Son of cyclist who died during Indian Pacific Wheel Ride from Fremantle to Sydney speaks on event safety

The son of a popular cyclist who died during a gruelling ultra-endurance ride across the country says his father will be saddled up in spirit besides those taking part this year.

Chris Barker, 62, was allegedly struck by a passing truck on Eyre Hwy in WA during the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride (Indipac), an unofficial race from Fremantle in Perth to the Opera House in Sydney, in March 2024. The matter is still before the courts.

A second Indipac rider aged in his 50s was also seriously injured on the same highway at Frasers Range just a few hours later.

The ride has only been held “officially” on one occasion, in 2017, and was cancelled when British cyclist Mike Hall was struck by a car and killed.

Chris’s son Aiden Barker admitted he now reflects on the Indipac with “mixed feelings”, but doesn’t blame the event for his dad’s death.

He said his father, a South Australian who was taking part in the 5500km test for a sixth time when he died, would “want it to go ahead”.

“The ride is fine — it’s safe enough. Everyone has a right to be out there on the road,” he told 7NEWS.com.au.

“It takes incredible mental capacity to hop on the bike if you’ve done it before, or even just to do it for the first time.

“I wish the riders a safe trip and hope they take super care out there.

“I’ll be dot watching and my thoughts will be with the riders.”

Chris Barker died near the small roadhouse community of Madura, about 200km west of the WA-SA border, devastating the riding community and triggering a wave of tributes.

At the time, Aiden said his dad was “doing something that he loved” and that he’d never heard him “talk so much about this one event in my life”.

Chris, nicknamed “Caveman”, was an adventurer who had climbed New Zealand’s tallest mountain and was once trapped in a snow cave for five days.

Aiden said the last year had been extremely difficult for the Barker family without him there.

“Just knowing he’s not around, or just a phone call away, that that call can’t happen anymore or we’re not able to see him is really tough,” he said.

“We spoke on the phone at least once every week.

“If I missed his calls he’d leave fairly long voice messages. Often I wouldn’t even listen to them, I’d just call him back.

“Now they’re one of the only recorded memories I have left of him.”

Those considering taking part in the solo and unsupported ride are warned they do so “at their own personal individual risk”.

Endurance rider Kevin Paine said the journey is an “unofficial event” and there is no “race organiser”.

“Simply, riders from around the globe complete the original 2017 course in memory of Mike Hall who was killed in the first and only official event, and now in memory of Chris ‘Caveman’ Barker,” Paine told 7NEWS.com.au.

“With no race director, each individual chooses how closely they want to follow the original route and rules. Officially there are no rules and nobody to enforce them.

“It is common practice to register a GPS tracking device for safety.”

Twenty-eight riders are pencilled in for Indipac 2025, including eight from overseas. Riders will depart Fremantle’s South Mole Lighthouse early on March 15.

Paine, who is riding to increase awareness about industrial development in the Nullarbor Plain, expects numbers could increase before the start of the race.