Caroline Ward (support crew Torquay to Adelaide)

MY INVOVLEMENT IN CYCLE 4 SAM

My involvement in Cycle for Sam was part of the support crew, in particular support for my sister Michelle and her husband Marty who was cycling. I wouldn't of missed this event for the world. Michelle was a great co-ordinator of this event, what she had to do before, during and after the ride was unbelievable.

I wanted to support Michelle & Marty & all the riders & everyone who made Sam's life such an amazing special time. Even though his life was short it was full of so many happy times, which I will treasure for ever....

My daughter Daisy is good buddies with Charlie so my family also came along for an adventure. We all helped each other on the tour, for example baby sitting in each other cabins, kid swaps, washing, and I even did a few massages with my other sister Sue.

Other involvement was videoing the event which was fun and many of the scenes can be seen on "Cycle4Sam" the movie.

WHAT DID CYCLE 4 SAM MEAN TO ME?

Cycle4Sam meant to me was like a big way of thanking Sam for his life. The Niemann Pick motto is "persevere" which is what the cyclists did. They kept on going when the going was tough, just like our little Sammy did. He never gave up and neither did they.

It was also a lovely was to celebrate Sam's life, and remember that it was a year since Sam passed away. It was such a moving experience releasing balloons on the beautiful morning at Torquay,in the sunshine on a clear blue day, one year since Sam passed away. The whole week was so much fun all being together having laughter and tears and remembering Sammy.

Cycle4Sam was also a great way to fundraise for the Womens & Childrens Hospital, which was a huge success, well done and thanks to everybody, keep it going....!

My only regret from CYCLE4SAM was that we left the journey at Beachport to spend 2 days in freezing Robe. I felt really upset leaving the group and I wish that we stayed on the whole way. It was so quiet and lonely being by ourselves after we had been hanging out with so many fabulous people.

MY FAVOURITE MEMORIES FROM CYCLE 4 SAM

I have a few great memories...

The benefit night -what an amazing start to the event

The start of the ride at Torquay.

The kids covered in mud!

Freezing at Apollo Bay because we forgot our dunas!

And the rain all night..

The rain from Apollo Bay to Warnnambool

 - It was seriously unbelievable, I still can't believe they

made it that day.

The pirate ship and watching Tim surf

Micheal Warleys laksa

The pool at Warnnambool Caravan Park, it looked fabulous I wish I brought my bathers.

Adele's 6th birthday

The kids having the best time

Me hanging my head out of the car to cheer on the riders

The pub at Nelson, I want to go back there and explore one day

Cruising in our new car listening to the Wiggles! Wake up Daddy!

And finally the emotional end of the journey, what an amazing finish. It was just so emotional for me, in particular I was so relieved that everyone had made it home safely and without incident. That was probably the best moment for me and probably Sam too.

Oh.. & the movie night as well!

WHAT DID I ACHIEVE FROM CYCLE4SAM

From the cycle4sam I did come home feeling exhausted and I didn't even cycle! For the cyclists it was a physical and mentally tough challenge, but even for the support crew I found it exhausting...Travelling in a car with 2 young kids is hard work at times, especially due to lack of sleep.

The amount of effort that everyone went to to make this tour a success was terrific. It was all about team support and everyone helping one another.

It's hard to say exactlly what I achieved but I think it was just a lovely way to remember Sam, and it was a great way to support Sam, and the Roberts family and to all be together on this wonderful journey. Sam brought all of us together, thankyou Sam.

Jaimie Holland (rider Torquay to Adelaide)

What was your involvement in "Cycle 4 Sam"?

My first involvement with Cycle 4 Sam as one of the group of cyclists who went on the first ride up to Mount Lofty in 2005, which was the day the idea of a ride from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road was born. I was fortunate enough to then become one of Marty's regular riding partners, which led on to being one of the core group of six who completed the whole ride. My wife, Wendy, my children Jack & Chloe, and the in-laws, Sid and Rhonda also came along on Cycle 4 Sam, making it a wonderful family holiday with many other children, couples, families and friends joining the endeavour.

What did "Cycle 4 Sam" mean to you?

Cycle 4 Sam represented a fantastic idea that deserved to come to fruition - a wonderful way for family and friends to celebrate Sam's life in a meaningful and challenging way; also a hugely successful fundraiser for the hospital. On a personal level, it was a chance to indulge in our own personal tour - the chance to go cycling with friends for seven days along a very scenic route for a great cause was a memory I will treasure forever.

Perhaps the biggest meaning to come from Cycle 4 Sam was the importance of family. So many children, partners, families and friends contributed to the success of the cyclists and the fundraising – seeing so many kids run amok in each caravan park, and new friendships grow was a great outcome.

What is your favourite memory from "Cycle 4 Sam"?

Two magic moments spring to mind when I think of Cycle 4 Sam – riding into Warnambool in tears after completing one of the hardest days of my life, and seeing my kids jumping up and down in the late afternoon rain, happy to see their dad and the other riders. Secondly, riding through the Adelaide hills on the final day with a huge peleton in tow, along Algate Valley Road and down the Old Freeway, feeling as light as a feather knowing we had made it and that Marty would get there safely to the finish line.

