10 Deserts for Torie | Orange's Jeremy Cowley will battle no-man's-land in bid to raise 20k for maternity services

That in itself is an enormous (and comedic) feat to sign-up for.

But to do it for the betterment of regionally-based maternity services ... that's a whole other story of selflessness and daring heroism.

In a bold bid to raise $20,000 for the Torie Finnane Foundation, Orange's Jeremy Cowley will ride a (heavily customised) Husqvarna 501 motorbike on his own, setting out to conquer almost 6500 kilometres of desert terrain as fast as he can from May 1.

Dubbed 10 Deserts for Torie, Mr Cowley's journey is earmarked with a completion window to May 23 to take out Guinness World Record title, 'fastest time to cross all ten Australian deserts on motorbike' - a feat failed by many, succeeded by only one.

Coined "King of the Desert", a then 34 year old Benji Brundin first set the record in 2019 with a time of 29 days, 19 hours and 38 minutes.

The same age now as Brundin was then, Mr Cowley plans to knock it over in just 10 days.

"They said 'halve it, do it in 10 days' and I couldn't back down from the challenge, so I said 'right, I'm going to get that 10 days'.

"You could probably buy a new Hilux with the customised bike alone, but I'd spend it every day if that meant bringing more attention to supporting regional maternity."

A cause extremely "close" to his heart, Mr Cowley dabbled in desert riding in lieu of having a speedway-racing dad growing up, before moving to the Colour City from Western Australia with his former-spouse about a decade ago.

Co-parenting their now three-year-old daughter, he added that Eva's mother experienced premature contractions around the early 20-weeks mark - just past the halfway point of pregnancy.

"[Eva's mum] was only in her second trimester when it happened, so she went into labour very, very early and there were a lot of complications from there," Mr Cowley said.

"The resources just weren't here [in Orange] to manage that, so she was sent down to Canberra for about five to six weeks. There was a lot of travel back and fourth almost daily, family members made huge sacrifices and sadly, our story isn't not the only one.

"That's when we first met Torie."

An instrumental part of why little Eva is in the world today, Mrs Finnane was a part of an "amazing team of midwives" from Orange

Carrying her to a healthier 38 weeks, an emergency caesarian resulted in Eva's safe delivery.

"Eva will be four in December and I can't explain my level of gratitude for that, I don't know how to put any of it into words. But I do know how to ride fast in the desert."

Which is why he's "more than happy" to ride an average 14 to 16 hours per day for 10 days straight, battling the terrain across two handfuls of the most gruelling deserts.

He said choosing the foundation was "a no brainer" due to the late Mrs Finnane's support to his and countless other families during her time in midwifery.

Who, at the age of 34, tragically died in 2020 - just three days after giving birth to her third child.

Given this imprint and legacy she gave to the lives of women and babies in regional maternity settings - including the need for more support in the sector - Mr Cowley said raising money in her honour is "the least" he can do.

"I can do the riding, that's no problem and yeah it's great to know me, the world record attempt is something to pique peoples' interest," he said.

"But the whole point of this is that it's an ode to Torie.

"So to answer the chicken or the egg debate on this one, Torie was always first."

Mr Cowley's weeks consist of intensive hydration training, physical and mental endurance training, including sleep and fatigue training - all while throwing in multiple hours of riding practice on the weekends.

He's sought expert guidance from people like engineers, survivalists and fitness gurus, even engaging special services contacts who've held former military roles.

In order of the largest to smallest-sized areas of no-man's-land, Mr Cowley will ride his "Husky 501" across the following deserts:

But the reason why he's kept the challenge fairly quiet until now is because dare devil Cowley not long got the greenlight for the big trip ahead.

"We've only just been cleared for the ride with permits, because you've obviously got sacred land and there's a nuclear testing zone from way back when near the Anne Beadell Highway which mirrors the Nullabore," he said.

"So I definitely wanted that permit, because I don't really need the AFP [Australia Federal Police] shooting at some guy zooming through the desert with a mullet on a pink motorbike.

"That's not ideal."

Though one of his biggest fears in the lead-up to 10 Deserts for Torie is the open spaces across the Gibson, Great Sandy and Tanami deserts.

"I'm probably most scared of the Canning Stock Route, which is the big one [in WA] from Wiluna all the way up to Halls Creek ... it's one big, super-remote area with nothing around.

"It's very isolated and very long, and it's about 1800 kilometres between fuel stops ... it's a doozy, that final straight and I think that'll be mentally tough."

Using a thin foam mattress and a tarp to wrap around he and the dirt bike, he'll get some warmth from the exhaust in desert climate extremes.

While he'll be facing hot days in the sunlight, temperatures on clear nights are known to drop around the zero degrees mark.

Another rear tank will hold 85 litres of fuel in total, with the 280 kilogram dirt bike to range an average speed between 50 to 60 kilometres per hour at a minimum.

Spare bike parts, fuel holds at service stations, roadside stops with adequate food and water, rescue teams on the ready, vitamin supplements, dehydrated snacks - Cowley's thought of it all.

"So that's probably the least thought of thing out of it all, really," he said.

Finishing up to enjoy the iconic Finke Desert Race in Alice Springs, Mr Cowley said he'll be hanging for extra litres of H2O before hooking in to enjoy a beer (or ten) at the finish line.

Hoping to raise the $20,000 or more in the 10 Deserts for Torie fundraiser, people can head online to the Torie Finnane Foundation website to "throw some dollars" in.

Able to follow parts of Jeremy Cowley's journey via Facebook and Instagram, there's also a fun twist for those giving the charitable bucks.

People who donate will receive a code to log-on to a GPS tracker, able to watch his daring trek in live time online for the 10 days.

"Those who donate over $100 will get a phone number sent to them and be able to text me wherever I am," Mr Cowley said.

"Outside of that, I'll have a little photo of a jellybean and a peanut stuck on the bike to represent Eva and my youngest daughter, who was born just before Christmas.

"It'll be on the pink-framed handlebar and read 'the only person stopping you is you'."

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