“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

The 2026 Ride for Lily - ACT to MCG was another epic adventure. Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way with messages and donations to the @live4lily Foundation in our mission to find a cure for childhood cancer. Very much appreciated.

Day 7 – 2026 Ride for Lily – Bendigo to Melbourne . My 8th Ride for Lily… done and dusted. . We rolled out of Bendigo at 6am, taking the backroads through Sedgwick, Sutton Grange and Metcalfe to Kyneton for our first stop. A solid 70km with plenty of climbing, and to be honest, the body was feeling the weight of the previous six days. It was one of those mornings where the legs didn’t quite want to cooperate. It was good to have @menamespanda ride the first 30km to break the journey up! . From Kyneton to Sunbury, the ride had one last sting in the tail. After a week of near-perfect weather, the rain finally arrived around Macedon. Cold, wet, and tired it felt like the ride throwing one final challenge our way. . But the last 30km made it all worth it. Rolling into Melbourne together as a group of 30 riders is like our victory lap. . Totals for the week: 👇 Total Distance: 1,060km. Vertical climbing: +12,000m. Time in Saddle: 47 hours. . This was one of the toughest yet. There were moments of doubt. Early 5am starts. Sore legs and glutes (and behind!) that didn’t recover. Freezing cold mornings. And those hills!! Mentally and physically this pushed me all the way. . But every KM is a reminder of the kids and families facing cancer, something far tougher than anything we experience on a bike. That perspective stays with you, especially in the harder moments. . Massive thanks to all the support crew on the ride. Each year you go over and beyond to help us cyclists get to the end. . This hear we’ve raised over $218,000 and counting. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who supported me. I was able to raise close to $13,000 personally, which I’m really proud of. . https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins . Til next year….🚴‍♂️ . . @live4lily

Day 6 – @live4lily Ride for Lily - Benalla to Bendigo 🚴‍♂️ . A massive day in the saddle today, just shy of 200km from Benalla to my hometown of #Bendigo. . It was pretty special being part of the first Ride for Lily to come through Bendigo, and even more so to have my whole family, including Mum and Dad, waiting at the finish line. . We got off to a flying start, helped by a slight easterly tailwind on the run to Shepparton. The first 70km ticked over at around 32km/h, and we managed to hold that pace for another 60km through to the silos at Colbinabbin. Safe to say I was pretty cooked by the time we rolled in there. . After lunch, things got real. I hit the wall and spent the final 55km battling a tough headwind with just one other rider, a gruelling way to finish the day. . Today was also “Pink Jersey Day”, where past top fundraisers of each ride wear the Sianne Hester Inspiration Award jersey. It’s a powerful reminder of Sianne and everything she gave to the foundation while bravely fighting her own battle with breast cancer. I thought of my friend a lot today, and I’m sure her spirit helped get me through that last stretch. . One day to go. Tomorrow we ride back into Melbourne, finishing at Riverside Golf Club in Ascot Vale around 3–4pm. If you’ve supported along the way and want to come down, it’d be great to see you there. . A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me this year — through messages, encouragement and donations. It genuinely means a lot. We’re now close to $215k raised, and I’ve personally passed $12,500, which is incredible. . If you’d like to support: https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins or see link in Bio

Day 5 - 2026 @live4lily Foundation Ride for Lily - Wodonga to Wangaratta . Rest Day today 😂 (only 117km and around 1,000m climbing). Thankfully a little bit warmer in the morning starting out around 7deg (better than zero!). Two medium grade climbs to Beechworth, enough to just be a pain, but then a fast second session, majority of it downhill into Wangaratta for lunch. . After lunch a quick stop via Glenrowan for a pic with Ned and then rolled into Benalla around 1:30pm. Nice to finish early and get some extra recovery for the legs, as tomorrow is back to the grind with a 200km trip to my home town of Bendigo. Looking forward to seeing all the family tomorrow night. . Today was appreciation day for all our wonderful volunteers who without their support this ride wouldn’t be possible. The support car drivers, doing our washing, setting up morning tea stops and lunch stops and just everything in between, they take time away from the families and jobs to come along on the ride to encourage and support us to the end. Special thanks to the group three support team (Matt Bott and Zana - have gone over and above this week to get me through!). . Still time to donate to help us find a cure for childhood cancer - https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins or link in Bio . . @childrenscancerinstitute @murdoch_childrens #charity #cycling

