Heathcote, for a morning tea put on by the local Lions club.

We turned off the Calder Highway and headed towards Bulla on the Bulla-Diggers Rest Road.  I have never seen anything like, as continually had to traverse many 'water-crossings', the weather had been so bad that water was running off the hills and across the road.  In some places it was so deep we had to slow to almost walking pace.  It certainly wasn't the best of conditions for a low slung cruiser.

Once we were off this road and onto the Melbourne-Lancefield Road things improved although it did rain almost all the way to Heathcote.

The support we were given by the Lions club was fantastic, they put on hot drinks and plenty of sandwiches and biscuits, exactly what was needed to warm up and fill the belly.  It was only a 105 kilometre ride, but the cold and wet certainly made it painful, when the sun finally started to breakthrough it was great, especially as we were headig further towards the Great Dividing Range where it had snowed just the day before.

The next leg was to Shepperton, where again the Lions club would be helping us.  Another ride of around 105 kilometres, and now the sun was starting to shine unfortunately the wind wasd also starting to pickup.  We headed to Nagambie, the place where a hero of mine lives, Tony Gaze.  We went straight through this picturesque town and on towards Shepperton via the Goulburn Valley Highway.  Thankfully this was only a short run as the road is straight and boring.

As we had lunch at Shepperton, and got to know each other, it was pointed out how many cow statues there are in Shepperton.  It's amazing, they are all life size and yet painted in all sorts of weird and wonderful schemes.  It really is worth checking out.

The final leg for the day was a 123 kilometres to Bendigo, our resting place for the night.  Generally a trip to Bendigo would take only 90 minutes or so however, travelling this way, although it took all day, allowed for some beautiful country to be seen on roads you wouldn't normally use.  It was great as we headed through Tatura and Rushworth.

Once in Bendigo we headed straight to the Ascot Big 4 Caravan Park for our accomodation.  Modest little cabins, yet with a warm shower and even warmer bed.  Great!

Again the local Lions club was on hand to help us and put on a dinner at the Bendigo Bowls Club.  The meal simple home cooked fair, yet was very welcomed after a day of riding.  The night ended with a presentation about mental illness including depression; bipolar disorder; and suicide.  It was great to hear this poinnt of view.  Victorian ride organiser, Ric Raftis, was great with his presentation and sympathy.

The night finished with a raffle draw, and an auction and must've raised around a few thousand dollars for the Black Dog Institute.  Then it was back to the cabin to write this blog and watch a little Tora! Tora! Tora!

Can't wait for better weather tomorrow and a great ride to Swan Hill.

Ready To Tackle A Black Dog

It's just one more sleep until the start of the Black Dog Ride, a ride to Alice Springs to help raise awareness of depression and prevention of suicide.

While quite a few riders will go all the way to the red centre my ride will only take me as far as Swan Hill on the Victoria-New South Wales border, yet the message and the aim will still be the same.

The Black Dog Ride was started in 2009 by Steven Andrews who sadly lost his mother to suicide brought on by depression. 

In Australia, each year around 1,000,000 adults and 100,000 young people live with depression. More than 50% will not seek treatment.  The BDR is all about helping people understand and cope with this disease.

Join me and the other riders on our journey even if just a short one, I'll be blogging our adventures over the next few days.  You can also keep up to date with the ride on Channel 9, as reporter Simon Bouda will also do the entire journey and Morning Show presenter Steve Jacobs will also do his weather reports a few days along the ride.

Linda's Big Breakfast

There's no doubt that if you put on a good feed, for a good cause, people will come flocking and with their wallets open.

The Transaction Services Group at Computershare is no exception, especially the Support Services; Imaging Services; Classify; and Corporate Projects teams, who all helped raise over $500 with a cooked breakfast cooked and served by Linda Caligari.

Linda worked all morning, and even started at around 3am to make sure all of the food was ready and of the best quality.  Her friend Dina even came in to help with everything.

THanks everyone who bought a breakfast and a massive thank you to Linda and Dina, as well as everyone else who helped out.

How About A Long Round In Torquay

Thanks to many very generous donations of prizes I'm able to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through raffles and auctions.  The first being a great night away in one of Australia's leading resorts, and a golf one at that.

