Three women on a mission plan to ride their eBikes along the NSW Coast from the Victorian border to the Queensland border and visit ocean pools on the way in a quest to raise money for three deserving charities.
Linda Cash, Meg Main and Jeanette Mouatt will ride 1,838 kilometres, from Genoa on the Victoria/NSW border, starting on February 4, and plan to arrive at Tweed Heads on the Queensland border somewhere between four and five weeks later.
The trio, who live in Uki, Bray Park and Kingscliff, will be visiting as many ocean pools as they can along the way to swim and reflect.
The women want to raise awareness for three charities – the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the Uki Refugee Project and Myeloma Australia, while at the same time promoting the benefits of exercise, fun and friendship.
They also hope to raise awareness as to how riding an eBike has allowed each of them to ride further and longer – a reference to both distance and age – and to promote cycling in general as a great sport for all.
The riders
Linda Cash AKA A Girl and her eBike, had her life changed dramatically when COVID hit. ‘I had a job in international tourism, so I decided to turn that lemon into lemonade. With my first JobKeeper payment, I bought ‘Sparky’ and riding is now part of my passion for life and making a difference.’ Starting the blog A Girl and her eBike has kept Linda busy over the past two years, sharing her love of nature and a sustainable lifestyle.
‘I have travelled over 12,000km on Sparky in that time. With a family history of breast cancer, and having many inspirational friends who’ve navigated the breast cancer journey, my charity of choice to support is the National Breast Cancer Foundation, providing Breast Cancer Research in Australia.
Meg Main is the oldest of the riders at 73. Meg has many interests but only two abiding passions – riding her bicycle and Human Rights. Meg’s eBike Arty (short for Artichoke Green – a reference to its beautiful colouring) came into her life in late 2020.
‘My charity of choice is the Uki Refugee Project – borne out of a small group of concerned citizens in the Tweed Shire distressed at Australia’s treatment of those seeking refuge in Australia.
‘The Uki Refugee Project is a member of Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia and have applied to sponsor two people in danger in Afghanistan to safety in Australia.’
Jeanette Mouatt decided to rekindle her love of bike riding just over three years ago upon retirement, but found in her late 60s that the hills were a little too challenging on her regular road bike.
Jeanette met Linda and Meg through their shared love of Dragon Boating. Both were keen cyclists and, with some encouragement, she purchased her CUBE eBike (CUB-E). This opened new horizons for exploring the beautiful Tweed Valley and beyond. ‘I also love swimming – especially in ocean rock pools. My grandfather swam every day in the Bondi Ocean Pool, dragging me along during school holidays.
‘In 2021 I lost my brother Keith to Multiple Myeloma and my lifelong friend Heather to Breast Cancer.’
All money raised goes to the charities
This ride is fully self-funded by the riders – any monies raised during the Ocean Pool Odyssey will go directly to the charities they are promoting.
Linda will be sharing the Ocean Pool Odyssey on her social channels, ‘A Girl and her eBike’. You can show your support by following along on Facebook and Instagram.
You can donate to the charities via the ride’s Go Fund Me page.
Any monies raised during our Ocean Pool Odyssey will be divided equally between the three charities. If you wish to support a particular charity, please make a notation on your GoFundMe donation, and they will ensure your donation is handled accordingly.
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