It's been three years since Mike King hopped on his bicycle to ride from Perth to Newcastle and he's training to do it all again. And this time, he's taking his wife Jenny along with him.
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He completed the 4000 kilometre, one month long Ride for Compassion in 2018 which saw him raise more than $16,000 and awareness for children in dire situations around the world.
Given the current global pandemic, he's keen to do it again.
"We're aiming to raise $15,000 for highly vulnerable children. COVID in these countries has really been a struggle," Mike said.
Mike loves going for a ride but he loves doing it for a purpose even more.
"I can get fit and make a difference in people's lives," he said.
When he found out Compassion was looking to run an event in September this year, he was eager to sign up and started training in October last year.
"Once you've done it once. It's a little addictive," Mike smiled.
But this time, Jenny is insisting on coming along and volunteering as part of the support team.
"She had a lot of fun supporting us from the sidelines, she didn't want to stay behind this time," Mike said.
Being a support person isn't a free ride. Jenny is also expected to raise money for the event.
A team rider like Mike, needs to raise at least $10,000 to take part, while the support team need to raise $5000 each.
Outside of that, the riders and support crew pay for their own expenses during the trip.
In an attempt to start raising funds, Jenny has started doing something she's never done before - dye her hair.
And not just standard colours, like brunette or blonde - no - she's letting the donors choose.
With each donation, they get to suggest a colour and once a month, a colour is randomly picked and Jenny has to go with it.
So far her hair has been purple, and pink with green stripes.
Former Gloucester hairdresser, Kimberly Martz supplies the dye and helps with Jenny's transformation.
The Ride for Compassion will start from Perth on September 15 and runs for 28 days.
At this stage, 36 cyclists from across Australia, Kenya and the USA are set to ride from the beaches of Western Australia, across the Nullarbor, to Newcastle arriving on October 12.
For more information visit www.compassion.com.au/events/coast-to-coast.To support Mike and Jenny visit rideforcompassion.raisely.com/michaeljennyking.
Anne Keen
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
Anne has been a journalist with the ACM (Australia Community Media) since 2016. She primarily works at the Gloucester Advocate but also contributes to the Manning River Times.
