2000km journey brings charity rider to Harden

Angus Norman’s combined passion for sport, social work and mental health advocacy bought him through the Hilltops last week, stopping briefly in Harden as part of his 2000km ride to the sunshine state. His journey, coined 'Ridin' North' began in his home city of Melbourne, where he works as a social worker and youth mental health clinician. He is headed for the National Social Work Congress on the Gold Coast from 18–20 November, covering more than 100km a day on the pedals. Angus is aiming to raise $25,000 for Orygen, an Australian non-profit research institute and mental health organisation dedicated to youth mental health along the way. “I thought I might as well ride the bike there and start some conversations about a cause I'm passionate about along the way,” he said. “Everyone I spoke to in Harden was really lovely, and I would have loved to spend more time, but the blessing and the curse of the ride is to just keep going and not stopping for long amounts of time. “I got my World War I history there and knowledge, which was some good education for me and checked out the marvellous statues.” His next stop after Harden was Binalong, where he camped the night before pushing further north the following day. At the time of writing Angus is well north of Sydney and has raised just under $15,000, with a week up his sleeve to roll onto the glitter strip of the Gold Coast. To follow along on his journey you can visit his Instagram page @angusnorman.au, where he posts daily updates and chats from along the trip, and if you’d like to donate you can follow the links in his bio.