Edging closer to $1 million

It has only been a month, but it now seems like I have been back home for much longer.  We are still getting things back to the rightful owners and finalising other items from additional fundraisers since returning home.  We had our finale ball on Friday 25^th September which was organised by a group of friends while I was away.  The girls thought at first that it would be a problem getting 300 people to attend the ball, but it was the complete opposite.  The tickets more or less sold out within the first week and we had to squeeze in extra tables to then cater for the sponsors who also came to the event.  We raised over $60,000 on the night from auctions and had an additional $40,000 donated in cheques from various groups and individuals.

I attended the Newport Arms Hotel as the guest speaker for the Liquor Trade Lunch, hosted by the Bayfield family.  The Liquor Marketing Group (Bottlemart) have been a great sponsor and with the Bayfields help, the luncheon raised over $160,000.  The day was a huge success and all the companies involved didn’t let us down on the day with some great donations.

Will we make the million dollars?  I still believe we can.  We still have money coming in from both of these functions mentioned and other groups that have been touched during my event around Australia are still collecting money.  Active Trees have also been raising money and we hope to get a further donation from their staff’s efforts in the next month.

Keep watching the website as I hope to see the million mark flash on the web page in the near future.

All the best, Craig

Feeling the love in Kalgoorlie

Yes – still in Kalgoorlie and although the interest and support here has been amazing…  being off the road for two days is killing me!

We arrived two days early and have to stay until we have the crew changeover which has happened today. It is always sad to see a crew go as every crew has been like family. The new crew of Katrina Mitchell, Mark Burt and Petah Handley are all excited and have jumped straight in the deep end with some fundraising in Kalgoorlie. We have been busy in town with great media coverage and attending a function set up by Active Tree Services and the Kalgoorlie tri and cycling club (thanks to Steve Gibson for arranging). Last night we raised over $1500 with the triathlon and cycling club, and news from the CCIA is that a large number of donations have been rolling in from Western Australia. I also did a long interview with Steve Price on 2UE yesterday and the same has occurred with donations from the east coast.

Special news is that Cannondale have also just donated $5,000 to the charity. Thanks Lucien. This news give me more passion and determination to arrive in Sydney within the 92 days.

Again, rest days seem to make my body want to shut down and all I want to do is get back on the road. I am starting to feel a few twinges and have a massive headache but believe this will disappear tomorrow when my mind and body gets back on track.

Both crews have been enjoying each other’s company over the past two days and tonight we have been invited to the Bottlemart Picadilly Hotel for dinner. I plan to be in bed early and on the road around 6am to cycle and run to Norseman before heading across the Nullabor. I have 16 days to get to Adelaide where I will see the rest of my family who are flying in for two days and this will be the first time I will have seen them since leaving Sydney on 29 May.

A big thank you also to the Boulder Discovery Holiday Park for having us over the past two days.

Craig

Media shot

 

Steve Gibson and Crew 3B

 

The Super Pit