World record attempt: 1,600-kilometer outback ride on electric bike

Allan Lear set off from the Sunshine Coast this morning on his trusty electric bike. Latest news has him pedaling his green, 200-watt machine over the Toowoomba Range.

He plans to ride around 300 kilometers a day, with a peak speed of 65 kph, and complete the 1,600-kilometer journey to Birdsville on September 1.

"There will be long stretches of bumpy dirt road which will be very challenging for the bike -- it's a mountain bike -- and for me,” Lear, 45, told the ABC. "If I can do this, then anyone can."

If he succeeds, it will be the longest electric bike ride the world has seen.

His self-made convoy will be a green Mini Moke -- equipped for necessary battery swaps -- that runs on food scraps. Four of his mates will bring along postie bikes and ride some of the way. And, of course, there'll be a reporter for Guinness World Records.

The journey started at Hahn Environmental Services -- a sustainable energy and waste disposal company Lear runs jointly with his wife, Gerardine. She is tracking every pedal of her husband’s ordeal by GPS.

“He’s an adventurer as much as he’s an environmentalist,” she said. “So this suits him -- he can do both. The wind turbine he creates pedaling maintains the bike's battery charge."

So why would he take on such a task? “To send the community a message,” she said.

Her husband agrees. “I really think electric bikes are the transport mode of the future. They are clean, green and easy to use," he told the ABC.

And there’s another cause: people can donate money at www.everydayhero.com. For every $3,500 raised, Greenfleet will plant 1,000 trees.