Two young thrill seekers have completed a 285 kilometre ride from the bush to the beach for a worthy cause. Connor Byrne and Axel Baker pedalled through rain, hail and shine from Bendemeer to Bonny Hills to raise funds for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. The dynamic duo raised $5000, exceeding their initial goal by several thousand dollars. For Connor, the cause is quite close to his heart. He has lost one Pop to cancer, and his other Pop and Aunty are both fighting the disease. When the Leader caught up with the pair, just a few days after they had wrapped up the final leg of their journey, they said they were still a bit sore, but rightfully chuffed with their efforts. "It feels amazing," said Connor. "I'm so happy and proud of what we did." Connor was inspired to do the charity ride after he read a book by Lorin Nicholson, called The Amazing Bike Ride. "Lorin Nicholson was 70 per cent blind when he rode to the sea, so if he could do it, I thought I could do," the Year 5 student said. And then Axel asked if he could tag along. "One day in the car they talked about it and I asked, 'Oh, could I come?' But even before that, Connor was asking me if I wanted to come along," Axel, who is in Year 6, said. Throughout the ride, both boys battled the elements and faced numerous challenges. "It was on the first day when I almost got hypothermia," said Connor. "It was rainy and windy, but we chucked up a tarp and had a cup of tea." While Axel suffered a bit of shock after falling off his bike. "It took me an hour just to get over the shock. I got heaps of cuts, and I bruised the inside of my arm," he said. But they persevered and finished their journey in style on Friday, December 1. In all, it took them a week to complete the ride. "I enjoyed getting to the beach and riding down the closed-off road," said Connor. "Going down that steep hill to look out onto the beach, it looked like something out of a storybook," Axel said.
