Gruelling journey towards $100,000
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A man who plans to undertake a 1500km bike ride for charity visited Warragul recently to talk about his upcoming journey, and encourage others to join in.
Grant Nichol, chief wholesale trading officer at Flavorite, spent some time at the company’s Warragul facility to talk to the staff about the ride. Grant, along with some friends, will be riding from Alice Springs to Darwin from April 24 to May 12 as he aims to raise $100,000 for the Pat Cronin Foundation.
The Pat Cronin Foundation was established in 2016 following the death of 19-year-old Pat Cronin from a coward punch attack while on a night out in 2016.
The foundation travels around Australia for its ‘Be Wise’ presentations, educating and empowering young people to make wise decisions and avoid violence, as it reached over 70,000 school students last year.
Remarkably, Grant will be taking on the gruelling journey despite being diagnosed two-and-ahalf-years ago with Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that affects movement and balance.
And he hopes he won’t be taking on the challenge alone, as he’s encouraging community members to join in.
By heading to ride2bewise.com, people can pledge to ride a number of kilometres of their choosing at the same time as Grant, raising funds of their own for the foundation. They can also go to the website to donate to Grant.
It’s been a whirlwind few months for Grant, who said “up until six months ago I didn’t even own a functional bike.”
After taking up cycling as a way of managing his Parkinson’s, it was suggested to Grant that he raise money for the Pat Cronin Foundation, something that he took to immediately.
“I let all my close family and friends know that this is what I was going to do, so if I let everyone know what I was doing I couldn’t back out of it,” he said.
“I suppose the bottom line is want to educate young Australians to end the coward punch. It’s not a manly thing to do, we just want to put into perspective and educate kids. It’s not the way to behave.”
Grant also said that while just a year ago he may have let his diagnosis stop him from taking on the ride, he was now determined
to do it. “My motivator is the foundation. Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease, it’s only going to get worse but this is something I can do now”
Matt Cronin, the chair of the foundation and Pat’s father, said he was “in awe” of Grant and his friends.
“When Grant sent me a message telling me what he wanted to do, I mean I’m a cyclist and I thought ‘he’s mad,’ he said.
“For us, the funds that they’re going to raise is just awesome. We know that money will help us educate another 10,000 kids.
“We share Pat’s story, it’s a tragic story. No parent should have to go through what we’ve gone through, but what we do know is through the work of the foundation Pat’s name is being remembered and he’s making a difference even still, even if he’s not with us.”
For more information on how to donate and get involved, go to ride2bewise.com