EVERY morning on the 4200 kilometre ride from Perth to Newcastle, Graham Webber read the story of a child in poverty receiving help from charity Compassion.
"It didn't matter how difficult a day it was going to be on the bike, it was going to be a worse day for so many kids around the world who just didn't have enough to eat or somewhere decent to sleep, no education," said Mr Webber, 62, from Lochinvar.
"So it was easy to get on the bike, because whatever we were doing it was just so much easier than what the kiddies were having to go through."
Mr Webber was one of 25 cyclists who completed the four week Ride for Compassion on Wednesday, which has raised $897,272 for the charity.
They left Singleton in the morning and arrived at 3pm to a cheering crowd at Bar Beach, where they dipped their wheels in the Pacific Ocean.
"[I'm feeling] relieved, glad, home - home again, Newcastle is home, so I'm very very pleased to be home after such a long time and such a long journey," Mr Webber said.
"My legs are a little bit sore but overall not too bad... it's just marvellous to be finished.
"It's kind of a once in a lifetime experience."
Mr Webber and his wife Pauline, a retired nurse who was in the support crew, have sponsored children through Compassion for 35 years from Chile, India and Columbia.
They've become part of the family.
"We're very blessed as people to be living in Australia in such an affluent society and if we can share a little bit of our wealth to help somebody overseas who is really struggling with life, struggling with having no hope because they're living in poverty and no real future for them. If we can change that future for them... it's a wonderful experience for us to know we can actually help somebody."
He's cycled 954,000 kilometres in 40 years and completed 11 Ironman events, but never before devoted this much time to one event or done much group cycling.
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