At the tender age of 12 he suffered a stroke that changed his life.

But the now 27-year-old is trying to change the lives of others for the better despite his own personal challenges.

He woke one morning with a dull headache and told his parents. Five weeks later he woke up in the Royal Children's Hospital.

"I tried to speak, no words came out," he said.

"The words were forming in my mind but nothing came out. I couldn't hear them. This led me to having a panic attack. I was completely lost." The stroke impacted Tommy's right side and he battles to walk.

But instead of having a beachside holiday in Port Fairy like so many others at this time of the year, Tommy is using the south-west to prepare for an epic ride on a recumbent bike around Australia.

He's using Port Fairy as his training base ahead of a 9000 kilometre journey around Australia to promote social inclusion and increase young stroke awareness while raising money to help stroke survivors and improve their services.

"I've spent a lot of time in Port Fairy with my parents at folk festivals and on summer holidays over the years," Tommy told The Standard.

"Port Fairy is a second home to my family and me. I'm lucky we know so many people down here.

"It's just ideal to get out on my recumbent bike to put in the hard yards. It's too difficult to train in Melbourne because of traffic lights and all the traffic.

"I rode out to Kirkstall from Port Fairy on Monday. I put in 120 kilometres last week and I'm on track to notch up 150 kilometres this week."

He rode to Portland on Wednesday.

His 9000 kilometre bike ride will start in August and includes him reaching the four points of Australia's mainland. He will begin at Steep Point in Western Australia before heading across the Nullarbor and onto Wilson's Promontory. He then ventures to Cape Byron before ending the epic trip at Cape York.

Tommy is no stranger to testing himself mentally and physically, he walked the Kokoda Trail in 12 days in 2014.

"The Kokoda Trail was tough but I got through it and I'm not expecting this bike ride to the four extreme points of mainland Australia to be any better," he said.

"I've got a wonderful support crew in my parents Clive and Rena.

"I've been overwhelmed with the financial support I've received for the ride from Port Fairy businesses including The Hub, the IGA and the Red Hen."

You can follow his progress or make a donation via his website: www.the4points.org

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