Perth, Western Australia May 10, 2008 Home News Time Out Letters Write a Letter Special Coverage Walsham Classifieds Search Real Estate Trades & Services Submit About Contact Us Advertising Legal	Mates pedal from Sydney to the POST About to head north on their tour of Australia are, from left, Matthew Coggan, Thomas Gray, Mereki Garnett and Anthony Garagounis. They say they're not cyclists but three young uni graduates have so far ridden all the way from Sydney to the POST's Shenton Park office. Riding an average of 50km a day, the trio are midway through a 16,000km journey around the coastline of Australia to raise awareness of sustainable environmental change. A tail-wind across the Nullarbor was a welcome use of wind-power. After graduating last year with degrees in sustainability, environment, design and engineering, Matthew Coggan, Thomas Gray and Mereki Garnett left their home in Cronulla, south of Sydney, in December and rode south to Melbourne, around Tas- mania, along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide and across the Nullarbor. They expect to arrive back in Sydney 12 months, and 65 million pedal revolutions, after commencing their journey. "I've made it all this way to Perth without a puncture," said Mereki, who reckons the most he'd ever cycled before was 20km. The boys, who have dubbed their crusade MyPOWER, sold their cars to fund the trip and say they don't want donations from supporters. "Instead, we want people to go to our website and do the environmental challenges," said their friend Anthony Garagounis, who is accompanying them in a green-friendly support vehicle, a Toyota Prius. The boys say cycling is a good symbol for the environmental sustainability movement. "We're not attempting to reinvent the wheel, just simply point out that there are a few spokes missing in the way Australians use energy," said Matthew. "We thought it was important to put the theory of sustainable living into practice before we embark on careers in the industry." Tom said: "It would look pretty good on our resumes too." The boys have been visiting schools and speaking to radio stations along the way. Anthony said people in rural and semi-rural areas had been the most interested in the journey. "They're already doing what we are promoting, like recycling and using water wisely, mainly through necessity," he said. Mereki said people in the city found it harder to change their ways. "But we don't expect them to go from mean to green overnight," he said. "So we're talking about things like carbon offsetting and using your electricity provider to switch your account to green energy. And in WA that just takes a phone call to Synergy." Matthew said travel was another thing for people to think about. "Travelling leaves a huge environmental footprint," he said. "So we're encouraging travel closer to home - we've seen with our own eyes just how beautiful our own countryside is." The boys now have 30 days to make the 2400km trip to Broome. "The average cyclist would glide through this challenge physically," they joked, "but we're not cyclists, so we've had to seriously concentrate on getting fit." But Matthew said it was also about keeping it casual and enjoying the experience. Not being typical cyclists, they confessed they were yet to shave their legs, and they keep lycra to a minimum. "Our lycra shorts are padded so they're really comfortable," Tom said, "but we've limited their use to times when no one can see us, like when we're in the middle of nowhere." To support the boys and see how you can make a difference, visit www.mypower.org.au. Do you have something to say? Write to us and we may publish your letter next week. BACK TO TOP < PREVIOUS - HOME - NEXT> Copyright © 1999 - 2008 Post Newspapers Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.