West to East through desert and open plains, one Canberra man is on a mission to break records and raise money for charities dear to his heart. Andrew (Andy) Kerec heads off on his second Spine Tingling Ride on Tuesday 27 June, raising money for Hartley Lifecare and SpinalCure Australia.

Kicking off from Steep Point, WA – Australia’s westernmost point – Andy will head across the Simpson Desert to Byron Bay, NSW – Australia’s easternmost point. With a plan to travel point to point within 65 days, he is looking to beat the current record of 80 days.

“Dad and I have always been ultra-competitive so I said I might as well have a crack at that … It is a lot less, which is a little bit concerning, but I guess if you’re not nervous or concerned then you don’t have any respect for the challenge,” he says.

Wanting to finish the odyssey on home soil, Andy will then ride from Byron Bay back to Canberra, covering a vast 6,820km in 80 days.

The massive feat of human endurance is to raise money for people with a spinal injury, like his father. Going through what Andy says was his second mid-life crisis, his father, Lud was entering life in his sixties by getting fit and competing in triathlons and ironman events. While preparing for an event, an accident flipped his life upside down.

A collision with another cyclist on a Canberra bike path saw a dislocation of the spine, causing spinal cord damage, leaving him a complete C5 quadriplegic with no movement below his chest. Going from being a go-to handyman, avid traveller and late-in-life fitspiration to losing movement in over half his body was hard.

“The bloke that could kind of fix everything – rebuild an engine with a rubber band and a toothbrush,” says Andy, “it was a massive impact on him, of course, but also his family and friends around him. I think his ability to have got through all that, mentally and psychologically, is probably his greatest achievement and thing I’m most proud of.”

During a pep talk while recovering in a Sydney hospital, Andy made a promise. He said if Lud could get himself back to Darwin for a fishing trip with his sons, then he would cycle from Canberra to Darwin.

“Every spinal injury is very different; I guess the first thing that you have is hope that you get some feeling back and it’s just spinal cord shock, you research and talk, and everyone keeps their hopes up. Eventually, it becomes pretty clear that he’s going to be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life,” Andy says.

The faithful son honoured his promise in the first Spine Tingling Ride in 2017.

“We decided if I was going to do something silly, I might as well try and raise some funds for the charities that we’d come across since Dad’s accident and we managed to raise about $130,000 for Hartley Lifecare and SpinalCure,” he says.

This year, Lud has been busy mapping and planning, and Andy says touring was a big part of his life before the accident.

“Then he sits there and watches me like a hawk on the satellite tracker, which takes up a lot of his time and eases the pressure on my mum who is his primary carer.”

Taking three bikes along for the ride, Andy says it is important to always have a spare, to avoid dealing with a major mechanical breakdown on the road. The third bike will be used on the French Line through the Simpson Desert, riding over a thousand sand dunes.

With no electric bikes in sight, Andy will pedal every inch of the journey, knowing he has a great motivator when it seems too much.

“Last time when things got a bit a little bit tough or you were just over it or your bum was sore or you’d run out of butt cream, they’re really little problems compared to what Dad’s going through and what Hartley Lifecare clients are going through and have to face on a day-by-day basis,” he says.

With pledges already over the $100,000 mark this year, he has set a fundraising target of $200,000. Andy knows that Hartley, an organisation which has provided their family with unwavering support, is undergoing a renewal program for their old houses, and $100,000 would make a huge difference.

“A lot of research foundations and charities, like a lot of people, certainly struggle a bit for funds over the past few interesting years; it will be good timing,” he says.

As the family is in the building industry, they were able to address the physical needs his father would require, something they noticed was a major issue for many spinal cord injury patients.

“What we witnessed up there, which was dozens of people staying in hospital for sometimes six up to 12 [months] up to two years, longer than they really need to because they are waiting for appropriate accommodation,” explains Andy.

Supporting research through SpinalCure Australia, he says the work this organisation is doing in neurostimulation with Project Spark is showing promising results. He says often when someone experiences a spinal cord injury, people are obsessed with them being able to walk again, but many patients, like Lud, would prefer to get function back.

“Dad would much rather get the use of his hands back, for instance, before he could walk,” Andy says. “The neurostimulation is aimed more towards looking at improving some function. Dad can move his hands and fingers a little bit; it’s about improving that and encouraging the body to find new pathways.”

Joining Andy for the first and final stretches is Lud with his hand bike, as well as a group of family members, friends and supporters. They plan to ride the last stretch to Lud’s home in Forde on 11 September.

“My son managed to ride 15km without affecting his hairstyle, so he did well,” smiles Andy.

To support Andrew on his Spine Tingling Ride to raise funds for Hartley Lifecare and SpinalCure Australia, visit thespinetinglingride.com.au

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