Longford man raises thousands of dollars for charity by completing 'The Ride of Our Lives' cycle across Australia

An incredibly resilient county Longford man spent more than four weeks cycling across Australia with five determined friends on a mammoth 4,200km charity cycle from Sydney to Perth for a mental health charity and they raised over $100,000 dollars.

Paul Martin, from Ballinalee, took on the gruelling challenge of cycling an average of 150km per day across the outback after his pal Mark Eamonson came up with the idea.

Mark persuaded Paul and five other friends Jake Nelson, Joe Brennan, Glenn Fuller, Daniel Flanagan and Martin Flanagan to participate and join the team.

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The six men started the marathon cycle in late October and they finished it on November 15 in aid of The Human Excellence Project, who support anyone within the Perth community who may be struggling with their mental health.

The group generously collected AU$106,000 (the equivalent of just over €61,000) for the Perth-established charity as part of the fundraiser dubbed 'The Ride of our Lives'.

Paul (36), who works as a quantity surveyor and has been living in Australia since 2014, described it as the 'chance of a lifetime' and one he knew he would regret if he did not grasp for such a worthy cause.

The six men, who ranged in age from 20 to to the late-50s, developed an incredibly close bond and 'unbreakable spirit' as they faced incredibly harsh  conditions such as soaring temperatures as high as 40C through the Australian desert.

The group also battled through high winds of 70kph, limited sleep in tents over the four week period and they had to ensure multiple falls, blisters and very sore backsides.

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Dozens of Paul's and the lad's family members, friends and work colleagues donated to the cause and shared the fundraiser online. And they all took a month off work at their own expense and they made significant sacrifices.

Several generous companies sponsored the fundraiser so their bicycles, food and water was supplied free of charge.

They also needed hats, sunglasses and a lot of suntan lotion and bum cream during the course of the month-long challenge.

Paul described the first week as being 'devastating' in terms of the physical exertion and sleep deprivation when he updated his mam Sandra on how they were coping.

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"He said it was 50km to 70km of wind some days, there was a lot of rain and then the heat would have been 39C and 40C some of the days, the weather was very mixed.

"Paul said the first week at night they weren't sleeping well because they knew what was coming the next day, but he said after the first week they weren't long sleeping."

Sandra said both her and the family are very proud of Paul's achievement.

As they finished the extraordinary cycle, Paul described his feelings on what had been a memorable and emotional four weeks.

"What a journey it's been, absolutely fantastic. I don't know how to describe it, it's very surreal that it's come to an end.

"After the first week and couple of days I thought jeez this is never going to end. It was full on and the days were so long. But now we're here I'm excited to meet everyone again, our friends and my girlfriend."

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On the group's Instagram page they described their collective feelings as they 'closed the loop on the impossible'.

"Only 50km stood between six everyday humans and a dream most said was crazy. We laughed, we cried, we bled, we fought.

"We crossed heat that melted resolve, winds that tried to break spirits, nights that tested everything. And we won. Not because we were superhuman. [But] because we refused to ride alone.

"This is what the Human Excellence Project is built on: Ordinary people + unbreakable community = extraordinary results."