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Simon Buckley's Motorbike Diaries IT’S A MAN THING - Ride Right Around Aussies to Ride around the World to Support Prostate Cancer Awareness Two Australian men will ride motorcycles around the globe to help raise awareness for prostate cancer prevention. In April 2009, Simon Buckley, 31 from Richmond, Victoria and Todd Barry, 26 from Newcastle, New South Wales will ride overland around the world aiming to demonstrate the lengths individuals will go to in order to get men’s health issues on the public agenda. The duo’s phenomenal 10-month route starts in Melbourne, then onto London via South East Asia, China, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Eastern Europe before returning home via the United States, South America and New Zealand. “Despite recently gaining the support of several high-profile Australian men, prostate cancer research continues to be underfunded and men across the world remain reluctant to openly discuss male health issues” Buckley said. Barry, who works in event management with a background in tourism, is keen to utilise his skills to further men’s health awareness. “Prostate cancer is a global issue and this trip is a grassroots attempt to get ordinary men talking about their health with doctors, family, friends and each other. I want to do something to support men’s health and do it in a blokey way” Barry commented. Buckley, a tourism industry professional who has been riding motorcycles for more than 10 years, has completed bike trips in Asia and Africa but has never attempted a trip of this distance and duration. “There are a lot of unknowns about the trip, and it’s going to be a real challenge” Buckley said. “In some ways it will be quite an isolating experience to be off the beaten track and to be away from family and friends for that length of time.” “Then there are the operational aspects common to all adventure travel experiences that will be magnified by this trip, things like managing on a tight budget and working out where to sleep and what to eat every day.” “The trip is about acknowledging that the world is a small place and prostate cancer is a worldwide issue. We want to link groups in a way that helps them know that there are other people also dealing with the same issues in other parts of the world. The trip will help national and local cancer organisations in the cities that we visits.” RideRightRound is already aligned with the Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia (PCFA) and the European-based Association of International Cancer Research (AICR) and hopes to form further ties locally and overseas during his trip. “We expect to meet with a range of health and community groups and to support their awareness and fund raising efforts by providing them with a reason to reach out to the community and by helping to get the message out there”. “Awareness has two different strands. On the one hand, it’s about men knowing their options and understanding what the issues are, but it’s also about grabbing people’s attention and ensuring they are willing to help find a cure.” While neither have personal experience of the cancer, both Buckley and Barry argued that education and awareness were essential for all men if the disease was to be effectively tackled. “Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer among men in many countries, and research projects continue to compete for limited funds in the search for a cure” Barry said. “It’s too late to do something about prevention when you are already affected. It’s crucial that men understand the value of being proactive about their health in a way that women have been doing for years.” There are 12,000 new prostate cancer cases diagnosed in Australia each year. The UK registers 30,000 new cases of prostate cancer every year and there are 215,000 in the USA and 20,000 in Canada annually. The success of this overland motorcycle ride around the world will be measured through involvement in events and by increasing the supporter membership of the RideRightRound website. ends. For further media information or an interview with either Simon Buckley or Todd Barry please contact: Simon Buckley Telephone: +61 3 409 699 200 Email: simon@riderightround.org www.riderightround.org |
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