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In life, the top two inches often makes all the difference between triumph and disaster. Treating both of these imposters the same, Papakura’s Rich Easton thought that if he could ride all the way around Australia, why not just get on his bike?
“I started riding on March 28 and the plan is to arrive back in Sydney on May 27,” he told the Times during a recent pit stop in Western Australia. “All up, it’s about 17,000 km, although it may be a bit further counting some side trips along the way.”
Riding clockwise, Easton will come full circle on his motorcycle without too many roadblocks, all going well.
“I chose a Kawasaki KLR 650 because it’s light and not super-fast, which is all about avoiding speeding tickets!”
Undertaking such an epic ride, he must be a little out of his head, some may think, but there definitely is method to this madness and it’s all about just causes.
“My dad [Frank Easton] had a stroke which robbed him of his short-term memory. He passed away a few years later from complications. As a teacher, he always wanted to give young people opportunities,” Easton explains.
“My goal for this ride is to raise $18,000 to fund summer studentships, research projects that may lead to young scientists making breakthroughs in neuroscience and perhaps help reduce the impacts of strokes or their causes.”
His Aussie odyssey is no ride in the park, but as CEO of the Neurological Foundation Easton is no stranger to hard graft when helping people afflicted by such conditions.
His interest in motorbikes began as a quicker way to travel to work, but Easton’s discovered that riding has therapeutic value too.
“Motorcycling is like meditation – the brain can do its deep thinking while focusing on keeping you on the road. It’s very restorative and great for problem solving. The back of a bike is definitely my happy place and still saves me about an hour of commuting each day.”
Frank Easton rode motorbikes in his youth also, but his interest in them grew due to his son.
“Dad didn’t show much interest until later in life when we did a few rides with him as pillion. Our most memorable was a ride up to Northland with the family following in the car. He talked a lot about his days in the army riding and how much he loved the sense of freedom.”
A Northland jaunt isn’t quite on the same scale of Easton’s current journey, but the mechanics are similar. Although it has been testing his endurance, complications have been overcome… so far.
“For a couple of days, the back brake was only working on and off, but that’s resolved now – hopefully! Beyond that, I’ve had to stay alert because wildlife – including kangaroos and emus – have no road sense, so if I hit them I will come off worse.
“It’s been good overall, only one day with an hour of rain and sunny but not too hot the rest of the time. Riding across the Nullarbor Plains [which means ‘no trees’] was surreal – I rode in a straight line for almost 150 kilometres, the longest straight section of road in the Southern Hemisphere.”
His dad may not be with him, but in life and on the road he’s along for the ride in spirit, Easton adds.
“Dad was always supportive and loved where my life’s work has taken me. As for this trip, he would see it as a wonderful adventure. He would’ve enjoyed the journey, the places visited, and loved that it was supporting a good cause.”
Click here to help Easton with his fundraising efforts.
