Leanne Barnes

Leanne lives in Portarlington, in regional Geelong, but I got to know her pretty well before The Challenge, as she almost always turned up to any ride we organized in Melbourne.

Leanne has always been a keen rider, so when her good friend Kate Brown, a board member, suggested the ride, she thought it a great idea. Her grandfather had Parkinson's, she knows Kate's mate Sandra, who has Parkinson's, and her sailing mentor had it, so riding, seeing Vietnam and raising money and awareness for Parkinson's all seemed to come together for this dynamo.

A special thanks to Leanne for staying behind with me throughout some rides when she could easily have been at the front, and for talking me down that first steep incline, when I was scared out of my wits!