Phil and Ned's Ride for Nature
Update
14 Apr 2025
Gday All,
Further to our last update about Ned reaching the final 4 of the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards, we would love it if you would be willing to take the time to vote for him for the People's Choice Awards for his efforts to raise nearly $60000 for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, The Thin Green Line Foundation and Ride4AWoman in Uganda.
To do this please copy this link into your browser:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1041706648010947&set=a.1041711058010506&type=3&mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
and vote for Ned!
If you are really keen, people can vote each day, once a day until May 19th!
Thanks for your help and please spread the link far and wide to help Ned win the peoples choice award as part of the Tasmanian Young Achievers Award!
Kind regards,
Phil and Ned.
Update
01 Apr 2025
Dear amazing supporters,
It's been a long time since our last catch up and there are just a couple of things to update you on. Firstly, we did a talk about our ride at the Fern Tree Tavern a little while back to a really nice group and managed to raise another $1200 towards our target. We direct deposited it so it doesn't appear on our MyCause total, but we are now over $56000 for our two conservation charities and have raised around $2000 for Ride4AWoman in Uganda as well.
The second piece of exciting news is that Ned is now a finalist in the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards for his efforts on the bike ride (apologies if you have already heard all this through our instagram). He finds out at a Gala Dinner in May if it goes any further but regardless it's really nice that he gets that recognition for such an incredible effort- he is still only 14 even now!!.
In light of the potential exposure Ned might get from this, we will extend our fundraising efforts until the middle of the year- living in hope that we still might reach our target!! I know you have all generously contributed to our cause - but please feel free to spread the word throughout your networks and lets see if we as a bigger community can contribute to environmental protection even more - especially in light of some of the recent negative impacts to the frontline conservation workers in the US and the rest of the world through aid cuts and job losses in that sector, and the ongoing threats to our natural areas and species. We might look for a few more opportunities to present about our ride to help with this as well.
Until next time, thank you all so much and we hope this finds you all doing really well,
cheers
Phil and Ned.
Update
04 Feb 2025
Dear amazing supporters,
While it has been quite some time since we finished the ride - it is still so fresh in our minds and still influences how we do things each day. Ned has turned his attention to epic runs now - like the Point to Pinnacle and Kunanyi Mountain Run, and I have been balancing work, school holidays and music events while trying to stay on top of the mental challenge of finishing such a significant journey. It was such a privilege. Ned and I just got back from a hike around the Walls of Jerusalem National Park with Andy and Max who supported us in the first week of our ride. It just drove home the importance of protecting natural areas and how much we as humans need these places for fresh air, fresh water and connection - not to mention the species and communities that thrive in them as well.
The purpose of this update is to let those of you who might be in Tassie on Feb 14th know that we are going to give a chat and show some video of our ride to conclude the fundraising part of our adventure. It will be at the Fern Tree Tavern at 7 pm. It will be by donation of any amount and we would love to see some of you there. Tickets can be purchased here (just copy and paste this link into your browser): https://events.humanitix.com/phil-and-ned-s-ride-for-nature-presentation
If you are out of the state but feel like donating again, then it is of course welcome and will be split 50:50 between the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and Thin Green Line Foundation. And if anyone would like us to come and give a talk elsewhere to keep momentum going, then feel free to get in touch via nargiewise29@gmail.com and we can see what might be possible.
Otherwise, this is our final, sincere thank you to all of you who supported us on the journey- it had a profound impact on us and we are sure it will be a very positive contribution to our environment as well.
All the best,
Phil and Ned
Update
14 Oct 2024
Gday again amazing supporters. Spring has definitely sprung in Tasmania and I have been enjoying my fieldwork for the Land for Wildlife Program. There are lots of orchids like this bird orchid out and about and every field trip is like a treasure hunt.
Anyway, the fundraising part of our ride feels like it is reaching its natural end, but we continue to get positive support for our ride in amazing ways. The latest of these was a really nice speech given by Greens MP Vica Bayley in the Tasmanian Parliament recently. I just thought Id share the link if you are interested in watching it. Ned and I were invited by Vica to watch it being delivered in the chamber and really appreciated the opportunity. I guess just copy and paste the link below into your browser and hopefully it will work!!
cheers
Phil and Ned
https://fb.watch/vcapekgoKJ/
Update
1 / 2
22 Sep 2024
Dear amazing supporters,
We are just writing to let you know how things are going since we have returned from our ride.
