Waugh's wound ahead of charity ride

The legendary Steve Waugh was renowned for his toughness throughout his cricket career, and it seems nothing has changed in the intervening years.

Waugh posted a grisly picture of his bloodied, grazed thigh on social media following a cycling accident as the 168-Test veteran prepares for 'The Captain's Ride' – a six-day, 701km charity bike ride through southern New South Wales, beginning on October 29 and finishing on November 3 at the summit of Mt Kosciuszko.

The 51-year-old seemed unperturbed by the tumble, with some light-hearted comments accompanying the image.

"Road testing the Captains Ride gear literally!!" Waugh wrote. "Coming off at 45kms an hour on a steep descent in the National Park – don't recommend it!!"

The Captain's Ride, a major fundraising initiative of the Steve Waugh Foundation, raises funds for the 400,000 children throughout Australia affected by rare diseases, and Waugh will be joined by such sporting luminaries as AFL great Adam Goodes and Olympic cycling legend Anna Meares.  

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The 70 riders will be ascending more than 10,000 metres across the journey.

"The idea of the ride is to be difficult because the kids we're supporting with rare diseases do it tough each and every day," Waugh told cricket.com.au's The Unplayable Podcast.

"They overcome obstacles, challenges – they just get on with it and they never complain.

"In some small way we want to mirror that attitude with our ride."

Key to the concept is the announcement of the world's first self-propelled children's bicycle – a self driving children's bicycle with an empty seat, fitted with GPS.

Whenever the riderless bike is in motion throughout the journey, children will have the opportunity to experience the ride thanks to a 360 degree camera mounted to the seat, offering a first-person viewpoint of the ride.