The 350km charity bike ride organised by Lennox Head’s Boaty Boys and the Ballina-on-Richmond Rotary Club has raised over $30,000 for DV-related charities.
Over 40 riders took on a tough, hilly route, starting in Bonalbo, then travelling to Eltham, where there was a charity auction, before riding round to Tyalgum and Uki via Goonengerry and Murwillumbah, and finally returning to Lennox Head for celebrations with family and supporters on Sunday.
Funds raised will be split between DV Safe Phone, which provides mobile phones for people fleeing domestic violence, and NAPLAN, which delivers the Love Bites program into local schools, teaching young people about safe, respectful relationships.
Riders came from across the Northern Rivers region, men and women of all ages, united by the desire to be part of something bigger than themselves.
They came together on their bikes to do something tangible about DV, which continues to be a major problem across the Northern Rivers and Australia.
The 350 km distance was chosen because there are an average of 350 calls for help from people suffering domestic and family violence in NSW every day.
Don’t stand by, stand up
Co-organiser Grant McGregor of the Boaty Boys said, ‘Among other things, we’re a mental health group. We look out for each other. But, if we see DV and don’t do anything we are complicit. Don’t stand by, stand up.’
Bay FM’s Nick Mercer and his partner Nikki are keen cyclists who usually do around 150 kms a week – the couple relished the idea of the three-day ride.
‘I love riding and this was a great opportunity to do a multi-day ride,’ Nikki told The Echo. ‘We’re actually heading to Spain in a couple of weeks to do a 17-day ride.
‘This ride is amazing. The energy amongst these guys is incredible, they make it so much fun. Day one was a beautiful day with a great tailwind. It was a great route and great support by Rotary and really well organized.’
Nick Mercer said Against the Wind was a brilliant event for fitness and a great cause. ‘These guys do a charity event every year. I thought this one was very poignant – domestic violence. We’ve got a lot of it in the Northern Rivers. Too much.’
As for the riding aspect, Nick says cycling is a love/hate relationship. ‘I love the fact that you can get out in the air, you can challenge yourself, and you can lose weight, or you can get your heart rate up. I can’t really run anymore, so I need a way to sort of balance my weight, so it’s the perfect sport for me.’
Big finish
The riders were welcomed home by family and friends at Club Lennox.
Grant McGregor said, ‘We can’t thank our partners Rotary enough – they have been waking up at six in the morning to cook us bacon and egg rolls. They were out on the road with us every step of the way.
‘It’s been such a longstanding relationship we’ve had with these guys. They were driving the vehicles, helping us out with transportation. It’s just huge. We couldn’t have done it without them and we look forward to doing more stuff with them in the future.’
Grant thanked the entire community of helpers and last, but not least, the cyclists. ‘I’d like to thank the riders, everyone that bought a ticket, and did this challenge, this crazy challenge – 350 kilometers we’ve just finished.
‘You guys have been amazing. It was such a good group. It was a really good mix. It’s usually just the Boaty Boys, so opening it up this year to the public as a ticketed event was something new.
‘It was just a really good experience for everyone all around with such a good mix of personalities, abilities, everyone jelled together really well.
‘A lot of the guys aren’t pro riders – there wasn’t much preparation, it was just all determination, and there’ll be a few sore legs tomorrow – but everyone has just been amazing,’ he said. ‘I also want to give a massive shout out to the families of the riders – the sacrifice in training, the sacrifices in time spent away from you.’
Co-organiser Dave Harmon, from the Ballina-on-Richmond Rotary Club, who also rode some sections of the challenge and has been instrumental in the club’s anti-DV campaign, thanked everyone involved.
‘I’ve been in Rotary for a long time, and I’ve done a lot of stuff, but this is one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. As far as volunteering goes, the energy that this group brought, and commitment to make Against The Wind a success was really something.
‘It’s meant to hurt, and we pushed ourselves all the way. I’m feeling it now, I’ve got to be honest!’
Massive issue
Dave Harmon said family violence remains a major issue throughout Australia and the world. ‘Only a couple of weeks ago, we had a past commissioner from Queensland at our Rotary club. He said in Queensland last year, they had 200,000 cases of domestic and family violence.
‘He said general duties police spend somewhere between 70 and 90 per cent of their work in domestic and family violence. So as a group here, we’ve got a lot of men and some great women too. This is where it all starts, and we’re the ones that can bring about change. We can’t do it on our own, but together with our communities, we can make a difference.
‘In Ballina over the last several years, we’ve had a 47 per cent increase of reporting of domestic and family violence. That’s comes from the campaign getting it out to community. Women feel heard, valued, believed and confident to report and that’s what this campaign is doing,’ Dave Harmon said.
‘We’re not just changing lives, we are saving lives. So thank you so much.’
Life and death
One of the two charities receiving funds from the Against the Wind ride is DV Safe Phone, an organisation that gives domestic violence victims access to a safe phone and credit, which can mean the difference between life and death for those fleeing dangerous situations.
DV Safe Phone representative Nikki Firmin visited allied clubs and services across the Northern Rivers over the three days of the ride.
She told The Echo that DV Safe Phone started in 2020, at the height of COVID, and is growing fast. ‘It’s all about getting the word out there to the community and to corporate organizations, that they don’t have to send phones to landfill, they can actually do some good, and they can repurpose them.
Ms Firmin says her charity has given out over 18,500 phones. ‘This equates to 18,500 lives across our country. And recent data from the Bureau of Statistics is that there are over four million known victims of domestic violence in Australia.
‘The reality is that one in four women and one in 16 men have experienced a form of domestic – family or sexual violence in their lives. Getting support from events like this can be a game changer for us.’
It’s not too late to support the anti-DV cause via the Against the Wind website.
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