A Christchurch man is preparing to bike across Australia to raise money for a Canterbury charity.

Seventy-year-old René Heyde plans to bike 4,000 kilometres for the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre – a Canterbury charity which provides respite care for children aged 5-12 during times of family stress or crisis. 

As a former Cholmondeley child and Commonwealth Games track cycling medalist, Heyde wants to give back to the centre and make a difference through the sport he loves. 

“I’ve experienced what it’s like to have a broken family after four years in welfare homes as a child. I  know what it feels like for those kids and it rips my heart apart to think about what some of them are going through,” Heyde said.

Heyde will arrive in Perth at the end of July to begin his self-supported bike-packing journey to Melbourne.  

“I’ve got no room to be nervous. I get up and start every ride every day and I let out a big ‘woohoo’ because I’m just so lucky and I love it,” he said. 

Cholmondeley Children’s Centre General Manager Toni Tinirau said the centre will be cheering Heyde on every step of the way.

Tinirau said, “We can’t wait to follow René’s journey and see how he goes cycling across Australia.” 

“I just hope the tamariki who are staying with us see René’s journey and realise that they too can achieve anything they dream of,” she said. 

No stranger to bike-packing trips, in 2023 Heyde biked 1,500 kilometres from Marlborough Sounds to Milford Sound to raise money for Foster Hope. And in March this year he rode 2,000 kilometres from Cape Reinga to Christchurch to prepare for his Australia trip. 

Heyde has set up a Givealittle page with all funds raised being donated directly to Cholmondeley Children’s Centre.