Truth is- it was a pretty hard landing after experiencing such freedom and clarity of mind with very few of life’s distractions taking over our brains! But we are getting there now. Ned has just finished his school production and I have been spending lots of fantastic time in the field for my job and we have both done a few local rides. The weather has been wet and rainy so hopefully we do a bit more riding when it improves!
We have been pushing on with our fundraising efforts and have been trying to get the story of our ride into a few publications to help with that. We are also working on putting a talk together to present to our own community and then maybe a bit further if any opportunities arise. After that we will probably wind it all down.
I’ve attached a copy of a local article that was in the Hobart Mercury today for your interest.
I can also proudly report that money from this and last years fundraiser for Ugandan Rangers is hitting the ground in a really meaningful way- with some essential equipment such as GPS units, UHF Radios, night vision gear and binoculars being delivered by friends and supporters who are heading over there for their own trips to Uganda. This will go a long way to helping rangers prevent poaching in some pretty badly affected areas. It is very gratifying and I thank those people who have taken it over there on behalf of the Thin Green Line. Some of the funds raised through this bike ride have also gone into setting up a foundation fund for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. This fund is used to ensure that their reserves and science program can continue to be managed according to world best practice. We are super proud to contribute to this on all of your behalves, so again - thank you so much. Here is the link to that if you want to have a look! https://tasland.org.au/phil-neds-ride-for-nature/
We will leave it there, and hope this finds you all well and enjoying nature somewhere!
All the best,
Phil and Ned
Update
11 Aug 2024
Here is the image that should have gone out with the last update!!
Update
1 / 6
30 Jul 2024
Dear amazing supporters.
Well it has finally come to this…. Tomorrow, after over 75 days and 5000 plus kilometres, Ned and I will finally roll into Darwin and end our journey.
It will be with mixed feelings that we stop riding. Of course we have missed the rest of the family, friends, our pets and our school and work mates. And I need to get back to work to start paying for it! But we have also become very accustomed to the routine that is bike touring. Waking up in the tent in a new place each day, setting the goal of where we need to ride to, being vigilant in the presence of huge numbers of caravans and road trains, trying to ensure we eat and drink enough to reach our destination, and dealing with whatever the elements throw at us.
To be honest we have been very lucky with the elements and have only had a few days of rain on the journey. Whilst we battled quite a few big headwinds south of Alice Springs- including on the Oodnodatta track, we then picked up the SE trade winds on our tails which pushed us further north with much greater ease despite the gear we were towing which included up to 25 litres of water on some days.
We have had huge uphills (including some that required us to walk the bikes) and exhilarating downhills, and long stretches of straight, flat road which gave us plenty of time to ponder the meaning of life! We have also had a few crashes (usually relating to unexpected soft ground and not getting out of our pedal clips in time!).
We have reconnected with many friends that we haven’t seen for years and this has been a very special part of the journey- as has all the new connections we have made through the Ranger associations and Rangers that supported us along the way,. We have also met and chatted with a huge number of you on the road as fellow travellers- and explained to you the fundraising element of the ride. At the time of writing ( first draft at 3:05am in Litchfield National Park with no reception) and thanks to you all, we have raised over $40000 on our MyCause page. We are super proud of this, knowing that with the 50:50 split the funds raised will be going to two super effective and dedicated charities in Tasmanian Land Conservancy and The Thin Green Line Foundation. We have also been able to send separately close to $1500 to Ride4AWoman in Uganda through talks, cash donations and small contributions we have made ourselves at every 1000km milestone. We encourage you to look up all of our charities and sign up to receive more information about the good work each of these organisations does.
Ned and I have many highlights too numerous to mention here- but it has been a wonderful opportunity to spend this time together and we have both reflected that not once has our determination to get to Darwin wavered. We have always believed we could do it- and so we have done it and that is the biggest lesson Ned told me he will take away from this.
To finish up- we would like to thank each and every one of you for contributing to our MyCause page , and also to thank everyone that has supported us along the way, in so many ways- including the long list of sponsors that provide gear essential to the trip.