Day 4 - 2026 @live4lily Foundation Ride for Lily - Corryong to Wodonga . Another 6am freezing cold and foggy start out of Corryong to Walwa (thankfully Dezi had been dealt with by the time we passed through!). The fog didn’t lift until about 11:30am and the sun came out which was nice. . What was also nice was that today I was able to stick to the group 2 peloton and finally had some coverage after riding the past three days in a small group and solo some of the time which really takes a lot out of you. So today I unashamedly took advantage of the flatter route and the drafting that was offered by my fellow riders which made for a very fast day and enjoyable ride indeed. . We cruised most of the way along the Murray River and the scenery was beautiful, taking in Lake Hume. We crossed the river and went into Wodonga via the Hume Dam which was pretty cool. . $206k now raised for this ride with three days to go. My individual tally raised is close to $12k. Donate if you can - https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins or link in Bio

This one deserves its own post! . My first +3,000m climb 👊 . @live4lily #rideforlily

This one deserves its own post! My first +3,000m climb 👊 . @live4lily #rideforlily

Day 3 - 2026 Ride for Lily - Jindabyne (NSW) to Corryong (Vic) . 3,120m vertical 😮 ✅ . Back to Back to Back +2km climbing days 🤪 . Body is feeling it now. But that was a sensational ride. Lots of climbing but equally some stunning downhill and very fast descents (all safe of course!). All through the magnificent and very beautiful Kosciuszko National Park. . Started out in zero deg at around 6am and climbed to Thredbo about 37km away. Another 5km climb to Dead Horse Gap and then some very nice and quick descents into Geehi. Final section was around 60km with more hills and downhills, crossing the Murray River 15km out and getting into Corryong around 4pm. . Everyone is holding up well but starting to feel the fatigue setting in. Almost half way through but most importantly two thirds the way through our fundraising goal of $300k. . Donate if you can - https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins or link in Bio . @live4lily @childrenscancerinstitute @murdoch_childrens #rideforlily

Day 2 - 2026 Ride for Lily - Jindabyne - Perisher Valley return via Guthega Power Station . Back to back 2k+ vertical days! . Another huge day of climbing the hills of Mt. Kosciuszko National Park. It was bitterly cold down to around 1-2deg but the feel like temp was around -5deg. . Has anyone ever said I hate the cold!! . I had so many layers on it didn’t matter. My fingers and feet were numb and from around 1,600m elevation the sleet and snow set which we rode in for about 15km to Perisher. Unfortunately (or fortunately 🤔) the call was made that due to safety and the snow and ice on the road, that we were not able to get all the way to Charlottes Pass, another 10km on from Perisher. The descent would have been too dangerous. As it was, it was still hair raising! . And to just make sure we did enough elevation, we detoured on the way back down via the Guthega Power Station which powers the Snowy Mountain Hydro, and then climbed back out again. . A great effort by all the riders and support crew in really challenging conditions, who were amazing. That’s @bottles8 and Zana for helping me out today. Legends. . https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins or link in Bio to donate. . Over to Corryong tomorrow via Thredbo. More hills 😬

Day 1 2026 Ride for Lily - Canberra, ACT to Jindabyne, NSW - ✅ Done . I’ve done almost 50 Ride for Lily days and this one was up there as one of the hardest. 183km. 2,100m vertical. Crazy cross winds all the way from Canberra then the last 60km into a 25kmh Westerly headwind - uphill! . But the crew all got it done (some a little slower than others 😬). . But it’s not a race. The real race is finding a cure for kids cancer and at my lowest point today (of which there were many) I thought of all the kids on the Kookaburra Ward at the RCH who are in pain daily as they undergo chemo and other treatment to try and get themselves better, and the pain I went through today didn’t come close to what they have to go through. . We are close to $200k raised this year so keep the donations coming. https://live-for-lily-foundation.grassrootz.com/act-to-mcg/phil-martins or link in Bio . Day 2 tomorrow and another belter with two massive climbs around Mt. Kosciuszko ⛰️ . @live4lily @murdoch_childrens @childrenscancerinstitute #cycling #endurancecycling #fundraising