Adventurous spirit

When Margaret Bath of Carlyle Gardens was told she’d never walk again, she didn’t take much notice.

In 2006, just a few years after a horrific accident left her in a wheelchair, Margaret was back on her motorbike, travelling 30,000km around Australia with her husband, Tiger, to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

It was an exhausting, self-funded effort lasting eight months, with Margaret organising the tour and speaking at community gatherings most nights. She said every kilometre was worth it.

“For years afterwards, I had people come up to me and say, ‘You probably saved my life—if you hadn’t given that talk, I wouldn’t have gone to my doctor’,” she said. “I always thought that if I’d helped one person, it would be worthwhile.”

Since tackling Australia, Margaret has also motorcycled across the Andes in South America and through Africa. Meanwhile, a new passion was growing: cycling.

“It started slowly,” Margaret said. “I was just getting out of the wheelchair when we came up here to Bundaberg.

“I was told to have exercise, so I started swimming. From there, I started going to the gym.

“And then I thought, ‘oh, there’s a little ride organised—I wonder if I could do that?’ So I did.”

In February this year, she tackled a 19-day cycling tour of Vietnam, with Tiger travelling in the back-up van.

“Tiger still rides his bike in the village,” Margaret said. “He prefers quiet roads nowadays.”

It was a grand adventure she nearly missed. Plans to ride the 900km gravel Mawson Trail in Victoria had to be put on hold two years ago when Margaret’s foot stuck in a cleat and she fell onto her hip, breaking it.

“My doctor uses me as an example of what a person can do if they really want to,” she laughed. “But I’ve given up on cleats.”
Margaret said she’d always been fairly active but “carried too much weight”. Since living in the village, she’s had the time and focus to concentrate on diet and exercise.

“It doesn’t matter what you do,” she said. “It’s just important to keep moving.”