Cycle of poverty

By Casey Neill
FERNTREE Gully’s Damian Richmond will battle mental scars and physical pain when he takes on a cycling world record to raise money for African orphans this week.
The 40-year-old will spend up to 20 hours on his bike each day on a 3500 kilometre journey from Perth to Melbourne.
Race Across Australia is in aid of Ferntree Gully-based humanitarian group HopeBuilders International.
Last November Mr Richmond came agonisingly close to riding from Perth to Sydney in record time.
Despite unrelenting headwinds and crosswinds, he was just 400km from the finish line and within record time when an electrical storm ended the ride.
“It was really frustrating because it wasn’t that I didn’t have enough strength. I couldn’t go any faster with the wind conditions,” Mr Richmond said.
The record for this ride is 11 days.
“I am confident, yet I don’t want to be expecting that it’ll just happen,” he said.
“I’d rather be over-prepared and under-confident than the other way around.”
Mr Richmond will leave Perth on Saturday 18 October and hopes to arrive at Melbourne’s Southbank on Sunday 26 October.
“The mental anguish from last year’s ride is a real issue. I know how much it’s going to hurt and that still scares me,” he said.
“I had the benefit of naivety last year.”
Mr Richmond began riding to work five years ago to lose weight.
“I enjoyed riding my bike and I was encouraged to join local races,” he said.
He was placed 10th in the 24-hour event at the Australian Championships in 2005 and hasn’t looked back.
He started HopeBuilders as a way of using his passion to raise money and awareness. It provides homes and facilities to support orphaned children in Uganda and Rwanda and help break the cycle of poverty.
Last year, Mr Richmond raised $60,000 through Race Across Australia, which helped HopeBuilders to purchase a block of land in Uganda and plant crops.
Construction will begin on a main building and houses in January. This year he has raised $40,000 so far and will speak at events after the ride to boost funds.
He has spent the past five months training for the ride.
His routine includes weights sessions, cross training and riding.
Two nights a week he walks 1000 floors on his stair climber. He rides his bike for three hours two nights a week and on weekends rides up to 400kms.
Mr Richmond invited others to join him for part of his journey for a small donation.
He encouraged riders to help him home on the final 120km stretch from Ballarat to Melbourne.
For more information or to make a donation visit www.race acrossaustralia.com or www.hope builders.org.au.