MADRIDE 3 Start

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

Riders

Kilometres in Distance

Days

MADRIDE 3

MADRIDE is a cycling adventure to raise awareness for homelessness and funds for local Bendigo charity MADCOW (that stands for Make A Difference, Change Our World) who are doing great work in Bendigo with homeless and disadvantaged people.  Starting with a ride from Bunbury to Bendigo in 2017, it continued on in 2022 with a ride from Bendigo to Cunnamulla.  This year, we will continue the dream of riding around Australia, and ride from Cunnamulla to Townsville.  This will get us to halfway around the country, or a total distance of 5850km.

 

We will depart from Bendigo on July 1st, to drive to Cunnamulla.  We will then start the ride from Cunnamulla on July 3rd, planning to arrive in Townsville on July 10th.  The total distance is 1200km, with an average distance around 160km per day of riding.  We have 10 riders participating; some of these are novices who just want to join in and have a go, through to some who are very experienced cyclists and some who have been on each of the rides all the way from Bunbury.  For the riders, the emphasis is on riding to support each other to make the distance each day and mirror something of what MADCOW does in supporting homeless people to get through each day.  A big part of the ride is that we aim to create a memorably good experience of community for the riders and support crew together. 

Latest News

Day 8 and it’s a wrap

We made it! About 27 degrees and a slight wind made it easy for riders as they dropped altitude form the ranges into Townsville. Some great sights as we descended with mountains towering over an otherwise flat landscape. We carefully weaved our way around the traffic...

Day 7 – A scenic cruise into Charters Towers

The shortest day yet. 107kms but some challenging hills to keep the riders honest. A stop off at the Ju Ju's lookout to break the ride. Meeting some local characters along the way including Palmer and Norma at Balfe creek. An early arrival meant time to sight  see and...

Day 6 – Hills, main roads and more country hospitality

Well it was a day with lots of changes in the landscape. Decent hills for the first time and the downhill runs particularly enjoyed by the riders. We arrived into Pentland and were met by Min and Jack Jones. Min had work so hard to organise accomodation as well as the...

Day 5 – A day of thrills, spills, dramas and fantastic country people

Well it was a picture perfect day leaving  Aramac. After filling up at the Aramac servo, the lady gave us a very generous donation. Riding was perfect and the team travelling well when a series of punctures slowed us down considerably. Rod finally had that under...

Day 4 – We’re half way there, Blackall to Aramac

Yep, we've passed the half way point of the 1200km journey and now passed over the tropic of Capricorn Big sky country, long skinny roads, big trucks and big effort by the riders. A few spills after the visit to the tree of knowledge at Barcaldine. You would have...

Day 3 and we’re walking on sunshine!

Well after some terrible weather the sun chose to shine upon the riders today. A slight breeze and blue skies made for great riding. 160kms through to Blackall via tambo and the Barcoo river Part of the routine is to motivate the riders by pumping some motivational...

Day 2

Back out to the where we finished yesterday. Another 170kms ahead for us. Forecast is rain clearing and after some early showers the day kept improving. You could see the riding group starting to gel together and strong formations were beginning to emerge. A stop over...

Day 1

That was a big day for the first day. 170kms, lots of rain, a side wind and plenty of trucks. Including a cattle truck that may have sprayed up more than water on the road. The team did an amazing job today. Dave Gillett looked after the riders as they settled into...

Cunnamulla to Townnsville 1200km over 8 days.

Here we are at Cunnamulla, where it all finished last year. The mob is fed and our fearless leader (Dave G) has briefed the riders on tomorrows ride. 160kms ahead for the day with some rain expected. Jersey's handed out to riders, merch all sorted and training session...

Meet Tabitha

She joined in with the support crew last year, and had such a good time she is back for another go.  She is leading the cooking, so all the riders know they need to be nice to her.  Loves helping in the background, and has a big heart to do whatever she can.  Here she...

Supporters