I'M RIDING 0KM THIS OCTOBER
TO FIGHT MS
I'm taking the Challenge to fight MS!
This November, I am taking part in the 40th MS Gong Ride! If you know me, you’ll know that “endurance” is not exactly my middle name, so this will be a big challenge for me.
Since 1981, this iconic ride has raised funds to help fight MS and I'm now part of this incredible legacy.
Why am I fundraising?
It’s simple: my Dad has suffered from MS since before I was born and I want to contribute to helping people with this in any possible way. I wasn’t much of a reader as a kid, so the Read-a-thon wasn’t an option for me… but now I can test myself in a way that will contribute to helping people like my Dad and their families.
It’s quite staggering to think that multiple sclerosis affects more young people than any other chronic neurological condition. The average age of diagnosis is 30 years, and there is no known cure.
Every person’s MS varies, but some of the symptoms are not being able to see properly (or at all), loss of balance, ability to walk, pins and needles, and chronic pain.
Your support will help people with multiple sclerosis receive the vital support, treatments, and services to help them live well at home, remain connected to work, and be part of the community.
Thank you again for your support!
I’ll be doing the ride on my mountain bike equipped with road tyres and I’m by no means an elite athlete. Please be kind and generous with support and donations as much as you can.
I’M RIDING 0kms TO FIGHT MS
MY CHALLENGE STARTS IN
CHALLENGERIDES
0
CHALLENGEKMS
0kms
MY TRAINING KMS
My Achievements

Riding to Fight MS!

Uploaded Profile Pic

Self Donated

Received 3 Donations

Raised $100

Raised $250

Raised $500
My Updates

We did it!! (Unofficially)
Sunday 7th Nov
Counting down…
Wednesday 27th Oct So, where to begin?
Screw you, Covid… but some amazing news!!
Tuesday 7th Sep Insert “it’s been too long” comment here (sorry!)…
Restrictions and haircuts
Monday 23rd AugSo as usual, I have to start an update with “I’ve been a bit slack with these updates”…
Since my last update, if anyone actually follows this page and keeps tabs, you’ll notice my training kms have gone up and up lately. I’ve been putting in as many kilometres on my spin bike and walking shoes as hours be lockdown measures permit. This has meant getting up at 4am on weekdays and doing 45min on my spin bike before work right up until I managed to pop a bearing in the pedals and that’s kind of put a stop to that… in the absence of a spin bike, I’m just trying to walk as many kilometres as I can in an attempt to get my body used to moving for longer periods of time. This has been a challenge with Covid restrictions in place, but we make it work as best as we can, right?
Speaking of restrictions, I have all but given up hope of completing the course as it was intended since, at this point, no one is allowed more than 10km from home or outside their LGA (5km for some!). My team and I have had a few discussions about this and we’re still committed to riding the distance on the day - it’s just a question of whether it will be around our local bike track, LGA or even at home in a spin bike. One way or another, I will pedal for at least 58km on the day.
I also recently posted a challenge in social media in that if we could raise an extra few dollars within a given timeframe, I’d let my beautiful wife cut my hair however she chose. We didn’t quite hit the goal, but we raised some extra funds and figured it would give everyone something to smile about during trying times, so we did it anyway! I’ll attach before and after pics for your entertainment 😜
Anyway, I’ll keep churning out the training and sticking to my promise to work my butt off for this cause and for those who have generously donated to it.
Talk soon! Stay safe!!

Bloody Covid!
Thursday 29th Jul Hey everyone!I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss being able do everything I want. I didn’t get to say goodbye to my uncle the way I wanted to because only 10 people could attend his funeral so I watched it on my phone. I can’t take my kids to visit my Mum and Dad and they haven’t seen each other for months without a screen between them. My wife and I can’t both go and visit my elderly mother in law at the same time and let her know she’s not as alone as she might feel.
I’m becoming more and more anxious about this event too - I’ve raised over $5000 for charity and probably won’t get to do the ride I’ve been training so hard for to help people who genuinely deserve help.
Anyway, with the new lockdown rules and the closing window of opportunity to train for this event (assuming it does go ahead) I’ve taken to swapping my morning workouts from walking to spin bike sessions. This means I’m staying indoors more (you’re welcome, Gladys) and it’s probably closer to the training I should be doing anyway… so far, I have to admit that it’s VERY hard to get up early and get motivated to sit on a stationary bike compared to getting some fresh air, but I am already starting to see encouraging results from the switch in my physical health so I’m gonna keep pushing my hardest.
I promised everyone who has donated or supported me that I’d work my butt off to make you proud and I’m sticking by that. Having said that, I reckon I’m going to eat a whole pizza to myself for dinner after I complete this ride haha
That’s it’s for now but I’ll keep you posted on any major updates.
Thanks again to everyone who has and is supporting me. We’re all doing our part for a good cause and I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate you guys!!

New training shirts
Monday 19th Jul

Aww, you guys!!
Wednesday 14th JulAt risk of sounding like a broken record; I am overwhelmed by you all. The generosity shown by people in a very trying time is nothing short of amazing and I want to personally thank every single person who has donated.
A big shout out to Mitsubishi Electric Australia who have donated a whopping $3k! This pushed me onto the national leaderboard at the time and earned me a “Bronze Hero Status” (which comes with several perks including access to the VIP tent and my name being displayed on the MS Honour Wall at the finish line). They only display the top five and I saved the screenshot when it happened in case it didn’t last long!
If MEA alone donating this sum wasn’t enough, I’ve been incredibly moved by receiving some sizeable personal donations from other MEA employees, none of whom I’ve actually met! Once we’re through this current lockdown mess and it’s safe for me to do so, I’d love to meet you all and shake your hand / elbow-bump!!
I’m also extremely chuffed to report that as I write this I’ve moved into second place overall for personal donations on the entire leaderboard (photo evidence to follow). I really only know one local businessman who’s also a mate and I reached out to him thinking it could be a good opportunity to spruce his business in exchange for donations… he ended up donating a very generous amount that pushed me into the $5k realm and into second place on the leaderboard and he didn’t want the public praise for it anyway… sorry mate, this is as anonymous and quiet as I’ll make things because everyone deserves to be told how awesome they are and how much they’re truly helping.
In the training realm, the new lockdown measures have made things a little more challenging… luckily for me, I can do round trips of approximately 22-25km within my Gladys-approved exercise bubble. I’ve also started adjusting my diet to try to cut some body fat for the next four months (as that’s all there is until the big day now! 😬). I have spent the last 6 months trying to bulk up some muscle mass through diet and heavy weightlifting which is kind of counterproductive if you’re training for an endurance event (that you sign up for on a whim without too much forethought) lol… plus, I don’t want to be carrying any more weight than I have to up some of these hills I’ve got ahead of me 🤣🤣🤣
Anyway, if you know anyone that can spare a few bucks, please point them in this direction. I promise anyone who donates that I’m going to work as hard as possible to earn every single dollar that comes my way.
Thanks guys! Talk soon!!

I cried at work today…
Monday 5th JulSo I’ve been a bit lazy and lots of stuff has happened since the last real update. Bear with me: it’s a long post.
So, my beautiful wife has figured out to create custom stickers and things (cos she’s crafty like that) and designed and created our logo/mascot! We’ve named him “Big Kev; the Keg On Legs” 🤣 I’ve installed a prototype sticker on my mudguard and I can confirm it definitely helps me ride faster 🤣
Also, I finished some flyers I created to pin up around the place at work. One of the office admin ladies not only helped me print them up, but also emailed some big wigs up the chain and asked if the company would sponsor us! I had already drafted an email up thinking “if things took off, it wouldn’t hurt to ask” but since this good samaritan did the job for me, I never got the chance. Anyway, it turns out that our company have a Charity Committee - that in and of itself should tell you a lot about where I work! So they had a meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss if the company could sponsor a little and I got the good news over the weekend that they have promised to contribute a whopping $3k!!! How amazing is that?? That takes the total donations at the time of writing to approximately $4200!!
To say I’m humbled would be the understatement of the century… I actually held it together long enough to retreat to a quiet bathroom and shed a quiet tear. It’s been incredibly heartwarming seeing people’s generosity and support since the very day I started this journey! I feel very passionately about the cause (with obvious reasons) and I’m so chuffed to be able to raise this amount of money to go to help people like my Dad!
In other happy news, the Kegs On Legs held our inaugural training run out to Kurnell on Sunday afternoon. It was a solid run and we had no flats or stoppages of any kind along the way. It did highlight a deficiency of mine in that I didn’t know how to place myself in a group for this kind of ride (being a noob and all) so I’m going to have to learn to do that safely.
My bright idea for this training was “I’ll ride to the meeting spot instead of driving there with the bike on the back of the ute. It’s not THAT much extra…” and it turns out, it IS that much extra 🤣 the ride to Kurnell and back from our meeting spot was about 22km as a round trip and from my house, I racked up 44km…. So maybe I also need to work on Maths as well as my pack riding 🤣🤣🤣
Anyway, stay tuned for more updates in the near future!

