Brisbane to Broome
:: Charity Bike Ride ::

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:: Questions and Answers ::

You may find your questions answered here. If you wish to know more, or make a comment, please contact us.

Who are we?

Steve Pfeffer. Grew up on a farm, apprenticed as a mechanic, prior to embarking on this ride, Steve renovated houses with his wife, Julie.

Jon Pfeffer. Jon is Steve's son. Recently engaged to Emelie, he works as an ecologically sustainable design engineer for the company Cundall. Jon and Emelie toured Southeast Asia on their bicycles during 2006.

What are you doing?

We're riding our bicycles, loaded with everything we need, from Brisbane to Broome in aid of mental health and alleviation of poverty.

Which way?

We left from Roma St in Brisbane and followed the coast to Rockhampton to give us a chance to try out our gear and get good media coverage before turning inland, riding through Emerald, Longreach, Winton, Cloncurry, Mt Isa, Tennant Creek (detour), Katherine and Kununurra. Through the nasty Gibb River Rd to Derby and on to Broome.

campsmap

These aren't the actual camps we used, but were ones we found during planning. Lost the simple map, but this gives a good idea.

When did you leave and when will you get there?

We left Roma St Parklands in Brisbane on the Sunday, the 4th of May. We expect to arrive in Broome on 14th of July. That's ten weeks and two days.

What inspired the trip?

Steve: "I have a desire to see much of our country, particularly the Kimberly region and believe a challenge such as this will bring a sense of fulfilment. The fact that Jon and Emelie could do the distance in Asia on bicycles was inspirational and my sister completing a 1000km kayak trip on the Murray River Christmas 2006 was further inspiration. Bicycles should give us a greater appreciation of this vast country. Being able to complete this challenge with the younger generation will be an added bonus.”

Jon: “I saw this first as an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with Dad. With him working long hours in a trade for most of my life and then me leaving for university we’ve never really had much of a chance to spend time together. Seeing more of this massive country of ours and gaining a better understanding of rural and aboriginal life is also important to me. Cycling, to me, just seems like such a sensible way to get around. For energy verse distance covered it is the most efficient mode of transport – it is sustainable, it keeps you fit and since food is fuel, the more you ride the more you get to eat! The fact that we will be raising awareness about health and working towards a healthier planet is the icing on the cake.”

Why make it a charity ride?

Steve: Over his 49 years, Steve has witnessed depression affecting many people close to him and see how much communication helps. He's using the ride to raise awareness for Beyond Blue, which is a government funded program offering an ear for those in need and working to remove the stigma associated with mental health issues.

Jon: Each of us has our own personal reasons for undertaking the trip, but for me the most important is the opportunity to draw attention to global poverty and what we can do about it. Poverty affects children disproportionately to their role in the situation leading to their condition. In the year 2000 Australia and 190 other countries promised to halve world poverty by 2015 in what was termed the Millennium Development Goals. While there has been some improvement we are falling well short of the targets. The following statistics are from the UNICEF State of the World's Children report, 2005.

There are 1 billion children living in poverty
400 million with no access to safe water
270 million with no access to health services
160 children die every hour from lack of access to safe drinking and adequate sanitation

Many people look at these sorts of statistics and despair - the problem is too big - there is nothing I can do about it... But they are wrong. It is estimated that an additional $10 billion dollars per year would provide clean drinking water for the entire population of the world. This is less than four days of global military expenditure... less than 10c per week for each of us in the developed world! The problem is not too big. We can do something about it and I am determined to.

Plan is already doing something about it, and is working with communities on innovative community projects like improving water and sanitation, children’s healthcare, food security, education and increasing family livelihoods. Helping communities to help themselves means that they can escape the cycle of poverty. Plan is committed to working with communities and globally 80c of every dollar goes to their work in developing countries. The following recent key projects in Sri Lanka funded by donations are an example of Plan’s work:

Training provided for over 1000 people to teach health topics like hygiene, first aid and nutrition
Working with communities to bring clean water and sanitation to more than 9000 families
Setting up 100 activity spaces to help fulfil the educational needs of children under five

This is just an example - Plan International is presently working with over 3.5 million families in 20,000 communites around the world. So, to recap - for the cost of one lollipop per week you could provide clean drinking water to those in need, preventing totally unnecessary deaths resulting from water-borne disease. Everyone can make a difference.

How can I donate?

There are two ways you can donate listed below.

Donate cash to cause

This will be a once off, tax-deductible donation to Plan through EverydayHero.com.au. Donation through this page still goes to Plan and lets us keep track of how much our event has raised, but EverydayHero does take a small transaction fee. Payment is via credit card or Paypal.

I want to donate cash

Donate directly to Plan

If you're concerned about going through a third party or want to make a long term commitment, you can donate directly through the Plan website. There is the option of sponsoring a child (community), donating to a priority project or simply donating and letting Plan decide how the money should be used.

How far do you get each day?

We generally ride between 4.5 to 6.5 hours per day. Depending on the wind and road conditions, this could equate to anything between 60 and 130kms a day.

Have you had many flats/breakages?

Plenty of flats. The most we've had is 3 in one day. Other than flat tyres, we haven't had too many breakages. Steve's rear rack broke due to fatigue. We also recently discovered one of Steve's tyres had worn through and his rear rim was cracking from fatigue. One of Jon's panniers is broken. We'll see how everything lasts on the rough dirt Gibb River Road.

Where do you sleep at night?

We carry tents and camping gear. We usually try to stay in a caravan park or designated rest area but sometimes if we can't get to one, we camp in a convenient location somewhere near the road.

Did it take much preparation?

We spent over a year preparing for the ride, although not much happened during that year. The major preparation on Jon's behalf was to build a recumbent trike which he decided was not suitable for the ride less than a month before the departure date. We undertook long rides of approximatley 100-200kms over a weekend about once a month, to try to get some cycle fitness and test ourselves and our bikes. We also rode our bikes to work every day.

Did you get much gear donated?

Not heaps. Oz Budget Solar kindly donated the 10W solar panel which we rely so heavily on to charge our phone, light and mp3 player batteries. 99 Bikes, Tom Wallace Cycles and the Yellow Jersey donated various cycling related items such as gloves and a helmet and offered discounts on other products. We've also had support from some caravan parks along the way and other businesses, including for internet access and the signage on our panniers.

How much do you carry?

We carry as much food and water plus some extra to get us to the next place where we can get food and water. In the first leg of the ride up the East Coast, we carried hardly any food whereas now we're carrying 2 weeks of food to get us through the first part of the Gibb River Road. For your interest, we each usually eat about 3/4 cup of muesli for breakfast, half a loaf of bread plus toppings like peanut butter, vegies, cheese and/or salami for lunch, and double serve of rice + vegies + meat/eggs/legumes. We were having a packet of biscuits or snacks between us per day, plus nuts, fruit, chocolate, lollies and anything else we can buy that will last the distance. In short, probably about 1 to 2 kgs of food and 6L of water per day each. Fortunately, we can usually get water every day with rest stops on the sealed roads and creeks + filter on The Gibb.

What's next?

Good question! Jon's next major project will probably be the fulfillment of his engagement to Emelie. Steve is dreaming up the next trip, but it won't be for a while yet.

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