Motocross duo take on cross-country bicycle ride to break mental health stigma

WA motocross riders have swapped pistons for pedal power on an ambitious expedition across the country to raise funds and awareness for mental health. Motocross champion Cody Chittick and his friend Corben Weinert passed through Kalgoorlie-Boulder this week on their T1 Coast To Coast cycle ride which aims to raise $100,000 for Beyond Blue. The duo departed from Fremantle on September 1 and will cover more than 4000km on their saddles before finishing in Brisbane next month. Mr Chittick said they hoped to spark conversations surrounding mental health and promote mental health and wellbeing support organisation Beyond Blue. Having seen workmates, friends and loved ones affected by mental health, he said the duo decided to act and create awareness. “We have both worked on civil sites and mining sites and have seen a lot of work mates struggling with mental health,” Mr Chittick said. “There’s not enough noise around the topic. “With every pedal, we aim to inspire others to seek help and break the stigma.” Mr Chittick and Mr Weinert both grew up around motocross. Mr Chittick, who hails from Perth, went on to compete in national and international championships. Mr Weinert said despite their love of motorcycle riding, the duo chose to bike across the country as it added to the challenge. “We didn’t want something that was easy, we wanted to put some effort in ourselves,” he said. “(Motorbike) riding is what we’re used to, we could probably get across (Australia) in a couple of days. “But this way we can make the (journey) a good month and a half out of it.” On Thursday, Mr Chittick and Mr Weinert visited Coles Kalgoorlie and gifted people their groceries. “I think it caught a lot of people off guard and people who were struggling were very thankful,” Mr Weinert said. “As we go across the country, we’ll stop in certain towns and hand out (groceries) to three people up to the value of $150.” The riders set off from Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Friday and will travel south to Norseman before heading east across the Nullarbor. They will pass through Port Augusta, Broken Hill and Toowoomba before their final destination in Brisbane. Mr Chittick and Mr Weinert aim to cover at least 100km per day with the help of their support vehicle. Anyone wishing to follow their journey can visit their Instagram account t1_coast2coast.