This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Hartley Cycle Challenge which has raised over $583,000 to help give people with a disability the opportunity to live their best life.

The 2019 Team

BellchambersBarrett was proud to have a team involved for the second year which raised over $28,000.

The ride is not an easy feat; it involves a gruelling 450km over three days from Canberra to Charlotte Pass in Mt Kosciusko and back.

This year the teams were riding in temperatures in the high thirties.

Why would a group of [mainly accountants] take part in the challenge?

Dylan Valentine – Team Captain

‘I wanted to take part in the ride for a couple of reasons:
a. Hartley Lifecare provides full time care for my mother so I wanted to raise both money and awareness to support and inform people about the important work they do in the Canberra community; and
b. I wanted to encourage and support colleagues at BellchambersBarrett, who perhaps didn’t think they could, to complete the challenge of riding from Canberra to Charlotte Pass and back over 3 days.’

Angus Brewer

‘Aside from helping the immediate community for a worthwhile charity, I took part because it is a thrill you don’t get from being an accountant and studying CA. I wanted to do something most would never consider.’

Jamie Glenn

‘To support Dylan Valentine.’

Luke Bulkeley

‘I wanted to take part for a variety of reasons. The main one was to support Hartley Lifecare, they really are an organisation doing wonderful things within the local community. Secondly I enjoy the friendships and the special teamwork that the BellchambersBarrett Team consistently displays, on and off the road.’

Sart Spinks

‘I drove the BellchambersBarrett support vehicle in the 2018 Hartley Cycle Challenge. I made the commitment to ride in 2019 after being inspired by the event – the fundraising, the sense of community, the team comradery and the stories shared.’

John Gregory

‘I took part to support friends whose family is supported by Hartley Lifecare. It is great to be able to support Hartley through all the great work they do for the community.’

What was the biggest challenge either on or up to the ride?

Dylan Valentine – Team Captain

‘The biggest challenge for me was trying to motivate my team mates to train for the upcoming ride so that everyone would be in the best possible shape to complete the ride and to encourage all of my fellow team members to raise money for Hartley Lifecare.’

Angus Brewer

‘The biggest challenges leading up to the ride is time management and watching your diet. You often find yourself going for four-five hour rides on the weekend so you can’t be hungover. After a long ride all you want to do is rest so it was hard to find balance for friends and family.

‘The biggest challenge during is actually sitting for 8 hours pedalling rather than the pedalling itself… You get so sore.’

Jamie Glenn

‘Sitting on a bike for 8 hours.’

Luke Bulkeley

‘The biggest challenge for me is the distance on day 1 and the great unknown on what the conditions will bring. This year the conditions on the ride were pretty good, with heat and wind gusts the main challenges.’

John Gregory

‘The biggest challenge was getting enough and the right fuel into the body. It tough to continue drinking and eating on such a long ride.’

Sart Spinks

‘Having prioritised anything but physical activity for the past 10-years and having never ridden a bike further than the shops, the biggest challenge was fitness.’

Many thanks to the team at Hartley Lifecare and to Dean Thompson for providing the above photography.