Edwin Dawson
- National: 233rd
- State: 75th in NSW
My Story
This October, I am taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge to fight kids' cancer!
Because cancer is the largest single killer of children from disease in Australia. Right now, 90 children are diagnosed every month, and sadly, 3 die every week.
Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.
And so I am riding and raising funds to support the Children's Medical Research Institute to continue their work into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and finding a cure for childhood cancer.
Please support my challenge by making a donation through my fundraising page to give these kids the brighter futures they deserve.
Together, we can save little lives.
Thanks for your support.
Edwin
My Legacy
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532 km Ridden$405 Raised2015
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Ridden$124 Raised2025
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550 km Ridden$2,586 Raised2026
My Challenge
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Day 31: Western Sydney Airport Ride - Part 2
1 Nov 2026Finally, the servo was in sight, I pumped up the tyre to full. Great. That made it 10% better. Right next door was McDonalds, so I took the opportunity to get out of the rain and have a hot Big Mac meal with 10 nuggets and a chocolate thickshake, and dry off a bit. Gotta maintain the morale. While I was eating that, the rain stopped. YES! Back on the road. It was still hard to get started and climbing hills was an absolute bastard, but I could make the bike do it with a coercive amount of force. It complained loudly, as if it was dying. Take your medicine, bike. This steam train is not stopping for you! At this point I broke through into the fancy new bike tracks that were built as part of the new airport. They call it the "Emu Trail" and it is quite deluxe, lots of long straights, really well suited to high-speed riding, if you're into that. As I was rolling through this delightful bush section, I was reminded that this is in the foothills of the Blue Mountains by the sudden appearance of a gaggle of kangaroos all over the track! They looked genuinely surprised to see a human there (and to be fair, I only saw one other rider/human there the whole day). It was a full family of kangaroos, including the "beefy" male alpha (check out the video to see the kangaroos). So now, on these high speed cycle tracks, I could keep the bike at a pretty high speed and minimise the pain of having to kick it in the touch to get out of a crawling pace. I zoomed along, occasionally beset by clouds of gnats along the wetlands and short bursts of rain. Soon, the tracks led me right to the airport's front door. I have to say, it is a very nice airport, with lavish outdoor landscaping. After some posed photos at this "Instagrammable" location, I turned the battered bike around and rode it all the way back home again, taking a bit of a higher-speed route on the M5 freeway in the dark. The total ride distance for this final day was 118km, blowing through the goal of 500km before midnight. I had finally made it! So many kilometres run down, so many adventures, so many kind donations, one mechanical casualty. The bike will never be the same again. But I think its torture, sacrifice and untimely death are a worthy investment for the greater good. Sincerely, thank you everyone who donated and cheered me along during the challenge! It's been quite the adventure. I rolled to infinity, the bike blew its foofle valve and the clouds overflowed, but so did my heart.
Posted 18 hours ago -
Day 31: Western Sydney Airport Ride - Part 1
1 Nov 2026This is it. The final day of my fundraising ride for October 2026! It has been a long and lonesome road (literally) to get to this point. But how many K's do I still need to do to hit the magic 500km? Looking at the chart, I frown. I still owe the board about 70km! Yikes. And it's already midday. I'll be racing the sun to the finish line! Plotting destinations about 70 kms away, I lock onto a good one. The new Sydney airport at Badgery's Creek! Due to the extra distance, I packed a double water ration and powerbanks for my lights and phone. I also put on my "White Ninja" cycling outfit, which my wife calls the "Stormtrooper" suit for max visibility among cars. The sun is shining brightly as I jump on the bike and start rolling down Parramatta Road. This is going to be great, I say. Zooming through the industrial areas in western Sydney, I stop briefly at an Oportos to take in a cold lemonade and take pictures of the clouds. Then it's back on the road. Just before I reached the nice new cycling track I was aiming for, I had a bit of a "mechanical", as they call it in tight-pants peloton circles. As I tried to merge into traffic, my rear wheel suddenly started rubbing against the frame of the bike, causing a strong "braking" effect and making a grindy, two-stroke engine kind of sound effect. Uh-oh. That is "no bueno". Pulling off the road, I removed the wheel and tried to diagnose the problem. The rear wheel was alarmingly "loosey-goosey" on its axle, allowing it to tilt in all directions. It seemed as though an important part of the wheel assembly had either broken, fallen off, or both. There was literally