June 8, 2024 • 9 mins
Kiwi cyclist Joanna Sharpe is proud to confirm she's completed a record-breaking cycling journey from Darwin to Melbourne.
Sharpe underwent this 11-day mission to raise funds and awareness for Bowel Cancer New Zealand.
Listen to her discuss her journey with Piney here.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
A month ago, you might remember we chatted to Joanna
Sharp who was about to embark on an attempt to
become the first person to cycle the length of Australia
solo in the fastest time. She was planning to cycle
solo from Darwin to Melbourne via Ularu and also along
the way raising funds and awareness for Balcanson New Zealand.
(00:35):
So how did she go? Let's find out. Let's bring
Joanna Sharp Beck into Weekend Sport. How did it go? Joanna?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Oh, thank you so much for having me on Piney.
We're buck in New Zealand and I'm really proud to
say that the little Kiwi crew that Could has now
I've become the first person ever to cycle the length
of Australia NonStop in eleven days, eleven hours and thirty
four minutes.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
That is incredible. For those who didn't hear our first
chat with you, tell us a bit about the bold
up to the challenges you faced, and then maybe go
on to tell us about the eleven days, eleven hours
and thirty four minutes.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Well, look, many professional crews internationally have tried to cycle
the lengths of Australia and for anybody who's been in
the outback you can probably understand why they've never made
it happen. It's a desperately challenging environment, from the climactic
conditions to the many critters you encounter and the wildfires
(01:34):
and you name it. But it's also it's one straight
road for three thousand, six hundred kilometers and from a
cycling perspective, that puts an unknown tole on the body.
So I don't know that there's actually another stretch of
road where a cyclist has tried to cycle that long
on a flat piece of road. So Greg Paine, who
you guys know from Biasport, he's worked with me a
(01:56):
lot in the last twelve months for what we might
encounter sitting the body in the same position for three
and a half thousand k's So ultimately I guess that's
why it hadn't been a chief year before. But myself
and five amazing kiwis we decided to give it a
go after years of planning, and we left Darwin and
(02:16):
we managed to make it through the app back via
O Laru. We've made it as far as Adelaide. We've
got the subject of ratification the Guinness and World ultra
Cycling Association World record for doing that. And then suddenly
I spent quite a bit of time in hospital, so
we never made the victory lap into Melbourne, but the
main goal was achieved and we're just over the moon
(02:37):
to be the first to do it.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Hang on, you glossed over a little bit there. You've
spent a bit of time in hospital.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
What happened well as you can imagine, and I'll use
terms that don't put anyone off their afternoon tea. But
when you sit on a bike seat in the same position,
which for me is obviously a chapter two aero bike
aerodynamically set up, you're putting your soft tissue, be it
male or female, into a pressure position for eleven days
(03:02):
and a bit. So from that perspective, you know, as
I said, even Greg Payne wasn't quite sure what we
might encounter, and we've been training for it. However, I
ended up with bone deep pressure wounds you could call it,
in my brain together with some necrotized foss tissue. I'll
just leave it at that. And so that's involved a
(03:26):
little bit of work from Plastics and Guyney to get
me back on the right to health. But thanks to
the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide and Middlemoor Hospital here
in New Zealand, I'm now doing very very well and
just yeah, reveling in the excitement. I suppose that we've
been able to yet again put New Zealand on the
world stage as being the first to achieve something that
(03:47):
nobody else has managed so fast. I'm just over the
moon with the crew and what they did for.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Me absolutely magnificent. Well, the battle scars, I suppose you
could say were worth it. What an achievement, Joanna, What
was the hardest part? What was the most challenging part
of all of this?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Because I think anybody who's who's followed me on Instagram
or taken the look at some of the footage would
probably say the wildfire's piney because you're so remote. Like
bear in mind, we can go for a day two
days without seeing even a roadhouse in the outback. So
when a wildfire takes hold, the Australian authorities don't do
(04:26):
anything about it. They can't they haven't got the resources.
So there was about the first five days where we
were riding into extremely strong headwinds, and we encountered so
many wildfires. But at one point, I'm riding along the
road and with hindsight, I'm sure the crew probably think
why would we let a ride through it? But the
flames which were engulfing both sides of the road got
(04:48):
caught by the winds blowing the sparks and the flames
across the road. I mean, honestly, I don't know what
it must have looked like. The film that's been made
of this adventure is going to be pretty epic, but
it must have looked like I was evil can Eevil
rising through these razors flames, and I could feel the
sparks hitting me and and the bike. So that was
(05:08):
certainly exciting and challenging. But probably the most challenging part
is it's hard to describe how remote you are. There's
no communication, there's no self bank coverage, you know, there's
no you know, everything we have is contained within two
camper vans. You're in a dry area, there's no water,
(05:30):
so we had to prepare for the fact we wouldn't
be able to get fresh water for four or five
days at a time, and all of the things that
come with that, when you're trying to stay hygienic as
a as a sportsperson, you know, you know that hygiene
is really important. You're relying on water for your nutritional needs.
So the logistics and the operational requirements around being so remote,
(05:52):
certainly well for the crew, were probably the most challenging.
All I was fit in my bum for eleven and
a half days and turn a few pedals. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, well, I think you might be understating the case
just a little bit. They hit you in but look,
I know that you know this wasn't a chief by yourself,
and you've mentioned your team a couple of times. Just
absolutely outstanding. So what when you realize that you've done it? Yeah,
I know you had to go into hospital and things
like that, But was there are euphoria once you actually
(06:23):
realized and it had sunk in what you'd done.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Yeah? It was crazy actually. So we came down, We
sort of almost exited the outback, you could say, once
we got to sort of Port Augusta, and South Australia
is very very remote in itself, so you really don't
start to see anything at all until you get to
Port Augusta and when we made it there, we knew
that we'd made the first of three World ultra Cycling
(06:47):
Association world records. So that was a really euphoric moment.
And it was at that point that I was like,
I mean, I never doubted we would do it. To
be quite honest, I millions of people probably didn't think
I would do it, but I knew we could do it.
But when we got to Port Augusta, it felt really
real and we started to sort of hit a lot more.
I'm using civilization and adverted commas here because it's certainly
(07:10):
very small settlements. But then at that point it was like, crikee.
You know, we're not that far from Adelaide. And I
knew that I was physically in poor shape, let's say,
but I really really did believe that we would make
it to Adelaide, And actually I thought I would make
it onto Melbourne with a little bit of assistance, but
(07:32):
sadly that wasn't to be. But yeah, certainly at Paul Augusta,
that's when we all started to see, oh my goodness,
look at where we are on the map. You know,
this is outrageous. We're not that far on the scheme
of things from Adelaide. We're really going to do this.
So the ride into Adelaide was just brilliant. We'd sort
of pass most of what we'd called the road to
train traffic by that point and yeah, just really enjoyed
(07:56):
that last trip into Adelaide. It was just fabulous.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
So it's the second half of twenty twenty four going
to be slightly more relaxing for you, I certainly.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Hope, so knee a little bit of off the bike. Sadly,
I have to say that's a bit of a shame
because I do love being out of my bike. But yeah,
there'll be a little a few weeks of off the
bike time whilst things recover, and then I'm looking forward
to being back home and corimandal Town and getting out
on my bike with my friends, going for some coffee
rides and just relaxing. And then we'll see, we'll see
(08:28):
what the next build up looks like, probably when we
get a few months down the track, and hopefully if
we can keep raising some awareness and funds for valcuants
New Zealand during Valcancer Awareness Months, which is this month,
that would be absolutely fabulous too.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Absolutely outstanding what you've done, Joanna congratulations on overcoming something
that most of us will never even be able to comprehend,
little oone achieve. It's a remarkable thing you've done, and
as you say, raising funds and awareness for Balcanson New
Zealand as well. You know, just just huge kudos to you.
