It’s hard to really picture what this event is going to look like once we hit the road. Will the crew be leap-frogging with the rider, will we be cooking and camping on the side of the road (yep), how often can we shower, should we take a shovel? There's probably no such thing as a "typical day" in a 24/7 event… our latest motto is “Over-prepare, then go with the flow”. This event can’t happen without a willing support crew - each member of the crew will be contributing to make sure that ‘all’ the riders have to do is turn their legs over. Shopping, washing, fuelling up, cooking, setting up tents, chatting to the locals and the media, keeping the riders safe on the road, adjusting plans, filming, navigating, updating social media, playing card games, working on our tan… all in a day’s work. Let us introduce the 2016 Fixin’ Poverty Crew.
Laith Beveridge
Head Spanner and Owner of Cranks Bicycle Garage
Laith can track his passion for bikes back to when he was a kid with a blue dragster! He would spend hours on it riding to and from school, then later he progressed to a road bike. Being a Chef by trade, Laith would ride to work in Canberra at 3.30am. Looking for a more family friendly career, he stumbled into the bike industry and has been here for the past 16 years. Doing things for other people is part of his DNA so when the opportunity came up to support Eagles Wings, he was in. Laith is looking forward to the big adventure, keeping the 4 cyclists on the road (especially his wife, Eloise).
Dan Brown
Traffic Modeller / Director of EW Australia
Dan is one of the three cyclists who completed Break the Cycle Africa in 2011, cycling 5500km to raise money to educate 200 children at Eagles Wings. Dan’s an EW frequent flyer, having completed every Eagles Wings event since 2010 and has been heading up the Challenge For Change events since 2014 (Tassie, NZ, Kosciuszko, NZ). He is our stats man, route planner, tech guru and team all-rounder. Dan is looking forward to his second trip across the Nullarbor.
Nat Campbell
Civil Engineer / Director of EW Australia
Nat first got involved with Eagles Wings on a Building Team to Zambia back in 2010, little did she know how fun the next few years would be! Since then, she’s been involved with Board of EW Australia, been back to Zambia with building teams and the annual Kids Camp, bought a bike and been for a couple of big bike rides! Nat will be tackling the admin, media and marketing of this event, alongside general crew duties on the road. She is a big fan of a well-planned spreadsheet.
Alex Carpenter
Founder and Chief Cycle Giver for Atma Cycles
Alex is passionate about alleviating poverty by improving access to education for girls. He founded Atma Cycles in 2014, which supplies a bike to a girl in rural India, every time they sell an Atma Cycle here in Australia. Alex originally comes from the start line of this adventure, Perth. Late last year he made the big drive over the Nullarbor to Sydney. It was a very long way to drive and he still hasn't quite comprehended how much effort riding (further than) this is going to take. He feels very proud to be involved in such a large undertaking.
Sarah Day
Youth Ministry Co-ordinator
This is Sarah’s first time partnering with Eagles Wings. Sarah is a work a good friend (and work colleague) of Eloise. When Eloise was telling Sarah about the crazy bike ride she was doing, Sarah jumped at the change to be part of the crew. Sarah has a heart to serve others, so she is really looking forward to working with a great team of new people and seeing the country in a very different way…
Sammy Hawker
Video Artist
Sammy is a freelance video artist based in Sydney. With a background in stage design, journalism and fine-art she became hooked by the powerful story-telling capability of video and hasn't looked back. This is her second time chasing bikes across the Nullarbor and is very much looking forward to it. She’s bringing her drone!
Graham Hedges
Sergeant / Director of EW Australia
Hedgy has been using his logistics and trouble-shooting skills for Eagles Wings since joining the 2009 Break the Cycle bike ride from Brisbane to Canberra . He’s since headed up the Challenge 4 Change support crews and led a building team to Zambia in 2013. Hedgy brings a level-headed and super dependable personality to the crew. He also loves driving.
There are many others who aren’t named here. The partners, children, families and friends of each of these crew and riders are an integral part of the trip. Thanks to ALL members of the support crew, whether you’re family, friends, supporters, sponsors, cycling enthusiasts......you’re all contributors to this journey. We appreciate you!
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