Canberra son heads off on another Spine Tingling Ride

West to East through desert and open plains, one Canberra man is on a mission to break records and raise money for charities dear to his heart. Andrew (Andy) Kerec headed off on his second Spine Tingling Ride on Tuesday 27 June, raising money for Hartley Lifecare and SpinalCure Australia.

Kicking off from Steep Point, WA –Australia’s westernmost point – Andy will head across the Simpson Desert to Byron Bay, NSW – Australia’s easternmost point. With a plan to travel point to point within 65 days, he is looking to beat the current record of 80 days.

“Dad and I have always been ultracompetitive so I said I might as well have a crack at that … It is a lot less, which is a little bit concerning, but I guess if you’re not nervous or concerned then you don’t have any respect for the challenge,” he says.

Wanting to finish the odyssey on home soil, Andy will then ride from Byron Bay back to Canberra, covering a vast 6,820km in 80 days.

The massive feat of human endurance is to raise money for people with a spinal injury, like his father. Going through what Andy says was his second mid-life crisis, his father, Lud was entering life in his sixties by getting fit and competing in triathlons and Ironman events. While preparing for an event, an accident flipped his life upside down.

A collision with another cyclist on a Canberra bike path saw a dislocation of the spine, causing spinal cord damage, leaving him a complete C5 quadriplegic with no movement below his chest. Going from being a go-to handyman, avid traveller and late-in-life fitspiration to losing movement in over half his body was hard.

During a pep talk while recovering in a Sydney hospital, Andy made a promise. He said if Lud could get himself back to Darwin for a fishing trip with his sons, then he would cycle from Canberra to Darwin.

The faithful son honoured his promise in the first Spine Tingling Ride in 2017.

“We decided if I was going to do something silly, I might as well try and raise some funds for the charities that we’d come across since Dad’s accident and we managed to raise about $130,000 for Hartley Lifecare and SpinalCure,.” Full story online.

To support Andrew on his Spine Tingling Ride, visit thespinetinglingride.com.au

- Jessica Cordwell