When Peter Holmes and his group of fellow bike riders reached Uluru earlier this term the first thing they felt was “absolute elation”.

“And it was just a great feeling hopping off our bikes knowing that we didn’t have to do any more cycling,” Mr Holmes said.

The giant monolith represented the finish line for a group of Otford Public School cyclists who rode the 1,500 kilometre “Gunbarrel Highway” – a corrugated track that stretches from Western Australia to Uluru in the Northern Territory – to raise funds for the school’s one-to-one laptop program.

For 15 days the group of 11 teachers, students and parents – accompanied by a four-person support crew – battled the harshness of the Australian outback and the notoriously rugged track.

Each stage of their journey was documented on a website and blog (www.ridethegunbarrel.com.au ) which allowed the school community in Otford, situated between Sydney and Wollongong, to follow the group’s progress.

Mr Holmes, Otford Public’s principal, said despite riding through all sorts of conditions, including “ferocious headwinds”, the most difficult part of the journey was dealing with the daily “mind games” associated with cycling 100 kilometres during an 11-hour stretch.

“When you’re riding through sand that’s so soft you’re falling off your bike every 100 metres, the desire to throw your bike on the ute and drive for the rest of the leg is great,” Mr Holmes said. “But the desire to finish it unaided is greater … there’s an enormous amount of satisfaction and pride that comes with overcoming adversity.

“It was a journey of selfdiscovery.” Mr Holmes got the idea for the trip after his visit last year to examine how technology was incorporated in United States and United Kingdom classrooms as part of a Premier’s Teacher Scholarship.

During his month of travelling, Mr Holmes saw a range of one-to-one computer programs and was struck by the level of student engagement.

“Initially I was quite sceptical about the effect of putting technology in front of each child … but in every classroom Quality Teaching elements were evident,” he said. “No child was disengaged from learning.”

Determined to give his Year 2 to 6 students the same access to “24/7 learning”, Mr Holmes set about his own laptop project when he returned.

He said the idea to raise funds by riding along the Gunbarrel Highway “captured the imagination” of the school community who were excited by the chance to see “a part of the country they’d never been to”.

An organising group approached surrounding businesses and by the time the group left Otford for the bike ride the project had raised $40,000 in sponsorship and donations – enough to order 30 of the 50 laptops required for each student. Mr Holmes said he was hopeful the school would receive further donations to reach the $75,000 target.

But for now, Mr Holmes and the cyclists are enjoying their achievement. “Those families and children [that participated] will have a lifetime of memories that will never leave them,” he said