Cycle to End Poverty
Kirsty Robertson, CEO of Caritas Australia and Richard Landels, Advancement Director, will be cycling 900km over 9 days from Sydney to Melbourne to help break the cycle of poverty.
Kirsty and Richard's ride will cross over difficult and challenging terrain to put their minds and bodies to the test as they fundraise for vulnerable communities. They will meet with local schools and parish communities along the way before finishing at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 9 Update
An update from Kirsty:
Our final day on the road was a very pleasant cycle for about 30km into Melbourne, where we were greeeted by family and Caritas Australia staff.
We met with Archbishop Comensoli who was interested to hear about our ride and the parishes and schools that we met along the way. After a wonderful Mass held by Archbishop Comensoli at St Patrick's Cathedral we enjoyed a delicious lunch with our families and then a much-needed rest.
We're both thrilled to have made it to the end and to have reached our fundraising goal of $50,000.
I'd like to thank everybody who supported us along the way: Alicia, Paige, Kerry Stone and many more. It has also been heartening and encouraging to meet so many students, teachers and parishioners on our journey, and to read words of encouragement from our colleagues, friends and family. We truly could not have done it without you all.
One thing I know that we will both take away from this experience is that Caritas Australia is at its best when it is “in relationship” with others - be they other staff, supporters across Australia or communities across the world. We are called to reach out and to build relationships of love and justice. This is our greatest strength and what helps us to achieve ambitious goals, whether they be cycling from Sydney to Melbourne or ending the cycle of poverty.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 8 update - 30th April
We all woke in the early hours of the morning to the sounds of very heavy rain (we later learnt from a milkbar owner it was 24mm) luckily by the time we headed off the skies had cleared and a a beautiful sunrise greeted us.
We followed the railway line through undulating hills with gum trees, kangaroos and sheep to keep us company. The pleasurable riding was short lived as the next stage involved the freeway which was now getting very busy with semi trailers travelling a little too close for our liking. Paige did some amazing protective moves to keep us safe.
Our teamwork is now down to formula one status with bikes on and off the roof timed to the seconds and food stops turning into car bonnet buffets.
We are now 30km out of Melbourne - so close and yet so far! Tonight we are heading to mass and then a supper with a parish in Craigieburn. And tomorrow- here comes Melbourne.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 7 update - 29th April
An update from Kirsty
Great day today until………
Let’s start with the great part. We rode about 40km to FCJ college Benalla where Kerry Stone met us. Absolutely beautiful buildings and lovely school. Then another 40km to St John’s in Euroa - probably the cutest school with the most adorable kids we have met on our journey. A stroll around Euroa led us to delicious jam and custard donuts and a surprisingly bustling little town.
Then I fell off my bike (no injuries except my pride) and Richard managed to get two flat tires in the course of five minutes. After that we decided we had had enough cycling for today!
Luckily our dinner spot has redeemed the day and we are ready to go tomorrow - although at this stage we have four creaking knees, one sore wrist, one aching ankle and some stones in our hair. (And let’s not mention our bottoms!)
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 6 update - 28th April
An update from Kirsty
Holbrook was originally called Germantown but it was later re-named after an English submariner, Commander Norman Holbrook VC. So we shouldn’t have been surprised when we cycled past a submarine - nonetheless it does seem like a pretty unusual sight in rural NSW. The ride today was best described as long and wet. We needed every inch of our reflective and waterproof gear as the rain fell. The low point was when Richards chain popped off and we had to do bicycle repairs on the side of the freeway with a dead kangaroo nearby.
We cycled through Albury and crossed over the Murray into Victoria. The Murray is one of the longest navigable rivers in the world. It's 2508 kilometres long, of which 2000 km is navigable, making it the third longest navigable river on the planet, with only the Amazon and Nile rivers ahead of it. A fact which Richard and I thought was amazing. Just over the border in Wodonga we were met by the smiling faces of Kerry and Cole Stone and the fabulous students at Catholic College Wodonga. They greeted us with cheers, a much needed cuppa and some great conversation. After a few media interviews and lots of photos we hopped back on our bikes to ride a further 60 km to Wangaratta where we look forward to a lovely dinner with Kerry, Cole and a few other Caritas supporters.
We've already done 686 km - on the homeward stretch now.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 5 update - 27th April
An update from Kirsty
We had a glorious dinner last night with some of our lovely supporters including Michelle and Vince Fernon a few kms outside of Wagga Wagga. It felt like we were connecting with old friends and making new ones at the same time. The “community” that is Caritas Australia is filled with such wonderful, generous and passionate people and the dinner table last night was illustrative of that diversity.
We were still talking about the great meal and delicious cheese platter when we headed off just after 6.30am this morning. Today was the day we made it to 500km mark. We pulled over and did a little jump in the air (just a little one as tired legs don’t jump very high!).