What did you personally achieve from "Cycle 4 Sam"?

A huge sense of satisfaction and many fine memories came from being involved in such an amazing endeavour. I have had my faith renewed in the students and colleagues at my school, Pembroke, after their brilliant efforts at fundraising for Cycle 4 Sam. The achievement of the 958 km ride was a great reward; finding out what can be achieved by a bunch of people who want to ride together and help each other along was the greatest personal achievement.

Any other comments?

Well done to the Roberts family for the courage and strength to form the Sam Roberts Family Fund, and for persevering to get Cycle 4 Sam from the Star Café to Torquay and beyond…

Thanks to all the fellow cyclists for your friendship and encouragement. Thanks to my family for their support of all those training rides. Thanks to Michael and Julia for keeping our engines running on premium fuel; thanks also to Kristie and Warren for covering our backs with the support vehicle.

Pain is inevitable.  Suffering is optional.  ~M. Kathleen Casey

If you're going through hell, keep going.  ~Winston Churchill

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.  ~Frank A. Clark

Sally Causby

I was one of the starting cyclists in 'Cycle4Sam'. It was a privilege to a part of such a courageous event. One of the highlights for me was the Day 1 ride. Beautiful blue skys, awesome coastline and a slight tail breeze. A goods days riding. Jaimie Holland hiding Matt Ward's front wheel in a tree during one of our many wee stops was another memorable moment. The whole week was a great team effort. Riders, support crew and kids...the wind and hail slowed us down, but nothing could stop us! 

Mark Reid

I am proud to say that i was one of the starting 6 riders in Cycle 4 Sam. Marty and I both started riding a couple years earlier, and from what started as a ride up to Norton Summit soon became a 7 day odyssey across two states. Cycle 4 Sam was a great opportunity to make people aware of Niemanns Pick disease and to raise some much needed funds for the palliative care unit in the Women's and Children's Hospital.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire 7 days of the trip, the spectacular scenary, the energetic kids, the genorisity of the support crew, the food at the end of each ride, and, to be honest, even the wise cracks of co-driver Jonesy! But for me the highlight was day 2 when we faced extreme wind and rain on what was already going to be one of the harder days of riding. My favourite moment on this day was pulling in to the Warrnabol caravan park knowing that we had all pushed ourselves further then what we had thought was possible. This day is a highlight for me as it gaves us an opportunity to PERSEVERE, which is the focus word for the Neimann Pick organisation.  

Cycle 4 Sam was a great experience and one i will treasure for many years to come. Its not often you get to ride with such a tremendous group of people. To do it to raise funds that you know will help many families in the future makes it even more worthwhile. I would like to thank all those involved, and in particular the Roberts' family who have brought out the best in all of those around them. I look forward to the next one!

Shane O’Brien

It was a fantastic journey that I, and my family, shared with a group of people for a truly worthwhile cause.  It was in many ways a great privilege for us to be involved in such an event.  In life we often take for granted what we have and Cycle 4 Sam made us realise how precious life is and how important family and friends are.

While I only cycled just under 500 kilometers I felt like I had achieved something and personally enjoyed the comraderi and cycle ‘banter’ that occurred along the way.  

In terms of memorable moments I would have to say the close bonding of the family groups was a highlight with everyone getting along so well.  In particular I found the end of each leg to be a great time to reflect and think how special the time was.  I distinctly remember the feeling / elation that the family groups shared when we came into Meningie and the subsequent period where we ate, relaxed, went for our cold water treatment and generally enjoyed each others company.  This was time when you couldn’t help but feel good about life.  I especially remember as I was waist deep in water looking at the shore and seeing the support crew and masses of our own kids running around just having a great time.  It was special.

It was a fantastically well organised event and one that I will look back on with great fondness in the future.

We as a family look  forward to being part of any future events that are planned for ‘Cycle4Sam’.

Shane O’Brien and family

The Warley Family

We are Sam's Aunty Julia, Uncle Michael and cousins Milly, Tom and Oliver. 

Our family was involved in the Cycle 4 Sam as the team caterers.  This involved keeping the army well fed, and we mean well fed!!  We were responsible for devising and cooking a menu that was suitably energy filled for the ever growing squad of riders each day. 

 It was an amazing time and something we feel completely blessed to have been a part of.  It was so satisfying to feel that we could contribute something to such an enormous undertaking.  Nothing could ever match the feeling of being part of something that grew from a tiny grain of an idea to a hugely successful event.  

It was a fantastic experience which has changed everyone involved in many different ways. We met a group of wonderful people brought together for an important cause and we were deeply moved by the dedication, commitment and generosity shown by everyone. 

Thanks for the opportunity to be part of it all.  Look forward to the next stage of Cycle 4 Sam. We'll be there, boiling those eggs!  

We have been incredibly inspired by the positive energy of Marty, Michelle, Lucy and Charlie...we know why you were chosen to be Sam's family.  

We are so lucky to have had our little Sammy, he has changed our lives and we know he is looking after us all with the Big Man Upstairs!  Thanks Sam for making all of us who we are today!  We can't help but carry a little bit of you around with us in everything we do.  You have taught us what is really important in life and will continue to inspire us always and forever xxx