My 11yo son and his best friend rode 300kms to help those he loves with cancer

Two daring kids, two mountain bikes, and an epic ride in horrendous conditions - all to make a difference. 

Edwina didn't think Connor was serious when he asked to do a ride to raise money. Image: Supplied

Mum Edwina Byrne, 51, from Watsons Creek, Regional NSW has shared an inspirational story about how her son Connor 11, and his mate Axel, 12, took on an enormous challenge to raise money for cancer research.

Speaking to Kidspot, the mum shares how the boys' incredible ride began after Connor was inspired by Lorin Nicholson’s book The Amazing Bike Ride.

“After reading the book, he said, 'mum I can do this. If Lorin can do it and he is 90% blind, then I can too,'” Edwina recalls. 

When Connor first asked her if he could do the ride, she didn’t think he was serious.

“I dismissed it at first, kids can come up with crazy ideas,” she says.

But he kept asking, which the mum was inspired by.

“I like that when Connor’s told he can’t do something that seems to steel his resolve," she says. 

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The boys incredible ride began after Connor was inspired by Lorin Nicholson’s book The Amazing Bike Ride. Image: Supplied

All to help Pop and those he loves beat cancer

Around that time, Connor's Pop was under treatment for tongue cancer and his auntie was battling breast cancer.

Connor's other grandfather had also passed away earlier from oesophageal cancer - the disease had hit the family hard.

“My husband said to Connor if he was serious about doing it, why not make it a charity ride for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF)?” she shares. 

Connor began training for the ride around Bendemeer near where the family lives.

After seeing Connor tearing up and down the hills on his mountain bike, his mate Axel, asked if he could join in. After eight weeks of training a few times a week, and some weekends doing 20-kilometre rides, they were ready.

“There were certainly days during the training when I felt I was playing pushy parent, but training is a necessary step toward any goal,” explains Edwina.

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Hitting the road for an experience of a lifetime

After months of training, it was time to hit the road, but it wasn't an easy start. 

Edwina says it all started with torrential downpours: “Day one was shitty, it was hard going, I was astounded they didn’t quit, I was ready to and I have experience riding,” she says.

The boys endured 10 hours of riding on steep dirt tracks; they rode 37 kilometres that first day.

“They were soaked, sore and covered in mud, and fell asleep while we made dinner at Woolbrook picnic shelter,” Mum recalls. 

Edwina, her husband Brendan and Axel’s dad Paul, rode with the adventurous duo towing trailers with all their gear so they could camp along the way.

Edwina says at first, they misjudged how heavy the trailers were.

“Not only did the boys have to ride, they had to push the trailers up the steep hills as we couldn’t get traction,” she says.

Edwina didn't think Connor was serious when he asked to do a ride to raise money. Image: Supplied

Given what they were attempting, Edwina says safety was paramount.

“We used backroads where possible, wore bright clothing, and rode parent-child, parent-child, and in non-peak hours,” she says.

Along the way, the boys averaged 43 kilometres a day, one day they rode a massive 59 kilometres. Edwina felt enormous pride looking at her son and his mate.

“The first few days were incredibly tough. It just kept pouring, we had to ride in it and deal with it,” comments Edwina. “At no time did they say they didn’t want to keep going.”

Edwina adds that Connor’s attitude, certainly helped. 

“He’d very laidback, his favourite saying is 'meh - what could possibly go wrong?' as he shrugs and grins.”

RELATED: 5 secrets to successful school fundraising

Safety was very important on their ride. Image: Supplied

The boys never gave up

On some days, soaring temperatures peaked at over 38 degrees, they were riding on open stretches of road, with not a breath of cooling wind, and no shade.

But they kept going.

The boys joked together all the way, giving each other colourful monikers, which stuck for the ride. Connor was ‘Mountain Goat’ and Axel, ‘One Wheel’ as he loved doing wheelies.

“Axel is the more daring of the duo. He’s popping wheelies along the way ignoring our sage adult advice to save your energy. He’s faster on the downhills while Connor is the mountain goat climbing up them,” explains Edwina.

The boys would stop for each other, and help each other along, during the ride.

“By day three or four they were now outstripping us as riders,” laughs Edwina.

Along the ride, people living by the highway came out in droves to watch, and hordes of school children sprinted to school fences and cheered them on, as they flew past.

Then two days before the end of the ride, potential disaster struck. They went around a corner, Axel misjudged a gear, and he flipped his bike.

“It was a nasty fall, I thought this is it,” says Edwina. “His helmet took the brunt of it but he got a bad graze on his face, and bark off his elbows and legs.”

Exhausted but fulfilled. Image: Supplied

Connor raced to the end of the road and waved a flag for safety, while the parents carried Axel over the barrier and applied first aid. An hour later, a determined young Axel was back in the saddle.

During the ride, the crew was overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion of strangers. People donated to the cause and gave them food, hugs and hot showers, that really buoyed their spirits.

“I think the biggest life lesson from this for both boys was the kindness and compassion of strangers,” notes Edwina.

Along the way, people would also share their stories – it seemed to us that almost everyone has been touched by cancer.

“There were so many people we randomly met who had a cancer story,” says Edwina. “I think this has taught Connor how widespread cancer really is.”

Connor and Axel couldn’t wait to see glimpses of the ocean at Bonny Hills – the end of the ride. The last day was a 50-kilometre ride from Wauchope to North Haven, with steep hills, dirt roads, and tyre punctures along the way.

“It was supposed to be a short ride, we had an hour to go and then that blew out to two hours, then three,” she says. The boys were exhausted, but as the minutes ticked by, their aching legs kept pumping.

Seven days after their adventure began, the boys splashed in the ocean at North Haven Beach, still wearing their helmets, with huge grins from ear to ear.

You can support the boys and the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, by donating to here.

Originally published as My 11yo son and his best friend rode 300kms to help those he loves with cancer