Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2023
  4. arrow_forward_ios 03
  5. arrow_forward_ios Breaking the cycle

Breaking the cycle

31 March 2023
Cyclist approaching a bend on a mountain with the sun reflecting off his helmet

Through scorching heat and a thunderstorm, Danny Builth-Snoad cycled for 21 hours and raised thousands of dollars for the UTS Humanitarian Scholarship in the process. 

Danny Builth-Snoad, Head of IT Strategic Portfolio Alignment and Optimisation, was scrolling through the staff newsletter in late 2022 when he saw a notice about the UTS Humanitarian Scholarship. Inspired by the Scholarship’s mission to provide support to students who have sought asylum in Australia, Danny got to work planning his own fundraising effort. 

Connecting with family, friends and colleagues over a shared motivation to improve equity, Danny pledged to undertake an epic cycle throughout Sydney and towards the Central Coast. A live feed updated his supporters during challenging weather conditions, technical failures and even getting lost in the middle of the night (thanks to a freak summer storm). Danny covered 440 kilometres – nearly as far as driving from Sydney to the NSW Snowy Mountains – and raised over $6,500 to better the lives of students.  

Danny shares his story and more about opportunities for staff to get involved in giving back.

Humble beginnings 

Danny’s journey started after learning about fundraising and giving opportunities for UTS staff. 

“I’m a very firm believer in equity and having access to education. I think being part of the university, everyone here has a shared understanding of the value of education. The reality is, we're incredibly lucky in that almost everybody here has access to good education. So I asked, what can I do? I can donate personally, but what could I do to multiply that effort?”  

Having experience in endurance riding, Danny decided on a cycle, with the aim of covering 500 kilometres from his home on the North Shore, visiting Mangrove Mountain, Wisemans Ferry, Richmond, and Narellan in Sydney’s southwest before returning.  

To prepare, Danny didn’t focus as much on the physical – with the gift of hindsight he admits this wasn’t his finest decision – instead, directing his efforts towards fundraising and generating interest for his big commitment.

“It's almost like a contract that you enter in to with the donors. You can just say, ‘please donate some money and this is a good cause’, but it won't be very effective. You also have to put something big on the table.” 

Rally, ride and recovery 

In the blink of an eye, it was game day. But things didn’t exactly go off without a hitch. Danny remembers the support he had throughout the first part of the journey.  

“I had two friends ride with me for the first 220 kilometres, and at that point they peeled off and I continued solo. Normally, you'd expect to get through a few hundred kilometres before the pain starts kicking in. But at about 60 kms, I was already starting to get over it. At about 200 kilometres, my friends tried to convince me to stop because they thought I was toasted.”  

Danny was then joined by another cyclist he connected with through social media who completed a further 120 kilometres alongside him. 

“That was the first time we had met so it was great to see the support come from someone I didn’t even know. He even threw in a great donation afterwards.” 

Despite plenty of fuel - Danny carried two large bags filled with snacks and equipment to keep him going during his ride - factors like high temperatures began to wear on him earlier than anticipated.  

Map of the greater Sydney region with a red line showing the cycle track

Danny's journey map.

Digging deep to get it done 

Many endurance rides tend to follow a similar pattern, explains Danny, beginning with early enthusiasm, the valley of despair in the middle, followed by a final rally close to the finish. 

“In this particular ride, I thought I was through that valley after 350 kilometres in, but then ended up with a situation at 1am. There had been a thunderstorm going for about three hours at that point and then I got completely lost. It was going to take at least another three hours to get home and I’d been riding in the dark and rain for six hours at that point. I thought that was what would break me, and as it turns out it did.” 

Danny was hungry, lost and exhausted, seeking refuge in a McDonalds to refuel with a hot chocolate and some fries. 

“I was contemplating sleeping out there for a few hours so I could finish the ride in the morning, but after stopping moving the shakes set in and that was the end of me. There's a tracker that I was using, so everybody could follow, but it stopped working. Suddenly, everyone was ringing my wife to ask what was happening. In the end she had to come and rescue me when I decided to call it quits. I guess you can say there’s a sense of unfinished business.

"Once you've done something like this, it becomes your new benchmark of what you can endure. I use that from a work and personal perspective, whenever there's something I’m facing that might be tough or difficult.” 

In the end, Danny rode 440 kilometres over almost 21 hours. During the cycle, donations crept past the $5,000 mark and continued to climb. 

Blue background with some statistics in the foreground

Danny's ride stats.

What’s next?  

Danny says he has no firm plans for another long ride in the immediate future, but who knows what the future may hold.

And Danny’s advice? 

“Three things: just do it, don't overthink it, and go big. At the end of the day, it's better to shoot high than to have not tried at all." 

Donations for Danny's ride remain open until Friday 14th April 2023. 

Byline: Zoe Cwojdzinski and  Lilli Hayes

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to News

Related News

  • Representatives from Woolworths and UTS
    Woolworths pledges $10 million for UTS First Nations College
  • "Heart, generosity and openness": Brian Sherman’s legacy
  • New prize for brilliant Indigenous minds

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility