When Steve Waugh came up with the idea of a Captain’s Ride to raise awareness and further funds for children with rare diseases, he wanted participants to be forced to ask themselves similar questions to those his foundation supports. How will I cope? How will I get through the day? Who will help me?
In order for those questions to be asked, Steve knew he had to make the ride tough. Tough enough for himself to be asked those questions. Tough enough for everyone who signed up to ride to have some idea of what it feels like to live every day with the effects of a rare disease. After three days it was clear Steve had succeeded in inflicting a degree of ‘pain and suffering’.
Danny Frawley and Jamie Cox are flying the flag for the Saints and their sponsor AVJennings. Both attest to how challenging the ride is but also the level of support they receive from the public and other riders.
Spud focusing up before the start of a stage.
The riders are split into three groups based on speed and how they are feeling on the day. Any given rider can move up to a faster group or drop back to a slower one depending on how they are feeling. Smaller groups also allows country drivers, who often toot their support, to safely pass each group.
On Melbourne Cup Day the riders rode from Gloucester to Armidale or that was the plan. Mother Nature had other ideas. A torrential downpour hit the riders with one group also being pelted by hail.
The tiny Nowendoc primary school of just 12 students provided some shelter for the Captain’s Riders and they all watched the Melbourne Cup together. In return Steve Waugh spoke to the children who were ‘over the moon’ to meet an Australian cricket legend. One of the riders is a cartoonist and presented the children with some drawings of their chance meeting with Steve Waugh. As an aside, the school has just one teacher and it was her first day!
AVJennings NSW General Manager, George Diniakso, said the weather became so inclement that the rest of the day’s ride to Armidale had to be called off for safety reasons.
“We got smashed with the weather. My group was last to come in and as we were getting close to the lunch stop, the other riders who had got their first and we already eating, all got up and came outside to clap us in. It said a lot to me about how important it is to have support in the face of adversity,” Diniakos said.
Support the Captain's Ride by donating to Danny and Jamie's fundraiser pages:
