My uphill struggle for charity
Ben Walker is wishing he had scheduled some training in before tackling a bike ride the length of the country.
The 26-year-old spent the night in Oamaru last night with his grandparents ahead of his 124km trek to Dunedin today.
This is day 12 of his bike ride, which started in Cape Reinga and will finish in Bluff hopefully on Thursday.
"I'm not a big fan of biking, to be honest," he said.
Mr Walker is collecting money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and has raised $5500.
Although he isn't a keen biker, Mr Walker said driving the distance would be "too weak" and running would take too long.
He has a strong tie to Oamaru with his grandparents living here and his father having lived here.
The biggest challenges for Mr Walker have been beginning the ride without any training and the rather small seat on his bike.
"If I had trained it would have been a lot easier," he laughed.
Mr Walker decided to raise the money for Make-a-Wish because they "do a pretty amazing job".
"The Make-a-Wish Foundation are out there making those things happen for youths with life threatening illness," he posted on his Facebook page.
Mr Walker said he is willing to shout people lolly cake if they join him on a section of the trek.
To donate money to the foundation and keep updated on the trip, visit the Facebook page "Ben and Red's Long Ride South".
