Children’ssmiling faces and high fives will ease Allison Piercy’s pain after hundreds ofkilometres on a mountain bike this July.
She’lljoin the Cairns to Karumba bike ride, an epic journey of almost 800 kilometresacross Far North Queensland.
Theride raises money for the Cairns School of Distance Education, which supportsmany of the kids in the rural and remote communities Allison will be ridingthrough.
“I’mreally passionate about helping kids, they get very excited and really into it,”Allison said.
“Theymake welcome signs and come out and cheer us on!
“Itbrightens their world a little bit to have people ride into town and supportthem. Seeing all the people you’re helping is really awesome.”
It’sa labour of love for Allison who grew up in Cairns and now works at theDepartment of Human Services in Brisbane.
“It’sa great opportunity to support the community I grew up in,” Allison said.
Allison only returned to mountain biking a few years ago and will ride around 100 kilometres a day over the seven day event. She’ll complete the mountain bike section of the ride, through cattle stations and along unsealed roads. Her mother and grandfather will support her along the way.
“I’mfeeling really positive about the ride. I’m really good at self-motivation, positive self-talk and not givingup,” Allison said.
“Ifyou want something bad enough you’ll make it happen.”
TheC2K ride starts in Cairns on Saturday 29 June and travels through Atherton, MtGarnet, Mt Surprise, Georgetown, Croydon, Normanton and Karumba.
Allisonhas already raised over $1,000 for distance education, half of her fundraisinggoal.
