Mount Isa brothers Brodie and Riley are taking on Australia’s longest shortcut on bike to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and MS.
The pair started their journey from Steep Point in Western Australia on 22 July and have planned 30 days on-the-road to complete their 5,533 km ride to Cape Byron in News South Wales.
Brodie’s decision to fundraise for the Flying Doctor came naturally to him after he received an RFDS aeromedical retrieval when he was just six years old.
He said he still gets emotional thinking about the incident and is eternally grateful to Dr Don and RFDS aeromedical team for saving his life.
“I was in hospital with an infection but was released too early,” Brodie said.
“A couple of hours after leaving the hospital I crashed and struggled breathing.
“Mum can still remember rushing into the Emergency Department holding me in her arms.
“Luckily Dr Don was in town and as soon as he arrived at the hospital it was a huge sigh of relief for everyone.”
Dr Don quickly took control and arranged for an RFDS aircraft to transfer Brodie and his parents from the Mount Isa Base to Townsville where he went into the intensive care unit (ICU).
To give back to the Flying Doctor, Brodie’s riding his bike from the westernmost point to easternmost point of Australia and stopping at each of the rural communities to raise funds and awareness for RFDS.
“Each day has been an adventure,” he said.
“Lots of people have been pulling over to chat to us to find out what we are doing.”
Fellow travelers and the community have been supporting the brothers along the way by tooting their horns, offering them bottles of cold water or assisting with bike maintenance and repairs.
Last week they celebrated their halfway milestone in Alice Springs and aim to reach their final destination in late August, weather pending.
You can support the brother’s and the RFDS here.
