Last month South Cantabrians Barry Taylor, Ian Latham and Roxanne Rooney set off for Cambodia to pake part in Ride for MS (Multiple Sclerosis) 2025. The ride aimed to raise money to support the 5000 New Zealanders living with MS and ensure they continue to have the support they needed to live their best lives. Mrs Rooney recounts their adventure abroad.
On November 1, South Cantabrians Barry Taylor, Ian Latham, and I left for Cambodia to take part in Ride for MS 2025, along with three other riders: Karen Whitehead from Gisborne, and Vereana Wheatley and John O’Keeffe from Christchurch.
And what a trip of a lifetime it was!
Individually (as we didn’t know each other yet), we had spent a large portion of the year training, fundraising, and spreading awareness for MS.
There were raffles, bake sales, and a quiz night — just some of the many ways we raised donations. We battled magpies and high wind warnings during training in the months leading up to the big trip, but we were determined. Once we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, we met the other riders and our biking guide, Siya.
Nerves were running high ahead of the first day of biking in a new country and in the hot temperatures.
The next morning, we were fitted with our bikes, and off we went.
We rode through jungle tracks, along red dirt roads, through rural villages, past temples, and through bustling markets. Based in Siem Reap, each day we biked in a different direction towards a destination we could explore, such as the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, a fishing village, or a waterfall discovered only 20 years ago in the centre of the jungle.
Each day felt like my favourite, until the next day overtook it.
As we rode, locals waved and called out greetings to us.
The smiles were endless, from them and from us.
Alongside the biking, the team enjoyed some additional activities, including watching an acrobatic circus, creating our own pottery masterpieces, shopping at a local market for produce, and then cooking our very own Cambodian dishes.
We had one day of biking in heavy rain.
The rain was welcome, offering some relief from the hot, humid days.
Although, after riding along the red dirt roads through puddles, our white team tops were no longer white!
Barry had the first fall of the trip when he accepted a dare to ride through a very large puddle.
He ended up losing $1 to me that day.
Sadly, I was the first to get a flat tyre, followed shortly after by Ian.
We were in Cambodia during the main rice harvest, and it was eye-opening to see the roads lined with rice drying.
Side roads, main roads, driveways, all had long pieces of fabric and tarpaulins stretched out with rice spread across them.
When dark rain clouds rolled in for a passing shower, the rice was quickly covered, then uncovered again as soon as the rain stopped.
The entire journey was a rewarding experience, from the early months of training and planning, right through to the final day of biking up to the last Buddhist temple, where we each received a blessing and enjoyed a community BBQ dinner and local band.
The team worked incredibly well together and managed to raise a total of $35,047 for Multiple Sclerosis, with a large portion of this coming back to our local [South Canterbury] society.
We started off as strangers, and now we have incredible memories to last a lifetime.
