Smiling for Smiddy Challenge 2014

Adam was a physiotherapist and talented triathlete who sadly was suddenly struck down by melanoma at the peak of his life. His friend Mark ‘Sharky’ Smoothy, in an effort to memorialize his fallen mate, has set up the ‘Smiling for Smiddy’ charity fundraiser to raise money for cancer research.

Over the years, the Smiling for Smiddy charity has raised over $5 million for Mater cancer research and support. There are a number of foundations and Institutes that Smiling for Smiddy raise money for, including the Mater Foundation, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation Melbourne, the Prince of Wales Hospital Foundation Sydney, the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and Melanoma Patients Australia.

This year our Station Manager Tony Smythe is participating in Leg 1 of the bike ride which stretches from Melbourne all the way to Sydney!

Our intrepid Station Manager, Tony

Starting in Melbourne on the 3rd of October, the journey takes the riders from Melbourne through to Venus Bay, Stratford, Marlo, Nimmitabel, Bungendore, Wollongong and then finishing the ride in Sydney on October 9th. In total, Tony will be riding 1,323km at a total elevation of 12,744m.

Also included in the Smiling for Smiddy ride this year is a Sydney to Brisbane bike ride to start on October 12th.

The routes picked for the anti-clockwise journey were chosen due to the prevailing tailwinds, however the past few years have seen the riders facing strong headwinds for 23 days of the journey. Riders are wondering if they are going to be facing the same conditions this year!

Sharky will be keeping everybody up to date with the group’s progress with his blog, which can be found here. You can also follow their progress on Facebook and Twitter. Tony will be sending us updates so we know how he is getting on with this remarkable challenge.

For more information and to donate to this great cause, check out their website here.