AFL legend Tony Lockett joins Mornington Peninsula mates on gruelling charity ride
AFL legend Tony Lockett has just added an impressive new number to his stats record - cycling 3500km in 19 days.
South East
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From a record 1360 goals in 281 games to cycling 3500km in 19 days, footy legend Tony Lockett’s numbers are astounding.
But the figure that matters most to the unassuming star is the number of lives he hopes his latest effort will save.
Together with four other middle-aged footy mates, Lockett has just completed an epic 3500km bike ride from Perth to Melbourne.
The goal was to ride more than a 1km for every life lost to suicide in Australia each year.
Lockett joined his St Kilda teammate Tim Allen and former players from the Mornington Peninsula Guy Stringer, Brent Loughrey and Ben Adam for the Break the Cycle ride.
The group pedalled into Mornington on Tuesday afternoon after breaking their own mental and physical barries to complete the gruelling journey in just 19 days.
Plugger received the biggest cheer from a crowd of about 100 fans gathered at the clubrooms.
The man mountain has transformed into a lean cycling machine since his playing days and was barely recognisable.
He didn’t linger long, saying only it had been a “terrific ride” before sharing a champagne spray with his fellow riders and signing a few footballs before heading back out.
“I still have some riding to do,” he said.
Fellow rider Brent Loughrey shared moving conversation with farmers during the journey.
“We saw so many tributes to farmers lost to suicide along the way,” he said.
“A Port Wakefield farmer told us he had tried to take his own life twice and that it was talking to services like the ones we are raising money for that saved him.”
Funds raised by the ride will be split between three mental health not for profits – Peninsula Health Network, Speak & Share and It’s Okay not to be Okay.
The money will support education for 30,000 people via school and sporting association workshops, fund 10 community events, and provide equipment to hospitals.
