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
Friday, 28 September 2012
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
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
Sunday, 16 September 2012
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
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
Thursday, 13 September 2012
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.
Saturday, 1 September 2012
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.
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.
Monday, 20 August 2012
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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. |
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 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. |
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. |
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.
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