The 2 Points, Dates are set!
The countdown begins, the expectations are high, Christmas being just around the corner is one reason, but in my mind it's all about the next ride. And I want the buzz to happen!
My question to you is, are you a keen cyclist or a leisurely ride person? Either way, I reckon we’ve hit the right note on the balance between challenging but not overbearing. Also we are really invested in trying to promote inclusion through riding, so we welcome everyone who wants to take part in this our latest adventure. You can do as little or as much as you want!
Now you're interested, let's get down to the BIZ.
The starting date will be Sunday, the 22nd of February, 2026. Leaving from Howlong (40kms west of Albury/Wodonga) and landing in Canberra on Sunday, the 1st of March. This arrival leads right into Childhood Stroke Awareness week, which starts on Monday, the 2nd of March. Double the impact, I reckon!
The distance for the entire route is approximately 450 km over the 8 days. We have factored in a rest day in the middle. To see the layout of the route, click Join Journey.
Now you’re really interested, aren’t you?
Why don’t you become a part of this fantastic campaign!
The reason we are riding to Canberra is to call upon the Government to act on Childhood Stroke. There are so many unanswered questions for young stroke survivors, their families, friends, and wider communities.
For me, I’ve got to get down to the BIZ, and the other day I did. I got back on the trike after transitioning from my E-assist AZUB trike back onto a FULLY manual trike (same trike but we've removed the motor, etc.). Hard yakka, human-powered BABY! This is the first time that I’ve ridden a manual trike since before the crash back in November 2021. I’ve been taking the easy option, haven’t I! That little test ride was a real toughy, but I'm alive, aren’t I! I’ve got approximately 3 months to train….. I like leaving things late, don’t I?
As one of The Living End’s song titles states, ‘White Noise’, which means one constant volume, LOUD, and this is what we want!!!
I really appreciate your support.
Sometimes, well a lot of the time really, the road is long and can be lonely so having you riding beside me is a real blast and helps make the kms go so much faster.
There are other ways you can be part of this ‘White Noise’: A) Join and Ride, B) follow us on the Socials, C) Donate, D) buy the Merch
We wanted to let you all know the dates well before Christmas, so you can start preparing for the ride, right?
Have a lovely Christmas and New Year, stay safe, healthy and happy! Bring on 2026, WE ARE on a mission!
Cheers
Tommy and the TEAM!
The Howlong to Canberra MERCH!
We’ve wasted no time. After the success of the 3 points in raising awareness and funds (took the total over 150k!) as well as the exposure through the Merch (cheers Mark, a big helper on this), we have designed yet another RIPPER Tee Shirt and Hoodie.
This time it is connected to our ‘Howlong to Canberra’ ride. Which is approximately a 450 km journey to Parliament House to ring the doorbell and start asking the question, “why haven't you acted on childhood stroke, it's a major issue, it needs attention?
The ‘PRODUCTIVITY’ and quality of life of an individual stroke survivor is more likely to be diminished due to impairments, whether these are physical, emotional, cognitive, mental ect., ect.,” we need more funding and research!
With the next chapter, The 2 Points, starting in late Feb and most likely spanning a week (TBC), we are going to need voices big or small, we are going to need a lot of help in the background, we want people riding with us. We need people rallying behind us. Like they say, a speck of sand does nothing; 10,000 sand granules count for something!
So if you can support the Merch, this will give emphasis to our cause and spread the word!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Firstly, I'll recap on the ‘Takin on Tassie’ EPIC experience, and to start off with I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to do this journey because of:
A) the willingness by the support crew, that’s loose terminology cause we had a lot of people involved, AKA the family and friends who came along for the ride to give hands on support, help, engage in spreading the word, it’s my definition of community something that Bendigo Bank does so well and
B) I was lucky enough to be in the position to be able do the ride. I know first hand the effects of stroke and disability alike and without community and/or support it can be a huge disadvantage!
So over the course of the 3 Points, Takin on Tassie journey we covered 894 kms over the 23 days and managed to raise $21,648. Which in comparison to the 4 Points was a huge feat going by kilometers/dollar ratio!
Another thing is we played a cumulative elevation game on Instagram and FB the final figure of the entire journey was, 9248m. The winners will be released over the respective sites.
How was I feeling towards the end and post the ride?
Reaching Hobart was the hardest part of the journey, also the ride out of Hobart to Sandfly was a big challenge, with the wind in our face as well as the most amount of rainfall for the entire journey, in one day! However, Heath and I had some great company with both Eddie and Paul joining us, also escorting us out of Hobart and knowing the best roads to take, which was super handy!
Then we decided to go to the Longley International Hotel for a bev…. LOL, do you know the band Dragon? Well, they were at the pub,, good news though they’d just finished, and the people were leaving SO we COULD get a drink, but the amount of people, jeeeeeez!
The rest of the ride was pretty cruisy, just sometimes taking a longer time than bargained for. The issues with the trike were all before Hobart. Essentially, we needed three trike checks in the space of 10 days, There were two issues. The first was the brakes needed bleeding (twice) which was fine on the climbs, but the descents were a different story, when your going down a hill 50 km+ and you're pressing the brake and you've got no brake lever left, a major issue. The other one was on St Mary’s Pass my chain guard partly broke off, due to my chain tube located next to the boom to protect my ankle from rubbing on the chain, it went over the chainring/guard. Now the problem with that was we were halfway up the Pass and it was narrow, anyway we made it up and the next day we actually ripped the chain guard off which had its own issue as the chain would fall off the front chain ring every time I changed it from 4th to 5th gear. It needed fine fixing! Actually it was easily solved but it took a day to do. The bike shop bolted a piece of metal to the boom so everytime it got knocked off the chain ring the piece of metal would knock it back in, after that we were all smooth riding but before that time, there were a few questions….
Doing the last day with friends was epic, simple as that. Check out this clip.
So what's next?
Well, all this riding, of the 4 & 3 points journeys, has been to raise funds to put towards research, well, that’s been the ambition. Unfortunately, we haven't raised enough to get this off the ground. However, some of the funds have been put into other areas around childhood stroke, such as raising awareness, education and supportive resources. We are certainly happy about this, because it’s highlighting the awareness of childhood stroke, which is JUST as important!
Alas, I think it’s time to call on the government to ACT on this - enough is enough!
Bear with me, please. So this was highlighted by AI off Google Chrome; it’s a 2024 AIHW report:
“A report done by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) found that children with disabilities are more likely to experience adverse socio-economic outcomes, including lower levels of employment and education, and higher poverty rates. This highlights the long-term economic consequences of childhood disability.”
Putting this into the perspective of the up to 520 kids suffering a stroke each year, not to mention the 120 babies that will suffer… when we are talking about ‘productivity’ (the government fckin loves that terminology) it is a huge loss.
Also, the upper statement hasn't mentioned the burden and toll on the parents and their income….
For this reason, I intend to ride, during Childhood Awareness Week 2026, from ‘Howlong to Canberra’ and on reaching Parliament House, ask why they haven’t ACTED on this issue?
Again, it’ll take a lot of groundwork, and I couldn't do any of this without my community, so I’m forever grateful for the support and aid!
Stay tuned.