The Sands at Torquay, on Victoria's surf coast, is regarded as one of the leading golf resorts and here is a very cheap way for you to enjoy a night at the resort, where you can take in a round of golf, before retreating to one of the bars or restaurant, or even go for a surf if you like.

The next morning you will be treated to a full buffet breakfast before again being able to take in the sights of the surf coast and the Great Ocean Road.

This raffle costs only $2 per ticket or three for $5, and will be open for the whole of August and will be drawn on the 31st.  This is a fantastic prize worth almost $300.  If you would like to buy a ticket please email me at leigh.wilkins@bigpond.com

ACA & Kodak - Two Leaders In For The Long Ride

With the slogan "you press the button, we do the rest," George Eastman put the first simple camera into the hands of a world of consumers in 1888. In so doing, he made a cumbersome and complicated process easy to use and accessible to nearly everyone.

Today Kodak is known not only for photography, but also for images used in a variety of leisure, commercial, entertainment and scientific applications.   Its reach increasingly involves the use of technology to combine images and information--creating the potential to profoundly change how people and businesses communicate.

ACA Pacific is a private held Australian leader in the distribution of specialist information technology hardware and software solutions. With over 23 years of experience and continual growth, ACA Pacific has earned itself a reputation for having a thorough knowledge of its customers’ needs and a firm grasp of technology. Having evolved from a volume distributor of storage products to today’s successful value-added solutions provider, ACA Pacific's business approach emphasises customer service, excellence in product sales and technical knowledge and a continued commitment to the profitability of all channel partners through value-added services.

Together, both of these leaders, have joined the challenge of raising awareness and finding a cure for prostate cancer by coming in for the Long Ride.

The very generous nature of ACA Pacific and its staff has seen this leader in technology solutions join me on the epic 10,000 kilometre ride through a donation package which will see the company logo of both ACA Pacific and Kodak worn during the duration of the Long Ride.

It's the very generosity of great businesses like this that ensure the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia has the funds to do the great work that it does.

For more information on ACA Pacific and what they can offer your business please visit http://www.acapacific.com.au/

Community Support

There's no doubt that many towns throughout Australia get behind the Long Ride, and one such example is Cobar in central New South Wales.

Day two of the Long Ride will see the Victorian riders head straight up through the middle of NSW and the town of Cobar.  This town of around 5,500 people is one of the first to offer some support of my ride with the Cobar Business Association putting a call out to it's member businesses for support.

Through the great work of the Shire Council hopefully some local businesses will support a great cause and spread the word about mens health.  And hopefully we'll get to meet some great local people.

I'm Ugly

There's no doubt about it, one of the most important things I took on the last Long Ride was my pair of Ugly Fish Ultimate sunnies.

Considering my 'normal' glasses went flying off the bike on the first day I was bloody lucky that Ugly Fish make perscription inserts for their glasses and motorbike goggles.

Since the original 4000kms the Ugly's have been with me ever since and I couldn't ride without them, regardless of whether I'm wearing the open or full face helmet.  They've now been around for about 10,000k's.

The other great thing about Ugly Fish is that they supported my Long Ride by donating two pairs of their latest sunnies, all up helping to raise around $500 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.  The great news is that Ugly Fish have promised to help out again and come along for the ride and help raise funds.

There's no doubt about it that Ugly Fish are one of the best eyewear companies around especially the support they give to things like the Long Ride I'm doing but also things like the Black Dog Ride, raising awareness for depression and mental illness.

Before we get a few things happening with the Ugly's why not check out their range of great sunnies and get a pair or two for yourself.

Getting Ready For The Long Ride

It's on again, the Long Ride, and this time it will be epic. A 10,000km round trip to Cairns taking in central Victoria; New South Wales; and Queensland before turning right and heading towards Townsville before heading north to Cairns.

The return trip will see a massive ride down the spine of Australia, the Great Dividing Range.

With less than 300 days to go to the start of the ride the actual route has been set and plans are well under way to secure accomodation and set the fuel stops. There's also plenty of plans to get local businesses and community groups along the way involved. If you would like more information on how you can be involved please email me.

More information will be available in coming weeks and months however, the below will give a good guide of the journey taken on my Long Ride.