nothing I could do about it in that moment, and the fading afternoon sun was sending a warning of its own. Daylight's burning! The challenge must still be won! I tried refitting and adjusting the wheel in various different ways, until it was rubbing somewhat less than before. Good. Then I went to re-inflate the tyre, and it was at this exact moment that I realised that an important part of my bike pump had somehow unscrewed itself, come off, and become lost. This meant that the pump could not hold itself in place any more. Also, quite comically, at this point the skies opened, and it began to rain really hard. I don't know if you've read any children's books, but this was fast turning into the "Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day", or perhaps "Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events". Luckily I had pliers in my toolkit, so I awkwardly clamped the pump onto the nozzle with the pliers and pumped it for dear life. I could barely get any air into the tyre that way, but I got enough in for it to be "rideable". Checking the map, there was a service station about 500 metres down the road. Great. I can fill up the air there. I jumped back on the bike as the rain pelted down, among big gusts of wind. The bike could roll "okay", but every time I put my full leg force onto the pedal, the rear tyre would press hard against the frame, "putting on the brakes" and making the loud grindy-grindy sound again (take a look at the video, if you want to know what that sounded like). It was very tiring, trying to ride the bike that way. What should I do? Is this too much? Is it time to give up? The good people are relying on me to do the thing! But I was not to be defeated. I had come too far, and faced too much hardship to abandon this challenge right at the finish line. I found that by applying 200% of the normal power required to roll, the bike would very slowly accelerate, albeit groaning like an overweight manatee with gallstones. Once I had gotten up to the third gear, the pedal pressure required is much less, so the bike would start rolling "normally" again (Narrator: it was NOT normal). So I rolled through this spring squall in Fairfield, sounding as though my BMX bike had a piece of cardboard wedged against the wheel. "GrrRRR! GrrRRR! GrrRRR!" all the way. (continued in Part 2)
Posted 18 hours ago -
118.0 km ride - Western Sydney Airport - Saturday, October 31, 2026
Logged this ride 1 day ago -
$2,500 raised to fight kids' cancer!
I just raised $2,500 to fight kids' cancer and achieved SUPERHERO LEVEL in the challenge! Thank you so much for your support.
Posted 2 days ago -
Day 28: Night Rider
28 Oct 2026As October winds down, I am cramming in the kilometres to hit 500. Sometimes, that means riding after dark! No biggie. I've got some pretty bright road lights. That strobe in shades of red. My bike, KITT, doesn't talk or drive itself though. That's the way I like it.
"Night Rider: a shadowy flight into the world of a man... who does not exist. Michael Knight... err, Ed Dawson, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless. In a world of criminals who operate above the law."
Posted 4 days ago -
13.3 km ride - Night Rider - Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Logged this ride 4 days ago -
Day 28: 7 Bridges Ride
27 Oct 2026Since the annual event of Sydney's "7 Bridges Walk" took place last weekend, I took the opportunity to ride the bike along those same bridges in a loop. One of the great things about living in this beautiful harbour city is that gorgeous water views are never far away. The iconic Anzac, Sydney Harbour, Pyrmont and Iron Cove Bridges have excellent cycle tracks, all of the other bridges (the Fig Tree Bridge, Tarban Creek Bridge and Gladesville Bridge) are basically "not cycle friendly". But you get that. Not to worry, it was a very pleasant afternoon with a golden sunset. Along the way I caught up for a coffee and a chat with Alan, my Father-in-law, who was making handcrafted Christmas cards and beautiful bookmarks as gifts for all the family. If only we could all be so creatively motivated!
Posted 5 days ago -
39.1 km ride - 7 Bridges Ride - Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Logged this ride 6 days ago -
Day 22: Sculptures By The Sea Ride
22 Oct 2026Every October, the coastline between Sydney beaches of Bondi and Tamarama host the Sculptures By The Sea, a triumphant outdoor exhibition showing off exquisite sculptural art adjacent to the dazzling beauty of nature. It's quite a visual feast, and often includes a number of pieces that raise awareness of various issues in our world, which cause the observer to reflect and think over the message a number of times. You get to take in a fresh coastline track with stunning ocean views, and around every corner is another intriguing artist's creation that either challenges our views, pokes fun at our beliefs and institutions, or feeds our thirst for aesthetic beauty.
Posted 11 days ago -
37.5 km ride - Sculptures by the Sea Ride - Thursday, October 22, 2026
Logged this ride 11 days ago
My Sponsors
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Kick Cancer's Butt Day Matching Donation
“Here's your matched donation from our generous supporters. THANK YOU so much for your awesome efforts to kick cancer's butt!”
