UE grads pull on their lycra
On that one day in October we’ll be pulling on our lycra alongside 10,000 other cyclists and taking part in Australia’s biggest bike ride, Bicycle Network’s United Energy Around The Bay.
My name is Cameron, and along with my great friends and workmates Lindon and Adrian, we decided to take on this challenge over a coffee.
Don’t get me wrong, none of us are a Bradley Wiggins or Cadel Evans.
In fact, all three of us, although we can ride a bike, have had limited cycling experience.
As graduate engineers at United Energy, we’ve never attempted to grind in the saddle for 210 kilometres before!
We know the sort of distance we‘re attempting isn’t going to be easy, but don’t worry; we’ve taken this seriously.
All three of us have been cycling to work over the last three months, and we’re riding around the Peninsula at weekends to boost our base-fitness levels.
Like many things in life, the motivation for us taking part started with a conversation about working together to put something more back into the communities we provide electricity to everyday.
Although we were not couch potatoes, we needed a kick to get our act in gear and were blown away when we researched the event’s charity partner, The Smith Family.
The fact that more than 170,000 disadvantaged families have received support from the charity, and they’ve helped over 42,000 children is a real testament to their work.
Our United Energy team have already raised $3,000 towards The Smith Family and we’ve set ourselves the target of raising more than $10,000. What an incentive to pedal hard for!
I also asked Lindon what this ride means for him.
“This partnership embraces why working for United Energy is so rewarding; as employees, we’re provided with meaningful opportunities to get involved with the communities we supply electricity to.”
“The average time our customers spent without power last year is less than it’ll take you to ride the 20km ride come October.”
It may not be the Tour De France, but it’s definitely going to provide us with a challenge and require some good old Australian guts to finish!
We’re certainly going to make this peoples’ ride one to remember.
Entries to Bicycle Network’s United Energy Around The Bay are open now. With nine separate rides ranging from 20km to 300km and free entry for kids there is something for everyone one. Get your tickets now at aroundthebay.com.au.