British adventurer Emma Timmis visited Bunbury on Monday as part of her world record attempt to cross Australia with an Elliptigo.
Elliptigo’s are commonly used by runners recovering from injury, allowing them to enhance their running action to power a modified outdoor bicycle.
Starting in Shark Bay a fortnight ago, Ms Timmis aims to travel the southern coast of Australia, a trip of 8000 kilometres, in under 80 days to arrive at Byron Bay.
“The previous longest journey on an Elliptigo was 5001 kilometres so to beat that mark, I’ve come to beautiful Australia,” Ms Timmis said.
“The coastline here is gorgeous and a beautiful addition to my journey.”
Her trip is both a chance to earn a Guinness World Record and a fundraiser for One Girl, a Melbourne based charity focused on improved educational outcomes for women.
“During my trip, I am aiming to raise $10,000 for a brilliant, small charity called One Girl who educate girls in Sierra Leone and Uganda,” she said.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Africa over the years and I’ve seen various charities doing incredible work.
“There are more than 60 million girls around the world who are denied education and One Girl is working hard to fix this problem.”
Ms Timmis said she had already been pleasantly surprised by the generosity of Australians, who regularly stop to offer her encouragement and food.
“Everyone is so friendly, it’s really make the trip very enjoyable,” she said.
Besides the physical demands of using the Elliptigo by day, Ms Timmis is also completing the journey without a support crew, traveling with all her supplies in a trailer being towed behind the Elliptigo.
“I’ve got everything I need with me including my tent, a tyre repair kit and a solar battery charger for my phone,” she said.
During her journey, Ms Timmis will also visit a number of schools to give talks to young people about adventure and sport. To keep up to date with the ElliptigOz challenge or to donate to Ms Timmis’ cause, visit emmatimmis.com or like Emma Timmis on Facebook.