Moyston Music ... A Great Way to Test Some Gear

The Australia Day weekend saw a new music festival arise, it didn't have big name international acts, it didn't have masses of drunks not really interested in the music, and it didn't have so many stages that you couldn't see everything.

In fact the inaugural Moyston Music Festival had none of the aforementioned, it had just one stage with great local acts, playing in front of appreciative fans of music.

Mick Thomas was a highlight at Moyston

Moyston is about 20 minutes outside of Ararat at the foot of the Grampians in country Victoria, an ideal place for a music festival and an ideal place to test the camping gear that will be used during the Long Ride.



Besides beer being just $3.50 a can, about a third of what you would get charged at the Big Day Out, for me the highlights where headline act Mick Thomas (of Weddings, Parties, Anything fame) and St Kilda lads Dirt River Radio.  Another highlight came at about 1am when two old blokes, one with a Harley and the other a Triumph America, started up the Harley and while it thundered away the owner proceeded to proclaim, "I just wanted to hear f'en Barnsey."  Ah bogans, they're everywhere.  It was pretty funny, as everyone was trying to get to sleep.

The little tent, sleeping bag, and an array of self-inflating mattresses and pillows where pretty comfortable, but don't know how they will go after a hard day of long distance riding - time will tell.

As I dosed off I couldn't help but think what a great day of music it had been, especially seeing the Dirties playing their new stuff as well as their 'classics'.  I certainly hope the Moyston Music Festival returns for a second year.

Fleming's Won By Fire Victim

A little over a year ago fire ravaged the home of Joan Ive, leaving her and her family with little more than the clothes they were wearing.  Since then Joan has fought back to rebuild not only her home but also her house.

It was fitting that the latest raffle to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through my Long Ride was, a beautiful weeping cherry kindly donated by Flemings Trees, was won by Joan.  Who says it will pretty much be the first plan in her new garden.

The raffle raised over $200, thank you to everyone who entered, thank you to Flemings for such a great prize.  Congratulations Joan, I can't think of more deserved winner.

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.