Apollo backs solo bike record attempt

Motorhome rental company Apollo Campers has supplied a brand new, six-berth motorhome as support vehicle for an incredible five week, bicycle marathon around the country.

Kicking off on March 9 in Brisbane, Reid Anderton is attempting to set a world record for the fastest, solo supported bike ride around the coastline of Australia.

The current record set in 2011 by Dave Alley is 37 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes, or around 377km/day, for the 14,183km journey.

The 37-year-old carpenter wants to average 400km a day, to beat the record. In the process he’s also hoping to raise $100,000 for Challenge for Change, a charity that supports African families living in extreme poverty.

As well as providing beds for Reid and some of his six support crew, the fully-equipped Star RV motorhome is being used to carry supplies and cook meals, provide hot showers and a place for massages, and a general base for each night’s campsite.

It’s also carrying a generator so the roof-mounted air-conditioner can be used in more remote, hotter regions.

With just 82km on the odometer when it left Apollo’s Brisbane yard ‘Flo’, as the support vehicle has been nicknamed, could also set another record as the longest distance travelled of any rental motorhome over a month-long period!

Anderton, who has travelled through some of the poorest parts of Africa, said the personal pain and hardship was worth it to raise money and awareness for less fortunate communities in need of assistance.

“There is an unbelievable resilience, compassion and generosity that is witnessed everyday as communities strive together to survive and create a better world for their children. All we simply do is join them in their struggle and make it our struggle as well,” he says.

“So I may never appreciate and fully understand the depth of poverty and pain, but I understand that my pain for 35 days on a bike will in some way bring about change; no matter how small.”

To find out more or to make a donation, visit the Challenge for Change website.

UPDATE: After Day 30 (April 8) Anderton had crossed the South Australia/Victoria border at Murray Bridge, and was about 2700km away from completing the circumnavigation. To follow the final days of the epic ride, and see if the record is broken, click here.