Bob Montgomery died just one day after completing a 5,300-kilometre ride across Australia, after a medical episode on Monday night while travelling home from a function celebrating his six-week journey. The 82-year-old Motor neurone disease advocate had spent years turning his own body into a fundraising machine for a cause that needs public generosity because the system leaves families and patients to scramble for support.
Who Carried the Load
The Bowral man completed five charity bike rides for MND, raising more than $300,000 for research and service support. His final ride, called "One Last Ride", covered almost 5,300 kilometres from Broome in Western Australia to his home town of Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands. He and his 18-year-old grandson, Tom Malcolm, were welcomed home on Sunday by dozens of family, friends and wellwishers. That homecoming, warm and crowded, stood in sharp contrast to the lonely arithmetic of care that pushes ordinary people to raise money mile by mile.
MND NSW chief executive Liam O'Meara said Mr Montgomery experienced a medical episode on his way home from a function at Sydney's Rose Bay on Monday. "Tom, Bob's grandson, decided to push the extra 150-odd kilometres from Bowral to Sydney yesterday and we all got together to greet him," he said. "It was a lovely afternoon. We had [former South Sydney Rabbitohs player and MND sufferer] Jai Arrow in attendance … Bob was just elated. "I received a text last night at 9 o'clock to say he has passed away, which was shocking."
What the Community Built
Mr Montgomery's wife of 59 years, Jen, said in a statement his death was unexpected but peaceful. "He was surrounded by his friends and family and got all of the credit that he absolutely deserved over the past 48 hours," she said. "So we're really, really pleased his last few days on earth were some of the best," Mr O'Meara added. The family said in a statement Mr Montgomery was a "beautiful soul" and was overwhelmed by the "kindness, love and messages of support".
Speaking to ABC Illawarra Drive on Monday morning, Mr Montgomery said he was still processing his achievement and the support shown by the community at the finish line. "It was just an amazing afternoon [on Sunday]," he said. "They put on a fantastic feed and the speeches were wonderful. "It was very memorable, for sure."
That finish line mattered because it showed what people do when they organize around one another without waiting for some distant authority to fix everything. Family, friends and wellwishers showed up. Tom Malcolm pushed the extra 150-odd kilometres. The feed was laid on. The speeches were made. The care came from people, not from a polished institution promising salvation from above.
What the Numbers Say
Mr Montgomery clocked up five charity bike rides for MND awareness and research since the death of his cousin from the condition 12 years ago. He raised more than $300,000 for the cause, including a growing $90,000 from his latest venture. "It can't be understated what he has achieved for many years, not just on this ride," Mr O'Meara said. "He's been a massive advocate and stalwart for the MND community. "He didn't have to do any of this. He chose to do it. And I think that's just the mark of the man."
Those figures tell their own story. An 82-year-old man rode 5,300 kilometres, raised more than $300,000, and still the burden of support sat on a charity ride and the people around it. The apparatus of care, such as it appears here, depends on endurance, sacrifice and public goodwill. The people at the bottom keep moving. The institutions watch, applaud and collect the credit.
MND NSW is now looking to award Mr Montgomery a posthumous accolade and establish a memorial ride in his honour. "He absolutely deserves it and we want to honour his memory," Mr O'Meara said. The tribute may come later. The work came first. The miles came first. The money came first. And for one man who kept riding for a cause, the final reward arrived in the form of a community gathered at the finish line, then a death notice the next night.