Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre

18th - 24th August 2012

The 2012 Ride to the Red Centre has finished, with over 500 participants nationwide, 200 riders making it all the way to Alice Springs, and a record breaking $255,000 raised for the Black Dog Institute!

For more information on this 2012 Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre, read the Red Centre Wrap Up.

The 2013 Black Dog Ride to the Red Centre will take place from 17-23rd August 2013. Registrations will open in March 2013. To be notified when the registrations open, please ensure you've signed up to the Black Dog Ride e-newsletter here.

Quick Links

The Ride - Background information about the ride
The Cause - Why Black Dog Ride is riding to the Red Centre
Fundraising - Who Black Dog Ride is raising funds for
Registration - How to register, where to register, and costs
Accomodation - Advice about making arrangements
Itineraries - Details for each leg of the Ride
Bike Shipping - Details about shipping your bike back
Contacts - Contact details of Ride Coordinators for each State/Territory

The Ride

If you feel like a challenge and enjoy the adventure of the open road, then you'll love this awesome ride. Commencing on August 18, riders from all around Australia are heading to the Red Centre to raise community awareness of depression and suicide prevention. The final leg of the journey on Friday 24 will take us to the Mall in the heart of Alice Springs for a Community Event and bbq lunch attended by the Mayor. Whether you ride the first 50kms, make it a weekend ride by overnighting to the first stopover town, or go the whole distance to the Red Centre, you will become a Black Dog Rider and help draw attention to depression, a debilitating illness which affects 1 in 5 Australians.

Enjoy the freedom of the open road, the unique camaraderie which bikers share and the feeling of being part of something which will make a difference. Group rides will be leaving from each State & Territory capital. Details of the group ride coordinators are listed below in the Registration section.

Flyers for each leg of the Ride to the Red Centre are available for distribution here:

The Cause

It's an epidemic of modern times -depression. The statistics are quite staggering.

1 in 5 people will experience depression in their lifetime. Over 50% of them will not seek treatment.
This year alone 1,000,000 people in Australia will experience a depressive illness.
Depression is the third largest individual heath problem in Australia after heart disease and stroke.
In the work place depression accounts for six million working days lost each year.
There are still high levels of stigma associated with depression and suicide.

Remember, depression is an illness not a weakness and effective treatments are available. It's important to seek help early and with the right treatment most people recover. If you are concerned that you or someone you know may be suffering from depression talk to a doctor or another health professional today. If we talk about depression and work together we can make a difference.

Fundraising for the Black Dog Institute

The Ride to the Red Centre raises much needed funds for the Black Dog Institute to help expand their Community Education Programs.The mission of the Institute is to advance the understanding, diagnosis and management of the mood disorders by continuously raising clinical, research, education and training standards. In so doing, the Institute aims to improve the lives of those affected - and in turn - the lives of their families and friends.

Please conduct your own fundraising activities in your community using the Everyday Hero Fundraising Portal HERE. Click on "Start Fundraising" to get started on your own fundraising page. This year we are encouraging all Black Dog Riders to raise a minimum of $500 each. We hope to get at least 500 riders participating in the Ride so potentially we can raise at least $250,000 for the Institute.

The Black Dog Institute has put together some fundraising tips to help you get started: Fundraising Tips 1 and Fundraising Tips 2

Registration - Joining the Ride

We realise that not all riders who would like to take part in the Ride can make the time commitment to go all the way to the Red Centre so to make it accessible to a wider range of riders for 2012 we've moved the start to a Saturday and created three categories of Black Dog Rider:

Day Rider: $25 eg. rides to the lunch stop on day 1 or joins the ride for a while along the way (no overnight stops). Receives BDR badge, small round decal and 1 ticket in BDR raffle..
Night Rider: $50 eg Rides for first day and stays overnight. Receives BDR badge, small decal, 2 large decals, entry to BDI function on night 1 and 2 tickets in raffle.
Red Centre Rider: $100. Rides all the way to the Red Centre. Receives all of the above, plus BDR laser cut key tag and 4 tickets into raffle.
Pillion Rider: $15. Receives a BDR badge and ticket in the raffle.

Because of our Duty of Care you MUST register to take part in this event. The number of Red Centre and Overnight Riders is limited so please register early to avoid disappointment.

June 30 is the close off for merchandise orders but registration for the ride is open until July 31st.

To join Steve on his Ride to the Red Centre or participate on any section of this awesome ride you can register HERE

Accommodation Options.

Please make sure you mention Black Dog Ride when booking all accommodation.

We have made arrangements for a variety of accommodation at each of the overnight stops. There are camping options at nearly all venues and cabins or motel rooms offered on a share basis. It is the responsibility of each participant to make their own bookings for accommodation (including camping). If you prefer hard accommodation it's advisable to book early. The contact details are listed in the Itinerary for each leg of the Ride.

Itineraries

You can find the itineraries for each leg of the ride in the Ride to the Red Centre menu above, or on the links listed below.

Please contact the BDR Coordinator in your State or Territory if you need any further detail about itineraries.

Bike Shipping from Alice Springs

If time is short and you need to get back home straight after the Ride, MotoMovers are offering great rates to freight your bike from Alice to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. Contact our friend Joe on 0414 802 599 for more details. For our West Aussies, Desert Edge Motorcycles have put together a crated option to get your bike home safely. Contact Michael on (08) 8953 7711 for a quote. It will help if you know the weight of your bike.

Both of these services have limited capacity so book early if you want to "Ride and Fly".

Contact details for State and Territory Coordinators

If you have any questions please contact the BDR coordinator in your State or Territory:

Darwin : Andrew Prescott andrewp@jimsbookkeeping.com.au or mobile 0412 519 469

Brisbane: Paul Vaupel rallymaster@farriders.com or mobile 0417 757 759 or (07) 5449-1289

Sydney: Philip Waesch waesch@ihug.com.au or mobile 0410 683 778

Canberra: Darrell Burkey dazza@tucan.net or mobile 0408 622 647

Melbourne: Ric Raftis ric@bushsong.com.au or mobile 0407 412 100

Tasmania: Betty Parssey bettyparssey7@bigpond.com or mobile 0407 501 620

Adelaide: Garry Browning garryncarolbrowning@gmail.com or mobile 0488 021 835

Perth: Steve Andrews steve@blackdogride.com.au or mobile 0408 868 500

Image by Black Dog Rider Tony Hollingsworth. You can find Tony here and more great images by Tony of his Ride to the Red Centre here