Eric “Cowboy” Annabel set off from Cobram the morning of July 27 on an electric bike with a mission — get to Perth and raise some money for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation while he’s at it.
While Eric didn’t quite make it all the way to Perth, he did make it to the West Australia border and raised $5100 and counting to boot, he raised $500 before leaving Cobram, which shot up to $3000 by the time he got to Port Augusta in South Australia.
“I hit Mundrabilla and it was overcast and I had flat batteries ... then it was overcast and rainy for the next two days,” he said.
“There was a very strong headwind, it was going to take me too long to get to Perth and come back and I had to get back for work.
“I sent the bike and trailer over on a little truck ... I got a chap who was coming this way and with the two of us driving, we made it back in record time yesterday morning (September 13).”
However, he said he enjoyed the experience overall and the people he got to meet along the way.
“It was hard because the bike doesn’t like hills and it seemed everywhere I went, I was going uphill, so the batteries didn’t last as long as I thought they would,” he said.
“It was hard but extremely enjoyable ... it was worth it just for the experience of meeting the people and talking to people about cancer.”
Eric’s journey was mostly smooth, but he was among friends even in the most remote places.
“I pulled up for the night once to fix a puncture, the next morning a road train went past and he went 10km up the road, dropped the trailers and came back ... it was Wayne Hicks, who’s originally from Cobram,” Eric said.
“He picked the bike up and brought it to Border Village (on the SA/WA border).”
Eric said he was very proud of his achievements so far and hoped to raise more money for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation at another fundraising event on Sunday.
The “welcome back” party for him will be on at the Grand Central Hotel in Cobram from 1pm, including a raffle and $1 from every beer donated to Eric’s fundraising efforts.