EFL: North Ringwood’s Jack Whelan to ride 2000km for charity
An EFL Premier Division star has his sights set on a 2000km bike ride to raise funds and awareness for MS and mental health, with almost $60,000 raised so far...
Local Footy
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North Ringwood star Jack Whelan has swapped the Sherrin for a push-bike and is set to embark on the ride of a lifetime, all in the name of charity.
The Saints midfielder is planning a two-week ride across Victoria of more than 2000kms, once restrictions lift, to raise funds and awareness for two causes close to his heart – multiple sclerosis (MS) and mental health and wellbeing organisation, Outside the Locker Room, which provides critical support to community sporting clubs, schools and workplaces across Australia.
In an effort which has seen close to $60,000 raised since June, Whelan, who plies his trade as a builder, is busily racking up about 300km a week on the bike in preparation, riding to and from work and within the current permitted 5km radius when he’s off the clock.
Titled ‘Miles for Smiles’, the journey’s motivation lies close to home for Whelan, with the ride planned in honour of his late cousin Robert Burns who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of MS at just 28 years of age and passed away at 34.
Family friend Sue Laurie, now 53, was diagnosed at just 32 with a young family in full swing, and has given great hope to those battling the disease that they can go on to lead a “relatively normal life”.
Whelan’s own battle with anxiety, having lived with the condition for “seven or eight years”, serves as the key motivation to raise funds for Outside the Locker Room after he was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder in 2017.
“Part of me has always wanted to do something above the ordinary to try and raise money for a really good cause,” Whelan said.
“Having the link to MS, and I’ve suffered with anxiety myself for the last seven or eight years – I feel like I’ve got it to a point where it’s manageable now – but I’m quite strongly linked and feel passionately about both of those things.
“I guess we wanted to highlight both sides of the (MS) coin – there’s still a lot of hope for people who are diagnosed, it’s not all doom and gloom – but at the same, let’s raise some money and awareness, because in some cases, it’s untreatable.”
The mammoth fundraiser all came about after grassroots football was cancelled for 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, which left Whelan hunting for ideas on how to keep fit.
“When the gyms got closed down and we weren’t playing footy, I thought, ‘Bloody hell, I better do something here, or I’ll let myself go’, so I bought a bike,” Whelan said.
“Obviously I rode a bike as a kid, but I hadn’t ridden a bike in five or 10 years … you don’t forget, and as they say, it’s just like riding a bike and I just loved it.
“With footy being called off, it gave me the opportunity to commit all my time and energy into something else.
“Selfishly, it’s been a really good thing for me to be a part of. It wasn’t the main reason I did it but the by-product is doing something good for other people, it makes you feel good too.”
The tour was originally planned to head to Noosa, Queensland, but the ever-changing COVID-19 landscape with border restrictions meant a change of tact.
Just as stoic as he is on the footy field and never one to shirk an issue, Whelan was still keen to fulfil the ride. He rerouted the trip to within Victoria, where he and his crew of “about 20” also aims to tip much-needed funds back into the local economies of towns left ravaged by the bushfires earlier this year.
“I started planning out this 2.0 version of the ride and I just kept on seeing the positives of doing it here in Vic – part of the reason is we can shine a bit of a light on some of the towns that have been copping it … first of all the bushfires which seems so long ago now, they really had a tough year,” Whelan said.
“While raising money and awareness for the two charities that we’ve already committed to … if we can spend some money in the pubs and restaurants and cafes – I just thought we can’t lose by keeping it to Vic.
“We’ll ride the whole way along the Murray River, along the Victorian/New South Wales border until we get to South Australia, and then we’ll start coming down south to Port Campbell, Port Fairy.
“Then we’ll ride back through Lorne, Great Ocean Road into Queenscliff and then on the ferry over to Sorrento, then we’ll ride along Beach Rd pretty much from Sorrento, Beach Rd, home, so hopefully a bit of a welcome home party.”
The North Ringwood Football Club and its array of community connections have got behind its former captain and the causes, with everything from cash donations to auction items for coming fundraisers put forward in pursuit of a $100,000 target for funds raised.
“We continue to just be blown away by the generosity of everyone, and especially during these tough times … the floodgates just opened, everyone was so willing to jump on board,” Whelan said.
“I’ve been the face of it, but it’s been a collective effort by all to get us where we are so far.
“Hopefully once restrictions lift, we’ve got a couple more fundraisers planned and hopefully set our sights on the big ton – raising the $100,000.
“It’s very exciting, I can’t wait.”