69 and going strong

Date: April 7, 2005
Source: Adventist News Network

Keith Hughes will have to cycle almost 200 kilometres on the day he turns 69, fulfilling a dream of almost three years. He is the oldest member of a team of six cyclists who are riding across Australia to address issues of at-risk behaviour among young people in small, rural communities. The Circle of Courage Cycle Tour started on Perth on April 5.

“I got the idea after reading an article in a senior’s magazine about some 70 year olds who cycled across the Nullarbor,” says Mr Hughes, a grandfather from Cooranbong, New South Wales. “I talked to Jonathan [Duffy, director of health for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, organiser of the tour] about it and he thought it would be a great way to promote the Circle of Courage philosophy.”

The Circle of Courage focuses on four areas—belonging, mastery, independence and generosity.

“The Circle of Courage philosophy is a good thing,” says Mr Hughes. “I believe that intergenerational relationships are an important component of healthy communities.”

Mr Hughes has done 20 consecutive years of City to Surf Fun Runs in Sydney and frequently walks about 40 kilometres a day. He believes he has “jogged over 25,000 kilometres over the last 20 years.”