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.
What a great night!
Well, what a great night last night, an absolute ball!
Where to start though?!
Some of the unforgettable were the incredible humans who made the trip from far and wide and the generosity they brought! And then we’d have to mention ‘The Suspects’ (the band), Jack who was on film, Mark who does the groundwork, and Di who is the fundraising expert, you all played a huge part in making the event happen thank you!
Throughout the night we managed to raise roughly 5k to facilitate the ‘Takin’ on Tassie’ ride!
Dave released a song about ‘Takin on Tassie’ that will be made into a music video.
And we released a music video that hasn’t been given an official title yet, maybe you could provide it with one?!
We really hope you all had an absolute blast, we did!
Now, turning our attention to the Marrawah INN fundraiser on the 15th of March and the kickoff to the 3 points ride.
Stay tuned on Instagram.
Happy in my hoodies on any day!
Well, we’ve (mainly me on this one) been busy, designing some new KICKASS merch!
Dark Colour version. Link on picture.
There’s plenty more we’re that came from, AKA the merch store!
I’ve also got a bit of advice on what else is needed, that’s a solid start though!
Hoping to get a bit of filming done this week, fingers crossed and then it’d be editing a cracking down on to sponsorship, that’s the general gist and direction.
No Hoodie, Link in picture
If you want to get involved, contact us and we will get back to you!
PS the full range of clothing is on the Merch site.