A rocky track in outback South Australia has hosted a three-day Aboriginal cycling tour, called 'COBRA' - the Coober Pedy To Oodnadatta Bike Ride Adventure.
Twenty intrepid men and boys proved they've got what it takes to conquer 200 kilometres of rocky tracks.
The ride was the brainchild of a pair of police officers hoping to bring kids 'back to the basics'. It was also a fundraiser for diabetes sufferers.
"Obviously we see some of the issues in town, we see there is alcoholism and domestic violence and children are part of that, so I guess we want to do the things that we used to do as kids, we grew up riding bikes and we went camping," says Officer Patrick Larkins.
The participants - some as young as 11 - set up camp each night of the tour, enjoying steak dinners as they rest their weary legs.
The tracks are tough on their bicycles, too.
Scores of second hand bikes renovated by homeless people and schoolchildren were donated by a Melbourne program called Cycle Change.
The 'Close the Gap' campaign also sponsored the initiative by providing some new ones.
There is strong community support for the COBRA, and there's even banter that the dusty track to Oodna could produce an Aboriginal Cadel Evans.
The campfire provides a place for youngsters to hear the wisdom of elders - who speak out against alcohol and drug use.
"It really is a better way I think, of not just sticking people in a room and lecturing them, but just building relationships, getting together, talking and sharing some of those messages," says George Laslett, of the Umoona Tjutagku Health Service.
Watch this story on YouTube:
