As a child, Mike King dreamt of running a marathon in the Olympics.
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About 12 years ago, he traded in running shoes for cycling shoes and now he’s ticking off an item on his bucket list as he prepares to cycle from Perth to Newcastle.
It all started after he heard from an old friend he hadn’t had much to do with in the past 30 years. His friend was looking to take part in the annual Ride for Compassion Coast to Coast which raises awareness and funds for children in dire situations.
Mike learned about Compassion through the Gloucester Baptist Church and remembers being told a story about a 14 year old girl in Thailand who was left to take care of her siblings.
“Their house had burnt down,” he recalled. “Compassion rebuilt the house.”
Not only that, but they assisted with getting additional support for one of the children with special needs. It was a story that stuck with Mike.
“We take for granted that our children will have food on the table, a roof over their head and an education.”
He feels that Compassion takes a personal, one on one approached to children living in poverty.
“When you impact one child with this program, it has a flow-on affect to the family and their community,” he explained.
Mike and his wife, Jenny sponsor two children through Compassion, but this is the first time he has taken on such a big fundraising task.
Each rider is required to raise a minimum of $10,000 before they can get involved in the ride.
Mike starts his adventure from Perth on Saturday, September 15, endeavouring to ride just over 4300 kilometres across to Newcastle arriving on Tuesday, October 16. After a day’s rest, he’s planning to cycle the rest of the way home, looking to ride back in Gloucester on Thursday, October 18.
He began training in October last year, riding on average six times per week, close to 18 hours and 362 kms.
Mike has reached the $10,000 and has revised is target to $15,000.
To sponsor Mike on his journey visit http://rideforcompassion.com/michael.