The ride itself was lovely aside from the fact that my bike started to have mechanical problems about halfway to Holbrook so we “limped” into town. Paige and I drove to Albury for some urgent mechanical repairs (shame that our inspiration for the ride - Biru from Project Compassion - wasn’t around to help us) while Richard headed off to the local primary school. He received a very warm welcome from the 28 students and teachers.
He spoke about Biru in India which the kids all knew about having taken part in Project Compassion this year. The kids asked some really insightful questions such as “What interesting things have you seen?”. Richard explained we had seen some very interesting roadkill - goats, kangaroos, toads and foxes today alone.
Tomorrow we are excited to be crossing the border into Victoria and meeting up with Kerry and Cole Stone from the Sandhurst Diocese.
Kirsty Robertson, CEO of Caritas Australia and Richard Landels, Advancement Director, will be cycling 900km over 9 days from Sydney to Melbourne to help break the cycle of poverty. They will meet with local schools and parish communities along the way before finishing at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 4 update - 26th April
An update from Richard:
Dinner at Boorowa pub and then early to bed. Again, we have been blessed with the weather and woke to a beautiful day.
Before we started our day in the saddle, we made a visit to the Boorowa Catholic Church, St Patrick's. The early European visitors to Boorowa were Irish Catholics and upon arrival quickly established a religious community. An important part of this was the building of the Church, which we believe is the first Catholic Church west of the Great Dividing Range. It is a lovely Church and across the road from an equally beautiful St Patrick's Primary.
We then set off for Wagga Wagga. It was going to be a big test of our endurance (and fitness) as the journey, via Junee, was over 140km. Thankfully now we are beyond the Great Dividing Range there is less elevation and we managed to make good time and after lunch in Junee we arrived in Wagga Wagga just before 4pm.
Generously, some wonderful and long-time Caritas Australia supporters are welcoming us to their home for dinner which we are looking forward to.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 3 update - 25th April
An update from Richard:
After a restful night in Goulburn, ANZAC Day greeted us with some lovely weather. After our head start yesterday, we drove to our stop off point and got underway under the interested guise of the local cattle. Riding along the hills (although they seemed like mountains!) heading west toward we were blessed to encounter little traffic on the route.
A little way along a local farmer greeted us outside his property; his prize bull was just by the fence, and we think he was keen to see what activity was taking place. He was somewhat surprised that we were passing his property on our journey to Melbourne, but he gave us some local knowledge and then we went on our way.
Thirty kilometres from Boorowa we bid farewell to our amazing support crew, Alicia (also our People Director). From there the ride into Boorowa was more down than uphill which was a wonderful way to end the day. Tomorrow we have long day in the saddle, next stop Wagga Wagga!
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 2 update - 24th April
Update from Kirsty - We woke up to some very crisp Mittagong weather. We set out with our jumpers, beanies and handwarmers. Early in our ride we took a lovely meander on the Bong Bong cycleway. The mist and landscape reminded us of the English moors especially when we rode through the puddles that left our feet cold and muddy.
We spent the first half of the ride reminiscing about yesterday. One of the privileges of both of our roles is we have the opportunity to speak to many of the supporters of Caritas Australia and yesterday was no different. During the challenging times we felt the 50,000 Caritas supporters pushing us, willing us up over the hills. We also met a group of friendly local cyclists who were generous with their encouragement and directions.
When we arrived at the Big Merino we were greeted unexpectedly by a group of young Catholics who had read about our journey. Their enthusiasm for our ride and the work of Caritas Australia was contagious and it motivated us to get a head start on the planned cycle for tomorrow. So we hopped back on our bikes and rode a further 20km - cycling through the rolling hills on our way to Boorowa where we will sleep tomorrow night.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.
Day 1 update – 23rd April
An update from Kirsty:
At 7.30 this morning we stood in front of the parishioners at Mary Immaculate Parish in Quakers Hill and received a beautiful blessing from Bishop Long to set us on our way. He wished us wind at our back and a journey without punctures. He also spoke of the symbolism of our journey - one of challenge, accompaniment, and solidarity. The parish had also prepared a delicious morning tea which was an added delight.
As we headed on our way our conversation turned to Biru from Project Compassion - who was really the inspiration for our ride. Here was a man whose life was fundamentally changed as a result of the generosity of people in Australia just like those we had met at Mary Immaculate earlier in the day. The impact of Caritas continues to amaze both of us - from the fields of India to parishes across Australia, the Caritas Network inspires communities to be more and serve better.
We are on our way to visit Corpus Christi Parish in Mittagong/Bowral for mass which I am sure will give us the spark we need to hop on our bikes tomorrow morning with a smile on our face.
You can help support Kirsty and Richard’s fundraiser by making a donation. Your generous donation today can help make a lasting impact for future generations.