I Would Bike 950 km

by Kristina Chew · 2009-04-15 14:00:00 UTC
Topics:

The Biker
15-year-old Ethan Johnson rode his bike more than 950 kilometers from his home in Kingston to Sydney. He was missing for two weeks, ABC News (Australia) reports (I'm quoting a big chunk of the article because what Ethan's mother says, says a lot):

Ethan slept at truck stops, under bridges and ate at fast food restaurants during his six-day, dawn-to-dusk ride to Sydney.

His mother Tammy Johnson said Ethan decided to make the trek because he did not get to see enough of the city during a school excursion when he was 12, Ms Johnson said.

He was last captured on closed circuit television about 9.20am AEST on March 30, leaving the Robina train station on the Gold Coast.

"Because we had the CCTV footage, we knew he was safe and the fact that he kept using his keycard as he went along we knew where to find him when he hit Sydney," Ms Johnson said.

"We kept putting a little bit [of money] in his account each day so he could buy food but not too much so he couldn't get too far.

"We got him on the morning he took the last bit of money from his account."

Ms Johnson said when she was finally reunited with her son, she gave him a big cuddle and he started crying.

"However he's quite happy. He just didn't think to tell anyone he was going for a bike ride to Sydney," she said.

"He got a bit disappointed because he was found a bit quicker than he thought he would be. He didn't get to explore too far.

"He had ventured into the heart of the city but there were too many people so he left the city area - he doesn't like crowded areas."

Ethan told his mum it was good to be back home and he would not make the trip again.

Ok, so now I'm wondering, will Charlie try to ride his bike to the ocean someday?

Hopefully he'll sneak Jim out with him.

Kristina Chew
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