Thanks for sharing the journey with us, and I hope
(09:04):
there's a more relaxing back half of the year for you.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Thank you so very much. Pine, I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
No, I appreciate yours. Joanna, thanks indeed, and congratulations once
again Joanna Sharpe, who became recently the first person to
cycle the length of Australia solo and broke a world
record in the process. Terrific stuff and wonderful to raise
awareness and funds for balt Canson New Zealand as well.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
A month ago, you might remember we chatted to Joanna
Sharp who was about to embark on an attempt to
become the first person to cycle the length of Australia
solo in the fastest time. She was planning to cycle
solo from Darwin to Melbourne via Ularu and also along
the way raising funds and awareness for Balcanson New Zealand.
(00:35):
So how did she go? Let's find out. Let's bring
Joanna Sharp Beck into Weekend Sport. How did it go? Joanna?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Oh, thank you so much for having me on Piney.
We're buck in New Zealand and I'm really proud to
say that the little Kiwi crew that Could has now
I've become the first person ever to cycle the length
of Australia NonStop in eleven days, eleven hours and thirty
four minutes.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
That is incredible. For those who didn't hear our first
chat with you, tell us a bit about the bold
up to the challenges you faced, and then maybe go
on to tell us about the eleven days, eleven hours
and thirty four minutes.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Well, look, many professional crews internationally have tried to cycle
the lengths of Australia and for anybody who's been in
the outback you can probably understand why they've never made
it happen. It's a desperately challenging environment, from the climactic
conditions to the many critters you encounter and the wildfires
(01:34):
and you name it. But it's also it's one straight
road for three thousand, six hundred kilometers and from a
cycling perspective, that puts an unknown tole on the body.
So I don't know that there's actually another stretch of
road where a cyclist has tried to cycle that long
on a flat piece of road. So Greg Paine, who
you guys know from Biasport, he's worked with me a
(01:56):
lot in the last twelve months for what we might
encounter sitting the body in the same position for three
and a half thousand k's So ultimately I guess that's
why it hadn't been a chief year before. But myself
and five amazing kiwis we decided to give it a
go after years of planning, and we left Darwin and
(02:16):
we managed to make it through the app back via
O Laru. We've made it as far as Adelaide. We've
got the subject of ratification the Guinness and World ultra
Cycling Association World record for doing that. And then suddenly
I spent quite a bit of time in hospital, so
we never made the victory lap into Melbourne, but the
main goal was achieved and we're just over the moon
(02:37):
to be the first to do it.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Hang on, you glossed over a little bit there. You've
spent a bit of time in hospital.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
What happened well as you can imagine, and I'll use
terms that don't put anyone off their afternoon tea. But
when you sit on a bike seat in the same position,
which for me is obviously a chapter two aero bike
aerodynamically set up, you're putting your soft tissue, be it
male or female, into a pressure position for eleven days
(03:02):
and a bit. So from that perspective, you know, as
I said, even Greg Payne wasn't quite sure what we
might encounter, and we've been training for it. However, I
ended up with bone deep pressure wounds you could call it,
in my brain together with some necrotized foss tissue. I'll
just leave it at that. And so that's involved a
(03:26):
little bit of work from Plastics and Guyney to get
me back on the right to health. But thanks to
the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide and Middlemoor Hospital here
in New Zealand, I'm now doing very very well and
just yeah, reveling in the excitement. I suppose that we've
been able to yet again put New Zealand on the
world stage as being the first to achieve something that
(03:47):
nobody else has managed so fast. I'm just over the
moon with the crew and what they did for.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Me absolutely magnificent. Well, the battle scars, I suppose you
could say were worth it. What an achievement, Joanna, What
was the hardest part? What was the most challenging part
of all of this?
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Because I think anybody who's who's followed me on Instagram
or taken the look at some of the footage would
probably say the wildfire's piney because you're so remote. Like
bear in mind, we can go for a day two
days without seeing even a roadhouse in the outback. So
when a wildfire takes hold, the Australian authorities don't do
(04:26):
anything about it. They can't they haven't got the resources.
