On September 29th, Shire local Mike Brennan will set out on a 590km bike race across the Simpson Desert, raising money for the Royal Flying Doctors Service as he goes.

The race is across 9 stages, with a minimum pace required to complete each stage within the alloted time. If Mike falls under the required speed, he will be picked up by his support vehicle and only have the number of kilometres completed recorded.

Mike's preference is for sponsorship, so that the money he raises is the result of the number of kilometres that he actually completes. Mike's goal is to raise $10,000 (roughly about $20 per km). Kayaks Australia will sponsor Mike $5 per kilometre completed, so he is 25% of the way there, and it will just come down to the number of kms he completes.

You can follow Mike's preparation and training on his blog: mr-grumpy.blogspot.com

You can also read more about the race at the official website www.sdcc.org.au

(Below is information supplied to Kayaks Australia by Mike Brennan)

29th September to 3rd October 2009

What is this all about?
The Simpson Desert Bike Challenge.
A 590km race across the scorching soft sands of the Simpson Desert.
The total distance of takes in some 700 sand dunes, salt lakes, vast cattle stations, gibber plains and even a potential creek crossing.
The course is weather dependent and subject to alteration.

When are you going to do this crazy thing??
By some, referred to as 5 days in hell, the race this year will be held during the spring school holidays, from the 29th of September to the 3rd of October 2009.

Why?
A test of character, a personal goal, a physical challenge…
People enter the race for a variety of reasons. Regardless of the reason for entering, the result is the same. The race is a fundraising event for the Royal Flying Doctors Service, the entry fees from the event and every sponsor dollar raised goes directly to the RFDS so the can continue their invaluable work.

How you can help?
By sponsoring me per km for the race distance that I complete, or simply making a donation at my Everyday Hero Page. Your contribution will go directly towards the RFDS so they can continue their work. And it is fully tax deductable.

EVENT FORMAT

While the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge is indeed a race, it is probably best described as a test of survival and tenacity. Very few athletes claim to have tamed the elements of the Simpson Desert each year and only the mentally fittest and strongest athletes will complete 100% of the race.

The event starts at Purni Bore in South Australia and travels along an eroded track called "The Rig Road". The finish of the event is the legendary Birdsville Hotel in Outback Queensland.

The event is conducted over nine stages, comprising five morning stages of approximately 80 kilometres each and four afternoon stages of approximately 50 kilometres each. Morning sessions start at 6.00am and the afternoon sessions depart camp at 2.00pm. The total race distance is approximately 590km.

Although the distances may look short on the map, the tracks are rough and slow going.

CHARITY

Established in 1928 and developed on a national basis in the 1930s, the Royal Flying Doctor Service soon provided not only emergency medical aid to the people of the Inland, but also a comprehensive health care and community service. Previously, serious illness or accident often meant death and the Inland holds many graves of people who might have lived had they been able to receive medical aid quickly enough.

The late Sir Robert Menzies, Former Prime Minister of Australia 1939-41 & 1949-66, once very aptly said that the Flying Doctor Service represented the "greatest single contribution to the effective settlement of the far distant back country that we have witnessed in our time..."

The RFDS was the first comprehensive aerial medical organisation in the world and to this day remains unique for the range of primary health care and emergency services it provides and for the huge area of sparse population and climatic extremes over which it operates - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.