On Monday, 1 May Doctor Ian Wallis, retired scientist and academic began the Great Indigo Bike Ride from Canberra to Singapore to raise money to help women and girls access education and fight discrimination in Timor Leste, India and Indonesia.
Ian stopped over in Condobolin on Friday, 5 May, intending to make his way to Nymgaee on Saturday, 6 May. He is committed to raising money for the Indigo Foundation because he believes strongly in the importance of equitable access to education and health care for women and girls wherever they may be. He will make his way to Darwin before heading across to Singapore to conclude his journey.
In 2021 Indigo Foundation enthusiastically committed to a new partnership with Juventude ba Dezenvolvimentu Nasional (JDN) – Youth for National Development. JDN was established by young people as a peer education and advocacy organisation to address sexual harassment, public safety and other issues facing young women.
The Great Indigo Bike Ride will travel from Canberra to Singapore. The journey will “take as long as it takes”, although Dr Wallis hopes to be home by September.
As a retired scientist and academic, he is very aware of the importance of access to education and his experiences in cycling unsupported from London to Singapore have shown him the inequities in access not just to health care and education but more generally for women and girls.
He chooses to ride all of his bike rides unaccompanied. There will be no support vehicle, no one setting up camp each night for him, he does it all himself.
“I ride unsupported. Riding a bike loaded with all that I need makes me feel more part of the environment; I feel less removed from those I see doing it tough along the way – the farm and road workers and the women carrying huge loads,” he explained.
Dr Wallis has ridden through England, across Europe, from Boston to Oregon and down the west coast of the USA. He has cycled from London to Singapore and now needs to close the gap.
“It’s impossible for me to name a most memorable cycling trip. They have all been good in a variety of ways. England to Singapore in 2011 is obviously notable because I cycled through so many tough places, often alone.”
His most memorable bike rides include; Scotland, including many islands and parts of Ireland; Across France; Across the USA (east to west) and down the west coast (8000 kilometres – km); Jordan and Israel; Vietnam and Cambodia (4000 km); Japan (4000 km); England to Singapore (19000 km); Canberra to Margaret River and back (8250 km); Pamirs and Kyrgyzstan (4000 km); Uluru to Canberra (3200 km); Snowy Mountains; and Gibb River Road in the Kimberley.
You can donate to Ian’s ride by heading to www.indigofoundation.org and looking up Great Indigo Bike Ride and following the prompts. Your donation will support the work of the Indigo Foundation.