Its getting close now! After over a year of planning with fellow riders @AndrewBlanda and @RazChorev, the adventure that is Riding4aCause is about to hit the road. And I’m excited!!!

Its been fun process regularly catching up with Raz and Andrew planning and talking through the details of the trip. And then ploughing through the reams of Skype chats that I usually miss out on when I have been busy is always an adventure. As in classic Aussie spirit, planning these types of things are balanced with a pinch of comedy and jest, which helps us get to this point.

The trip has been planned, accommodation booked, bike is (almost) ready and the last bits and pieces are being coordinated. There are going to be lots of people to thank, but I’ll leave that to the rest of the group in a more official post.

But I do want to mention that the whole reason we are doing this ride has a serious side, and that is to raise awareness for Men’s Depression. Male Depression is a serious problem, and if we don’t personally suffer from it, most of us will be exposed to it through a friend, father, brother, husband or son. A disease that is debilitating and typically swept under the rug. Particularly down under, where the expectation for an Australian man is to to “Toughen the f^&k up!”. We are all conscious to try and bring this topic to the forefront and encourage men all over the country (and world) to come out and understand that it is OK to talk about this, and how it is a problem.

The Riding4aCause team is meeting up with Steve Andrews who has been riding for the same cause under the banner Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre. We are heading off from Deus Ex Machina at 10am on Sunday 5th of September. There is a launch party from 7am till 10am before we head off. We are then riding across Western NSW into South Australia, meeting the rest of the Black Dog Riders in Port Augusta and then heading north to Alice Springs. Finally, the last leg of the trip will be 130kms west from Alice Springs to Glen Helen Resort where the formalities will be held.

Its going to be an exciting trip, and I can’t wait to get rolling. This is going to be the first of many blog posts from me, followed up by lots of photos and stories!!!!