Saturday, May 4 - Melbourne to Hay

Sunday, May 5 - Hay to Bourke

Monday, May 6 - Bourke to Charleville

Tuesday, May 7 - Charleville to Barcaldine

Wednesday, May 8 - Barcaldine to Hughenden

Thursday, May 9 - Hughenden to Townsville

Friday, May 10 - Townsville to Atherton

Saturday, May 11 - Atherton to Cairns

Monday, May 13 - Cairns to Bowen

Tuesday, May 14 - Bowen to Rockhampton

Wednesday, May 15 - Rockhampton to Bundaberg

Thursday, May 16 - Bundaberg to Toowoomba

Friday, May 17 - Toowoomba to Tamworth

Saturday, May 18 - Tamworth to Bathurst

Sunday, May 19 - Bathurst to Albury

Monday, May 20 - Albury to Mansfield

Tuesday, May 21 - Mansfield to Melbourne

Face For Charity

How good is this?

The Red Bull Formula One team raced with a unique livery for the British Grand Prix over the weekend.  The idea being that 25,000 fans would pay to get their faces applied to the both the cars while retaining the regular Red Bull paint scheme.

Whatever was raised Red Bull would match dollar for dollar with all funds going to their own charitable organisation - Wings For Life.

What is Wings For Life?

“One must never give up hope!” These were the words of Heinz Kinigadner when he was faced with his son’s diagnosis “paraplegia” diagnosis, after Hannes was involved in a crash during a charity motocross race.

Hannes Kinigadner had his accident in 2003, at the age of 19, and has been tetraplegic ever since. His fate is representative of approximately 3 million people worldwide who are paralyzed due to an injury to their spinal cord.

Deeply moved by the fate of his son, the two-time Motocross World Champion founded the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation in July 2004, together with his friend, Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

Inspired by existing successes in research, the ambitious aim of Wings for Life was defined as follows:

In order to realize this vision, Wings for Life supports and finances the most promising research projects worldwide aimed at healing the injured spinal cord. An international scientific advisory board, consisting of the world’s most renowned scientists and medical doctors from the relevant areas, helps Wings for Life to select the most promising research projects.

The world’s leading scientists agree that paraplegia, caused by a traumatic spinal cord injury, will be curable one day. For a major breakthrough in science to be achieved, a lot of research needs to be done. With focus, diligence and the absolute will to reach the aim, our foundation moves step by step towards our goal.

The great initiative for the British Grand Prix saw the team raise 1 million Euros while their fans went for a ride. 

Being a self confessed Formula One nut and a big fan of Mark Webber I couldn't resist the chance to get a ride on a Formula One car, and Webber came through and won the race.

Noot only was this brilliant that Webber won but a great way to help research into curing a disability that shouldn't be a disability.

Enjoy A Night Away

In November last year a number of businesses supported my Long Ride through a number of donations of cash or products & services, all very much appreciated.

With planning for the Long Ride 2013 underway one of the original supporters, the Mercure Hotel, Geelong, has come back on board.

The very generous Mercure Geelong,

no better place to stay.

Mercure Geelong is well positioned in the Geelong city centre within an easy walk to the Geelong waterfront, shopping areas and entertainment options. Located only a short drive from the Great Ocean Road and Avalon Airport, Mercure Geelong features 137 rooms with bay or city views, plus upgraded privilege rooms, apartments and suites, along with the delicious Zenith restaurant and bar, an outdoor swimming pool, a gymnasium and conference facilities for up to 400 guests.

The Mercure Geelong has very generously donated a room for one night, complete with a buffet breakfast the next morning.  What better way to start a ride down the Great Ocean Road or stay at the Mercure on your way home.

In coming months the stay at the Mercure Geelong will be used to generate funds for the Long Ride, stay tuned for how you could get your hands on it.

If you would like more information about the best place to stay in Geelong please visit Mercure Geelong

GoPro ... goes flying

In recent times one of the best ‘toys’ around has been theGoPro Hero and Hero 2 cameras.  If you’re into motor racing or any TV show that does in car reviews you would’ve seen footage from one of these cameras and possibly the camera itself (a little grey box mounted to the windscreen).  These little cameras have offered high resolution images and video at a consumer price, meaning everyone can start recording their favourite rides.

On the last Long Ride I had one that recorded the entire journey and gave me some great photos of the special occasion.  The camera worked flawlessly for the entire 4,000 kilometre ride, in either blazing sun or icy alpine conditions.

Since then it had been used for the occasional ride but only did a few hundred kilometres, the whole time using the rollbar mounting kit to attach it to my bikes handlebars and indicator mounts.  It seemed to be perfect.

Recently I was riding, trying to get some images and footages to promote the next Long Ride, everything was going well as we rode around the Blackwood State Forest in Victoria until we pulled up in Trentham to refuel.  To my horror I was told that something had flown off my bike about 30 kilometres back, at first it was thought to be road debris, it was in fact my GoPro.

There was no way I was ever going to find the camera and what was left of the mounting bracket, and even if I did, what sort of condition would it be in?  At 100kph I doubt that the case would’ve survived let along the camera.



The broken mount with the clamp still attached to the indicator

bracket.



What really pissed me off was that the camera had been mounted to the left rear indicator mount exactly as the instructions suggest and yet the plastic mount for the camera had sheared straight through.  One part of the sheared mount looked like it had cracked while the other looked like it had been flawed right from the start; the break point was clean and straight.

What amazed me was that this camera and especially the mount had been promoted as being for motorsport, hence it being a rollbar mount.  Granted my bike is a V-twin and there’s some obvious vibration but nothing like what you would get in a racecar that this mount is marketed to, and yet it still seems that the vibration (and perhaps the harmonics caused by such vibration) was able to shear straight through the plastic mount.  This would be bloody dangerous if mounted in a racecar and the same thing happened, this new loose projectile could be deadly.

Despite the fact that I suddenly found myself close to $450 down the crapper (camera plus memory card), what gave me a fair dose of the poos was that it seems the GoPro warranty doesn’t cover such a breakage and loss ... what bullshit, it was a clear fault in the mount that caused the problem, especially as I had mounted according to the instructions.



Clearly if the mount can't handle a sluggish old cruiser, it

won't handle a motorsport application ... be careful.



To GoPro’s credit they did offer a replacement camera at half price (better than nothing I guess) as well as a new mounting kit of my choice.  This meant I got a camera with the motorsport mount plus the handlebar / seat post mount, and on top of the rollbar mount clamp that is still attached to my bike but the lesson learnt is: don’t trust the mounts that come with the camera.  The camera might be great but the mounts are shite, obviously not very strong.

My suggestion is to attached some sort of cord to the camera case so that the camera can be tethered to the thing you are mounting it to.  This way if the mount does break the camera still has some chance of surviving and not flying off into the wilderness.  I was also regularily check the mount and the condition of it.

Anyway, out of pocket and slightly pissed off, the new camera will be put to good use and hopefully survive at least the next Long Ride.

The Dirties are back

Thank God they're back ... Dirt River Radio played their first gig for quite some time last night at the iconic Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda, Melbourne.

The gig was a celebration of their new single Antique Store Girl, and what a cracker it is.  This means a new album can't be too far away.  This can only be a great thing, there's nothing better than being on the open road listening to these guys from Melbourne, can't wait for this one.

Check out more of the Dirties are www.dirtriverradio.com

Black Dog Ride

August this year sees the annual Black Dog Rider take place, a one week ride to raise awareness of a disease that affects 1 in 5 Australians - Depression.

This, like many other great rides, started as one man's journey and has since become one of the great motorcycling adventures.  What it has done to help people suffering from Depression and their family and friends is simpling amazing and I for one can't wait to do my little bit to help.

The ride officially starts on August 18 with riders from all over the country starting their journey to the heart of Australia - Alice Springs.  The Melbourne leg will start from the BP service station at Calder Park before heading to Bendigo via Heathcote and Shepperton for the first day of riding.  Here the Lions club will put on a dinner and presentation.

The next day is a ride to Swan Hill for the second night.  While this is probably the extent of my Black Dog Ride it will be a great way to see a little bit of country Victoria, a great way to share experiences with other riders and also a great way to help a fantastic cause.

If you would like to check out the Black Dog Ride and possibly experience the comradeship of such a great event then visit www.blackdogride.com.au for more information, or send me a message and I'll do what I can to point you in the right direction.