Jo Perry feels inspired and grateful after riding 1,311km from Brisbane to Longreach, encountering driving rains and even a spot of hypothermia on the 2024 RideWest charity bike ride.
It’s not that Jo loved the hardships she and her fellow riders experienced on the eight day ride.
As the local cyclist says, those discomforts are nothing compared with the mental health difficulties people face, particularly in remote areas where services are needed.
At time of print, the 2024 ride alone had raised $593,620 to help the Royal Flying Doctor Service bridge the gap in providing mental health support in regional areas of Queensland via its Wellbeing Out West (WOW) program.
Jo had surpassed her individual $5,000 target and the donations were still rolling in.
The 2024 RideWest was Jo’s third ride out to Longreach, and she loves the people and the ride so much she hopes to do it again.
“It’s not only therapeutic for those we fundraise for, but it’s also therapeutic for those of us who ride. I was in a bubble, immersed in eight days of riding, eating and sleeping with a great support crew,” she said.
Jo was particularly moved by the stories she heard along the way.
“Every evening, different people from the group would present to us about why they do it, and their stories were so inspirational they made us cry,” she said.
“These were stories of mental health and of the bush, and I came away inspired and in awe of people.”
Jo thanked donors, her family and friends including local training buddies Ken Ardrey, Michael Enright, Aaron Collis and Zac Cunningham.
The biennial ride has raised close to $2 million for mental health support in the last 14 years.
“I return again not only to raise vital funds for WOW but absorb the beauty of the outback alongside a peloton of incredible people who love the bike and this cause like I do,” Jo wrote on her fundraising page.
“I can’t think of a better way to look after my own mental health than to switch off from the ‘real’ world and cycle, laugh, chat, meet the characters of the bush along the way.” To donate to Jo’s fundraising efforts, visit https://ridewest-2024.raisely.com/jo-perry
