The Kingsley resident is taking part in the national Great Cycle Challenge ” Riding to Fight Kids’ Cancer throughout October.
A father of two, Mr Cross said he decided to challenge himself by riding 1000km in 31 days and had already raised more than $1000 for children’s cancer research.
‘I couldn’t ride that much in my normal riding,’ he said.
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READ NOW‘I’ve got to get up at 4.30am every morning and do 50km ” I’m going to have to do that nearly every day.
‘It’s just a lot of hours on the bike.’
Mr Cross said he was a serious social cyclist, had been riding with Malaga Cycles for years and recently joined Soldier On Cycling which helps returned service men and women deal with post traumatic stress disorder.
‘I’m an ex-serviceman myself and that’s pretty close to me,’ he said.
Event manager Greg Johnson said the Great Cycle Challenge was a way for people to undertake a fun personal challenge, while raising funds for research into cancer in children.
‘Anyone can take part in the challenge, with the event’s easy-to-use GPS mobile application able to track and record distance of participants in capital cities and regional areas alike,’ he said.
CMRI director Roger Reddel said support from initiatives like this enabled CMRI’s researchers to make discoveries, including a test that will help identify some of the most aggressive types of cancers.
‘We are working towards a new form of treatment that is designed to target every type of cancer,’ he said.
Participants will use the event’s mobile application on GPS-enabled devices to track their daily rides. All rides between October 1 and 31 will contribute towards their distance challenge goal.
For more information, visit www.greatcyclechallenge.com.au.