The Fit Ladies journey
6 brave Fit Ladies cycled 300km from Vietnam to Cambodia in extreme weather conditions, difficult rocky roads and hilly mud tracks. Jess Ware, Jane Atkinson and Sally Wallace from Canowindra, Rowena Macrae, Marissa Callaghan, and Shona Ballard from Coonamble and Olly Jones and Renee MacNamara from Melbourne, all contributed to raising a huge $35,000 for Arthritis NSW.
“Between the first Facebook post and going through Customs, there had already been 6 major donations! We are so thankful to the Canowindra Community for all their support and everyone who donated and contributed to the success of our journey, we will never forget this amazing experience”, Jane Atkinson said.
“Personally I am ecstatic that all the ladies cycled every kilometre and never showed signs of giving up, even during the rough times, and believe me there was plenty!”, Jess Ware said.
A short recap of their journey started at Ho Chi Minh City where they volunteered at Go Vap Orphanage, home of 250 children 80% of which have mental or physical disability. Sally and Jane took a 5 hour trip to meet Thanh Tuan, a child that Jane has been sponsoring through World Vision for 7 years.
The ladies also experienced first hand one of the seven wonders of the world; Angkor Wat, which was first a Hindu, then subsequently, a Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world.
The ladies then cycled through the hilly landscape of Cambodia and arrived in Sihanoukville for a well earned rest! Other places that the ladies visited were Mehong Delta, Kep, Phnom Phen and Siam Reap.
The Fit Ladies are back on their bikes with a charity fun ride ‘Gear up Girl’ for Women on March 9th in Sydney. The fun ride is to help raise money for TAD Disability Services, which is the only charity in NSW which designs and builds custom equipment to enable people with disabilities to lead more independent lives. For more information visit www.gearupgirl.com.au