Riders in the 2015 Future2 Wheel Classic rolled out of Sydney on Tuesday morning on the first leg of an event that will ultimately see them arrive in Brisbane on November 18 on the opening evening of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) Professionals Congress.
It’s a trek that will cover 1100km, from Sydney’s northern beaches, inland through New South Wales, across the Queensland border and finally into Brisbane.
A dozen riders set out from Manly on a 30km ride to Palm Beach, before boarding a ferry across Broken Bay to Ettalong, and then embarking on a ride to Maitland. All up, they will cover 162km on Day 1.
From modest beginnings in 2010 the Wheel Classic has developed into a mainstay of the Future2 Foundation’s fundraising roster, and is aiming again this year to break the $100,000 mark.
Each rider has a personal fundraising page, on which donations and pledges may be made.
Name | Company | Suburb | State |
Stephen Ballinger | Ballingers | Dangar | NSW |
Peter Bobbin | Argyle Lawyers | Burwood | NSW |
Dave Dyson | Financial Life Balance | Ivanhoe East | VIC |
Ray Griffin | Baiocchi Griffin Private Wealth | Bendemeer | NSW |
Thomas Griffiths | AMP Capital | Redfern | NSW |
Stuart Heath | AMP | Mullimbimbi | NSW |
Paul Hocking | Hillross | Kenmore | QLD |
Matt Meehan | Agbis Financial | Armidale | NSW |
Ross Schoeffel | Collins Partners | Toorak | VIC |
Robyn Simionato | Putney | NSW | |
Roger Simionato | Putney | NSW | |
Darren Stevens | Godfrey Pembroke | Gordon | ACT |
Click on each rider’s name to visit their fundraising page. Source: Future2 Foundation |
Future2 was initially established in 2007 as a foundation for the financial planning profession, and was provided with administrative support by the FPA. In August 2013 it was aligned more closely with the association to become its official foundation.
The foundation is the vehicle through which the association and its members can give back to local communities, supporting programs and groups that target young Australians who are socially and financially disadvantaged.

FPA CEO Mark Rantall
FPA members can nominate specific groups and programs for consideration by the Future2 trustees. Since its establishment, the foundation has made grants totalling more than $250,000.
Over the course of the 2015 Wheel Classic, Professional Planner will be providing updates on the riders’ progress and key events along the way, from the perspective of cyclist David Dyson. (See Dyson’s updates from the road, below.)
This will be the fourth Wheel Classic that the Melbourne-based accountant and financial planner has participated in. Dyson says he didn’t seriously get on a bike until he was in his 40s (he’s now 53).
He took it up “just to get a bit fitter”, and has taken to it with gusto. He’s also competed in the Peaks Challenge Falls Creek – a challenge that to the layman (and non-cyclist) falls only just this side of “completely nuts”: a 235km ride incorporating some 4000m of vertical climbing from Tawonga Gap to Mount Hotham to Falls Creek. The ride has to be completed within a 13-hour time limit.
Dyson says he competed in the first Wheel Classic that was “open to the public, as it were”. He says more financial planners should take opportunities to support the work and the aims of the Future2 Foundation.

“To be totally frank, I never had a strong FPA involvement over the years,” Dyson says.
“From that point of view, I think the involvement of the FPA [in Future2] as been absolutely magical. You feel a bit more recognition out of the exercise – especially riding into Adelaide last year.”
Day 1 is a long ride and Dyson stresses that there will be “no heroes” out there.
“You just have to ride within yourself, which is a challenge within itself,” he says.
“It is 70 to 80 per cent all day, and preserving yourself for the next day. You are always either riding, eating or sleeping.
“You just need to manage the whole exercise. There’s a personal challenge in it.”
Even so, “bike riding is a team sport”, Dyson says.
“That’s hard to comprehend when you first get into it,” he says.
“You really do support each other on the road. Someone takes the lead for a period of time and you rotate around so you all get the benefit.”
Future2 Wheel Classic – Distance still to cover |
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Day 5 | Sat 14 | Armidale | Inverell | 126km |
Day 6 | Sun 15 | Inverell | Texas | 128km |
Day 7 | Mon 16 | Texas | Warwick | 146km |
Day 8 | Tue 17 | Warwick | Toowoomba | 90km |
Day 9 | Wed 18 | Toowoomba | Brisbane (BCEC) | 150km |
TOTAL DISTANCE REMAINING | 640 km |
Visit Future2 website for latest news and updates, grant info and more.
Donate at the Future2 Giving Hub – and give hope for a brighter future to disadvantaged young Australians.