Hartley Lifecare Ability Cycle Challenge 2011

The 12th Hartley Lifecare Ability Cycle Challenge was held from Friday 25 to Monday 28 November with 320 participants including cyclists, volunteers and support crew taking on the challenge of completing the arduous 450km ride from Canberra to Mt Kosciusko and return. The Challenge is a team event with the ride being the culmination of months of fundraising for disability services in Canberra.

The ride featured teams riding in bunch formation and was run across two stages with Stage One leaving Canberra’s Boomanulla Oval on Friday and returning from Jindabyne on Sunday with Stage Two departing Boomanulla on Saturday and returning to Canberra on Monday.

While most riders come from Canberra many come from interstate to participate in this unique event which also helps promote tourism, cycling and employment in the Snowy Mountains as well as meet its primary purpose of raising funds and awareness for disability services.

Ambassador for 2011 – Paul Crake

This year’s Ambassador was Paul Crake a former elite mountain and stair runner who won the Empire State Building run several times. Switching to pursue a career as a professional cyclist in Europe, Paul participated in the Cycle Challenge in 2005 and was due to ride again in 2006. However, during a race in New Zealand Paul was one of several riders hit by fierce crosswinds. This resulted in a fall in which Paul suffered back injuries that left him a paraplegic. Hartley Lifecare and the Cycle Challenge participants were honoured to have Paul return this year as Ambassador, Guest Speaker and Ride Coordinator

Stage One – Friday to Sunday

This year Stage One Day One featured steady rain for the entire day, making the ride a real test of character as well as fitness. Heavy rain overnight on the mountain resulted in the second day for Stage One being cancelled for safety reasons. However, the weather was better for their final day ride back to Canberra with riders enjoying a tail wind.

Stage Two – Saturday to Monday

Stage Two also started from Boomanulla Oval in Canberra with rain but conditions improved as the teams travelled south along the Monaro Highway. Stage Two were the lucky ones this year as the weather was fine, allowing them to complete the ride to Charlotte Pass and back to the Jindabyne Sport Recreation Centre, the event base for the four days. On Monday Stage Two had good conditions for the run home. The teams also successfully ‘passed’ the ACT Police’s Random Breath Testing operation on the run into the finish.

Despite the weather, this year’s Challenge was a great success with riders returning home safely, all with weary bodies but happy to know they had participated in one of Australia’s unique challenges while helping supporting people living with disabilities.

The Teams performed amazingly in their year-long fundraising activities and reached a new record in funds raised of $445,000 exceeding all of Hartley Lifecare’s expectations. Our sincere thanks and congratulations go to all participants, their families and supporters, businesses and government departments who supported the teams in their fundraising efforts for the months of hard work raising these funds and preparing for the ride.

We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the tandem cyclists, including several riders with disabilities, for their participation in the ride and the challenging conditions.

To support this event a small army of volunteers perform essential roles to ensure the safety and well-being of the riders. These roles include ‘chow’ crews who feed the riders on the road, marshals, ride co-ordinators, lead and follow drivers to keep the riders safe, a photographer and ambulance crews.  A huge Thank You to all of our volunteers in the teams and across the event, without you the Challenge would not have been able to be run.

We would also like to thank the New South Wales Police, the Road Traffic Authority, the Cooma-Monaro Shire Council, the Snowy River Shire Council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Cycling Australia and the staff and volunteers who run Boomanulla Oval (our start and finish venue) for their valuable support and assistance in the running of the event.

All monies raised from the Cycle Challenge are used to provide respite care beds (a single bed costs $150,000 per year to fund) and essential community and transport services for people living with disabilities in the ACT.

Well known local photographer, John Lafferty again volunteered as the official photographer for the event taking hundreds of photos. To see pictures of this year’s event as well as previous Cycle Challenges, please visit www.lafferty.com.au