After six weeks cycling through harsh headwinds and expansive deserts, Bob Montgomery, 82, and his grandson Tom Malcolm, 18, finally have a chance to catch their breath.
The pair clocked close to 5,300 kilometres as they crossed the finish line on Sunday afternoon to the roaring applause of Mr Montgomery's local community of Bowral, in the NSW Southern Highlands.
They left Broome on June 22 and pedalled across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, regional Queensland and outback NSW to raise $500,000 for motor neurone disease (MND) research and awareness.
The "shocking" disease strikes a personal chord for Mr Montgomery, who lost a cousin to the condition during his first charity distance ride at 70 years old.
"We get the pain riding the harsh winds we ride into and all that stuff. At the end of the day, we can put our feet up and sit back and have a drink," he said.
"But for people with MND, there's no end to what they've got. It's just a dead end."
A finish line marked by balloons was set up and many people held up written messages of encouragement for the pair's final 50 metres. (ABC Illawarra: Brooke Chandler)
The pair averaged 160km a day and learned some harsh lessons along the way.
"I would next time reverse the course," Mr Montgomery said.
"[The wind] was basically in our face the whole time and it'd be pretty easy to give up and just put our bikes in the car.
"Tom and I would talk to each other, and we knew we were getting the support from others as funds came in. That was very, very helpful."
Bob Montgomery and Tom Malcolm stayed in local hotels during their six-week charity distance ride. (Supplied: Ethan Grahek)
Mr Montgomery said meeting people and enjoying a "beer or two" at each local stopover helped motivate him through his fifth MND charity distance ride.
"It seems like a long dream going back to Broome … there's so many stories and so many people we met along the way who put their hands into their pockets to throw some cash in, which is fantastic," he said.
Their cross-country effort was an idea pitched by Mr Montgomery and timed to coincide with Mr Malcolm's university break.
The pair experienced some mechanical setbacks and would often cycle for up to 12 hours a day. (Supplied: Ethan Grahek)
"It took many months to agree to," Mr Malcolm said.
"I definitely admire Pappa in all that he's done.
"He was the big catalyst for me coming on this ride."
The family-duo would mount their bikes by four o'clock most mornings in freezing conditions and ride alongside road trains on narrow single-lane highways.
Tributes for footballers
MND is a rare, progressive group of neurological conditions that damage the cells controlling voluntary muscle movement, leading to muscle weakness, loss of physical function, and a shortened life expectancy.
Both men paid tribute to AFL footballer and MND advocate Neale Daniher, who died shortly before their journey, as well as former South Sydney Rabbitohs player Jai Arrow.
Bob Montgomery and Tom Malcolm wore South Sydney Rabbitohs jerseys for former player Jai Arrow who retired earlier this year with an MND diagnosis. (Supplied: Rachel Kelly)
"Neil Daniher is my hero because he made himself available to the public all that time which was just amazing … and now of course Jai's got the same battle," Mr Montgomery said.
"It's so important for fighting this disease to have a whole community behind you."
Not the last adventure
Donations and messages of support have trickled in from Australia and countries like the UK, Switzerland and New Zealand, with one donor writing; "As a person living with MND, I can't ride so I appreciate all that you are doing."
Mr Montgomery has generated nearly $300,000 for MND over his five charity distance rides, and another $65,000 during this latest endeavour.
"We provide services, advisory, equipment provision, carer support and that money will go towards helping people right here, right now on the ground throughout NSW and the ACT," MND NSW CEO Liam O'Meara said.
"So what they are doing is huge and will have an effect on many, many lives."
Dozens of family and friends, including federal MP Carol Berry, turned out to cheer the pair across the finish line on Sunday afternoon. (ABC Illawarra: Brooke Chandler)
Mr Montgomery's latest cross-country effort was dubbed "One Last Ride" by his wife Jenny.
"It won't be my last adventure … I always thought I'd love to do the Kokoda Trail," he said.
"That'd be a great thing for my grandsons to do."
