At 60, Jenny Ryder took on 500km of Thailand by bike

Postcards Home with Emily Darlow

Turning 60 was enough to convince Jenny Ryder it was time to do something big.

The Grafton business owner had already tackled her share of adventures, including hiking trails across Australia and New Zealand and completing the Kokoda Trek in 2023, but cycling was another matter entirely.

Jenny wasn’t a cyclist when, just before her 60th birthday, she signed up for the Anytime Fitness Australia Fitphoria Expedition: a five-day endurance challenge that would see her cycle 500km across Thailand in support of Hands Across the Water, Bravehearts and Running for Resilience.

“I’ve always loved challenging myself,” Jenny said.

“Turning 60 felt like the perfect time to take on something completely new, something big and meaningful, and definitely something outside my comfort zone.”

Jenny travelled with her business partner Kathryn, club manager Sally and Kathryn’s son Aiden, arriving in Bangkok on May 14 before heading to Hua Hin for bike fitting and the start of the expedition.

From there, the kilometres quickly added up.

The group rode 80km from Hua Hin to Kuiburi, followed by 107km to Baan Grood and then a mammoth 129km to Chumphon. After a rest day, they tackled another 106km from Surat Thani to Khao Sok before the final 57km ride to Baan Tharn Namchai Children’s Home.

For Jenny, travelling by bike provided a view of Thailand she hadn’t expected.

“Before I left, I suppose I had the typical image of Thailand being all beaches, resorts, temples and busy tourist areas,” she said.

“What surprised me was how different the country felt when we were cycling through the smaller towns and rural communities.”

Away from the tourist centres, Jenny was struck by the friendliness of the people they met and the welcome the riders received as they passed through local communities.

There wasn’t much time for leisurely sightseeing. Most days followed a fairly relentless pattern of eating, riding, stopping to refuel and cool down, then getting back on the bike.

With temperatures above 35 degrees and humidity hovering around 90 per cent, the group stopped roughly every hour for food, water and a chance to cool off.

At the end of each day, Jenny’s priorities were simple: a swim, dinner and bed. The book she had optimistically packed for some holiday reading never left her bag.

There were also a couple of unexpected injuries to contend with.

Three days into the ride, Jenny kicked a wooden stool while walking barefoot and broke a toe on her right foot. The following evening, she kicked her bag in her hotel room and broke a toe on her left foot, which quickly became swollen and badly bruised.

“Thankfully, riding was actually much easier than walking, so I just kept going!” she said.

Both toes took around six weeks to heal after the ride.

One of the toughest physical moments came on the final day when Jenny faced a four-kilometre hill in the heat and humidity.

Reaching the top remains one of the moments she thinks about now she is home.

“I still find myself reliving that moment – it’s a wonderful reminder of what you can achieve when you keep putting one foot, or in this case one pedal, in front of the other.”

But the most memorable part of the journey was waiting at the end of those 500km.

The group finished its ride at Baan Tharn Namchai Children’s Home, where they were greeted by more than 80 children.

Jenny had the chance to meet the young girl she had been riding for and said her smile and hugs made the difficulty of the previous five days worthwhile.

“Meeting the children, seeing the home they lived in and spending time in their space really brought home the difference our fundraising could make,” she said.

“Every drop of sweat and every hill climb suddenly felt completely worth it.”

The trip also gave Jenny the opportunity to meet Hands Across the Water founder Peter Baines OAM, a former NSW Police forensic specialist who was deployed to Thailand following the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

His experiences working in the aftermath of the disaster and meeting children who had lost their families led him to establish Hands Across the Water in 2005.

For Jenny, arriving at the children’s home was both the completion of an enormous personal challenge and a reminder of why she had signed up in the first place.

“The moment was surreal, there were tears of joy, tears of relief and tears of pride, knowing that all the effort I had put in was making a real difference in these children’s lives,” she said.

“It’s a moment I will never forget.”

Her advice to other Starts at 60 readers considering an adventure outside their comfort zone is equally straightforward.

“It’s never too late to try something new, and age should never be a barrier,” Jenny said.

“I simply believed that I could ride 500km in five days, even though I wasn’t a cyclist. I knew I had to put in the work in the months beforehand, and I did.”

The experience hasn’t put Jenny off ambitious holidays either.

Her next adventure is already booked: almost three weeks travelling through Vietnam and Cambodia in November.

After 500km on a bicycle, however, she may have earned the right to take that one at a slightly slower pace.