We will keep the MyCause page live for another couple of months after we finish, so please feel free to continue to pass our link in to other people and to tell our story. Until the next adventure, good bye and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Phil and Ned
Update
20 Jul 2024
Dear wonderful supporters,
We write this update from Katherine, 336km south of Darwin which is where we end this amazing journey on July 31st, World Ranger Day. We have completed some very long days on the bikes through the arid zone so that we could slow down once we reached the top end. We have now started to do this with a full day of rest and swimming around Mataranka, and tomorrow we will do the same at Katherine Hot Springs after riding 105km to get here today. Just as the Victorian and South Australian Rangers did as we passed through their areas, NT Rangers have really looked after us as we have moved through and tonight we have some accomodation courtesy of them. We have taken the opportunity to do our first clothes washing since Alice Springs!! Thank you all- especially Kelly, John, Barry, Sarah and Stretch so far!
At this stage all is on track to arrive in Darwin as planned but we will first travel to Edith Falls and through Litchfield National Park and Berry Springs. Ned reckons we will come close to reaching 5000kms total but has lost all his calculations when his phone got drowned at Berry Springs- so will have to go back and work it all out again!! We have met some great people as we travelled through the various towns and roadhouses and thank you to those who went on and donated to our causes. We have nearly reached $40000 to be split evenly between Tasmanian Land Conservancy and The Thin Green Line Foundation- and have also sent over $1000 to Ride4AWoman in Uganda for their amazing social enterprise. We completely trust that all three organisations will use these funds to benefit nature and the people and communities that protect it. We are very proud of this achievement- but of course it is because of each and every one of you who have contributed to that total- so a massive thank you to all of you. As we ramp up our efforts towards our final target for the last 12 days of our trip- feel free to spread our MyCause link and encourage people to follow our journey on Instagram at ridefornature24. We intend to roll into town somewhere under the shady trees near the Cenotaph in Darwin around midday to celebrate World Ranger Day. We look forward to updating you again after that.
Cheers
Phil and Ned
Update
09 Jul 2024
Dear amazing supporters, sorry it has been a long time since our last update. We have been travelling pretty long distances ever since we got to the Northern Territory with several days of over 100km. We have had some days of fantastic tail winds, some of strong headwinds and many coming in over our right shoulder when the SE winds kick in.
It has been a pretty uplifting time, with a couple of talks delivered in Alice Springs raising money for our conservation causes and also Ride4AWoman. We also did several interviews on radio at Hobart, Alice Springs and Macca Australia all over. That last interview had an incredible response, and whilst we rode from Kulgera to Erldunda many of you who listen to Macca donated and we raised over $5000. We will thank everyone personally when we have a chance, but want to take the opportunity here to say a massive thank you to all donors- it has an incredible impact on how we feel on the bikes when we get so much support, and at the same time we have been receiving messages from Rangers in Uganda who are receiving much needed equipment to use on the ground to protect wildlife. So thank you- and please feel free to share our link for and wide so we might get to our target by World Rangee Day on July 31st when we roll into Darwin.
We are at Wauchope right now- just below Karlu Karlu- Devils Marbles which we will ride through today and then on to Tennant Creek. We feel very privileged to be on this journey with you all. We really appreciate the support we have received and are still receiving as we travel north vs and take none of it for granted.
Sincerely,
Phil and Ned
DONATIONS476
Anonymous
Tue, 1 Apr 2025
$ 50
$ 50
Anonymous
Tue, 1 Apr 2025
$ 2000
Hi Phil and Ned, happy to continue to help. Cheers Jane and Kevin. Please make out receipt to Kevin Wheelahan
Hi Phil and Ned, happy to continue to help. Cheers Jane and Kevin. Please make out receipt to Kevin Wheelahan
$ 2000
Andrew Nichols
Mon, 3 Mar 2025
$ 50
Brendan passed this on to me. Good luck and well done
Brendan passed this on to me. Good luck and well done
$ 50
Simon Brown
Sun, 16 Feb 2025
$ 20
Well done Ned and Phil, a highlight of your adventuring and fundraising lives so far.
Well done Ned and Phil, a highlight of your adventuring and fundraising lives so far.
$ 20
Linda Wilson
Wed, 12 Feb 2025
$ 45
To attend Fern Tree . Just myself
To attend Fern Tree . Just myself
$ 45
Anonymous
Tue, 4 Feb 2025
$ 50
$ 50
Anonymous
Thu, 31 Oct 2024
$ 500
$ 500
Matt High / Golden Plains
Fri, 25 Oct 2024
$ 50
On behalf of one of Australia's great music festivals - via Ben Wise
On behalf of one of Australia's great music festivals - via Ben Wise
$ 50
