Final Day of The Captain's Ride with Steve Waugh

The final day of the epic Captain's Ride 2016 is finally here. I am about to mount up and ride the 91km from Khancoban to Lake Crackenback.  I have spent the last couple of days doing a couple of speaking gigs so, although I'm tired, my leg is fresh (or I hope it is). For some of these riders, including Steve Waugh, this is day six of a fairly gruelling ride. I am so impressed by this bunch of people who have toughed it out AND raised money for kids with rare diseases.

Today will be life changing for many of the people on this ride. That's what these long rides are all about. I can't wait to see the relief and the sense of achievement on a few of these faces when we finally reach Dead Horse Gap' after a very tough 17km climb up to 1500m and almost the end of this 700km journey.

Of course, I will have to be in front of them to see them finish. But, with just one leg to power me and my bike, today's climb (2731 vertical metres) will be a huge challenge. When I think my lungs and my leg feel like they're on fire, I'll think about the far greater challenge kids with rare diseases and their families face every day.  

I know about being sick; the uncertainty, the fear, the treatment, the cost, the strain. A rare disease magnifies all of that. I've had cancer twice and the road to treatment and recovery, although horrible, was clear, affordable, accessible and full of people to support me and show me the way. If you have a rare disease, it can be hard to find any road, let alone the right one.

That's why I'm doing The Captain's Ride: to help clear the road for those with a rare disease.