$362.25Received this donation 25 days ago
Edwin
“Great job, butt-kickers! You kicked those butts right out of town!”
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Beck Dawson
“Yo bro, go for it!!!!!”
$258.75Received this donation 25 days ago
Edwin
“Whoa! Thank you Beck! The cheque's in the mail! ;-) This donation will make me ride twice as fast as before. Cheers!”
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Mino Bucci
$258.75Received this donation 29 days ago
Edwin
“Mino! Oh my God! What a mighty donation! Thank you for contributing so much to such a worthy cause my friend! I hope you are doing well. We'll have to catch up for a ride or beer sometime.”
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Alan Richardson
“Keep up the good work.”
$103.50Received this donation 23 days ago
Edwin
“Oh thank you Alan! Very kind of you to make a contribution. Britannia rules the waves!”
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ANDRE TURNBULL
“Please support Edwin, every dollar is important for the children. Ride well my friend. Ride safely.”
$103.50Received this donation 25 days ago
Edwin
“Hey there Andre! Thank you for the generous donation my friend! I hope you are keeping well. We'll have to have a coffee catchup soon!”
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Eoin Murphy
$103.50Received this donation 29 days ago
Edwin
“Eoin you legend! Thanks for the generous donation! 'Slauncher'! ;-)”
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Kingsley Mason
“Cycling and donating to a good cause is like coffee - you can never have too much! May your caffeine levels be like your kilometres... balanced and high!”
$103.50Received this donation 30 days ago
Edwin
“Haha, thank you Mr Wordsmith and generous donator! Well. Being "high" on the bike, let's not get too carried away. I will have some caffeine to wake me up a bit. ;-) Thanks so much and let's catch up soon!”
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Mark Beattie
“A noble effort for a noble cause, kudos! 👍🚴”
$103.50Received this donation 32 days ago
Edwin
“Ah! Thanks so much champion! Appreciate you!”
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Matthew Hirst
“Edwin, a great mission - all the best.”
$103.50Received this donation 22 days ago
Edwin
“Oh thank you Matthew for the generous donation! I hope all is well with you!”
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Mike Sampson
“On ya' bike! (This is awesome Ed. Safe riding.)”
$103.50Received this donation 33 days ago
Edwin
“Thanks so much, Mike. Really appreciate it.”
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Andrew Bavage
$51.75Received this donation 31 days ago
Edwin
“Hey Andy! Thanks buddy, I appreciate it! Let's catch up soon!”
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Andrew Stebbing
$51.75Received this donation 33 days ago
Edwin
“Hey there Andrew! Hope you are doing well. Thanks so much for the donation sir!”
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Ben Crowe
“Great cause Ed.”
$51.75Received this donation 21 days ago
Edwin
“Crowie, thanks very much for donating. I really appreciate it.”
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Ben Pearson
“Good on you, Ed 💪”
$51.75Received this donation 19 hours ago
Edwin
“Thank you so much Ben! Really appreciate it. You are the third Ben to donate! I think this means we have statistically proven that people named Ben are excellent human beings. Let's catch up soon!”
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Ben, Loretta & Alice
“Go Ed go!! Great cause and even better cycle diary 🙌”
$51.75Received this donation 11 days ago
Edwin
“Oh hello team! Thank you Ben, Loretta and Alice so very much for the kind donation! Lovely to hear from you. We'll have to catch up for a bushwalk soon!”
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Cameron Patience
“Good work Ed, and a great cause.”
$51.75Received this donation 23 days ago
Edwin
“Why thank you sir! I hope you and the tribe are all doing well!”
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Hannah Richardson
“Keep those buns pumping!!!”
$51.75Received this donation 26 days ago
Edwin
“Haha! I'm gonna have to do that a LOT! Thank you. ;-)”
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Hugh
“Doo it!”
$51.75Received this donation 30 days ago
Edwin
“Oh why thank you sir! In accordance with your wishes, I shall venture onward with the steely resolve of the DragonBorn Dovakiin. FUS RO DAH! ;-)”
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Karen and Aaron Laing
“Go Ed!!!!”
$51.75Received this donation 2 days ago
Edwin
“Thanks so much for the donation Karen and Aaron! You helped get me over the line at the 11th hour!”
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Kelly Greenhill
$51.75Received this donation 25 days ago
Edwin
“Ah, thank you so much Kelly! The "Heroes" prevailed once again! :-)”