Inaugural Kegs On Legs training run
Sunday 4th Jul

Big Kev; THE Keg on Legs
Saturday 3rd Jul

Training Ride Day
Sunday 27th Jun So today turned out different than I’d imagined…
So I tried clipless pedals...
Friday 18th Jun
First training ride
Sunday 6th Jun Hey guys 😊
Update
Friday 4th Jun Hey guys!
Welcome everyone
Thursday 27th May Wow, what an overwhelming day this has been! I just wanted to see IF I could complete this ride and make the minimum donations… I’ve changed my goal three times today already thanks to the incredible generosity of my wonderful donors, and still I’ve nearly reached that (latest) goal! To say I feel humbled would be a massive understatement!Thank you to my Sponsors

$3k
Mitsubishi Electric Australia

$515
Anonymous

$515
Lucas Harwood
Go get em legend!

$156.60
Brian Deveney
Good luck mate will be rooting for you from the couch with beer and pizza in hand

$156.60
Maria
Cheering for you Graeme!

$156.60
Norma Nichols
Good luck Graeme.

$104.40
Mick Castle

$104.40
Helen Nichols

$104.40
Jade Gower

$104.40
E Attard

$104.40
Jarrod Hill
Thank you for doing this it is very close to our hearts love Jarrod and nancy

$87.70
Bec Rook
Well done Grae! ☺️

$73.08
Christina Rose
A very worthy cause Graeme — well done and congratulations

$63.68
Graeme Nichols

$52.20
Helena Nolte
All the best Graeme.

$52.20
Chloe Kiriakidis
Well Done Graeme! You’ve got this!👌🏻💪🏻 From Chris & Chlo xo

$52.20
Colette Morris
Hi Graeme what an awesome cause, I wish you all the very best in your quest to help people with MS, I know you will do well.

$52.20
Wayne Crawley
How's the seat on the exercise bike? High enough now?

$52.20
Brendan Mcnally
Good luck Graeme!!

$52.20
Carleen Fox

$52.20
Rams

$52.20
Mizuka Parker
Wishing you all the best. Go Graeme Go!!!

$52.20
Jen & Ray

$52.20
Dk
Hi Graeme, go go go!!!

$52.20
Darren Mcdiarmid
Miss your face!

$52.20
Peter Wilkinson - Meaust
Good luck and I hope all goes well for your family

$52.20
Michael Higgins
Great work Graeme. Hard work will get you to the finish line 👍

$50
Vanisha M
All the best on the ride & all the best to Mrs. Nichols on the cheerleading!

$41.76
Anonymous
You go, girlfriend!

$41.76
Karen Ainley
Great work!

$33.41
Ben Deacon
#classact

$31.32
Trish Thrift
wow this is exciting thank you for the entertainment

$31.32
Indi, Tia & Star
Well done Uncle Graz! 😀

$31.32
Anonymous
❤😇🤴💪 #fkMS

$30
Azalea
GO Graeme! GO! 👍🏻 💪🏻 🚴

$25
Anonymous

$25
Jess
You got this team!!! I am also totally here for the new haurcut- fingers crossed!!

$20.88
Patrick Hagarty
Go Grahame good cause

$20.88
Jake Johnston
Solid effort mate! Great work

$20.88
Penny

$20.88
Anonymous
Graeme when you’re ready to invest the donated amount I have a sure thing pyramid scheme, let me know.

$15.66
Lachlan Wells

$11
Stanley

$10.44
Rachel Marion
Hope Helsy will massage your sore legs after the ride 😉

$10.44
Ron & Marg
Well done

$10
Lisa Price
Great cause

$9.40
Edmund Mckee
Good Luck Sir Ed Mckee - Newcastle Air con Sales

$5
Wishing you all the best! Stay safe!!