So there was about the first five days where we
were riding into extremely strong headwinds, and we encountered so
many wildfires. But at one point, I'm riding along the
road and with hindsight, I'm sure the crew probably think
why would we let a ride through it? But the
flames which were engulfing both sides of the road got
(04:48):
caught by the winds blowing the sparks and the flames
across the road. I mean, honestly, I don't know what
it must have looked like. The film that's been made
of this adventure is going to be pretty epic, but
it must have looked like I was evil can Eevil
rising through these razors flames, and I could feel the
sparks hitting me and and the bike. So that was
(05:08):
certainly exciting and challenging. But probably the most challenging part
is it's hard to describe how remote you are. There's
no communication, there's no self bank coverage, you know, there's
no you know, everything we have is contained within two
camper vans. You're in a dry area, there's no water,
(05:30):
so we had to prepare for the fact we wouldn't
be able to get fresh water for four or five
days at a time, and all of the things that
come with that, when you're trying to stay hygienic as
a as a sportsperson, you know, you know that hygiene
is really important. You're relying on water for your nutritional needs.
So the logistics and the operational requirements around being so remote,
(05:52):
certainly well for the crew, were probably the most challenging.
All I was fit in my bum for eleven and
a half days and turn a few pedals. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, well, I think you might be understating the case
just a little bit. They hit you in but look,
I know that you know this wasn't a chief by yourself,
and you've mentioned your team a couple of times. Just
absolutely outstanding. So what when you realize that you've done it? Yeah,
I know you had to go into hospital and things
like that, But was there are euphoria once you actually
(06:23):
realized and it had sunk in what you'd done.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Yeah? It was crazy actually. So we came down, We
sort of almost exited the outback, you could say, once
we got to sort of Port Augusta, and South Australia
is very very remote in itself, so you really don't
start to see anything at all until you get to
Port Augusta and when we made it there, we knew
that we'd made the first of three World ultra Cycling
(06:47):
Association world records. So that was a really euphoric moment.
And it was at that point that I was like,
I mean, I never doubted we would do it. To
be quite honest, I millions of people probably didn't think
I would do it, but I knew we could do it.
But when we got to Port Augusta, it felt really
real and we started to sort of hit a lot more.
I'm using civilization and adverted commas here because it's certainly
(07:10):
very small settlements. But then at that point it was like, crikee.
You know, we're not that far from Adelaide. And I
knew that I was physically in poor shape, let's say,
but I really really did believe that we would make
it to Adelaide, And actually I thought I would make
it onto Melbourne with a little bit of assistance, but
(07:32):
sadly that wasn't to be. But yeah, certainly at Paul Augusta,
that's when we all started to see, oh my goodness,
look at where we are on the map. You know,
this is outrageous. We're not that far on the scheme
of things from Adelaide. We're really going to do this.
So the ride into Adelaide was just brilliant. We'd sort
of pass most of what we'd called the road to
train traffic by that point and yeah, just really enjoyed
(07:56):
that last trip into Adelaide. It was just fabulous.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
So it's the second half of twenty twenty four going
to be slightly more relaxing for you, I certainly.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Hope, so knee a little bit of off the bike. Sadly,
I have to say that's a bit of a shame
because I do love being out of my bike. But yeah,
there'll be a little a few weeks of off the
bike time whilst things recover, and then I'm looking forward
to being back home and corimandal Town and getting out
on my bike with my friends, going for some coffee
rides and just relaxing. And then we'll see, we'll see
(08:28):
what the next build up looks like, probably when we
get a few months down the track, and hopefully if
we can keep raising some awareness and funds for valcuants
New Zealand during Valcancer Awareness Months, which is this month,
that would be absolutely fabulous too.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Absolutely outstanding what you've done, Joanna congratulations on overcoming something
that most of us will never even be able to comprehend,
little oone achieve. It's a remarkable thing you've done, and
as you say, raising funds and awareness for Balcanson New
Zealand as well. You know, just just huge kudos to you.
Thanks for sharing the journey with us, and I hope
(09:04):
there's a more relaxing back half of the year for you.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Thank you so very much. Pine, I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
No, I appreciate yours. Joanna, thanks indeed, and congratulations once
again Joanna Sharpe, who became recently the first person to
cycle the length of Australia solo and broke a world
record in the process. Terrific stuff and wonderful to raise
awareness and funds for balt Canson New Zealand as well.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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