ThE laST WoRd

Fun(d) raising rides

Cindy Bennett, Member #4170

Putting together the page in this Journal detailing the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride coming up in May, I couldn’t help but admire the staggering amount of money raised over the past 8 years towards men’s health initiatives – USD $24.5 million!

The notion of riding for a cause is a noble one and a lot of us would have partaken in one over the years. I remember the Gold Coast Black Dog Ride a few years back with riders in the hundreds and police at traffic lights waving us through. To know you are riding and raising much needed funds as well as awareness gives a warm and fuzzy feeling to be sure!

Charities feel the competition for the public donation dollar, and those that align to rides are to be commended for appealing to us as a generous bunch who don’t need too much of an excuse to get out there on 2 wheels for a cause. Some notable mentions that I am aware of are the following:

Bra’s and Bikes Ride – the 19th and last ride of this group was in 2020 and raised funds for Broomhill Cancer Care. Riders were encouraged to don bright pink attire (including bras over their bike jackets!) while doing an easy day ride around the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

A cause close to my heart (as a volunteer and foster fur-parent) is the RSPCA, and in years past there used to be a “Ruff Ride” to raise much needed funds for our furry and feathered friends, which was led by motor racing legend Craig Lowndes. This seems to have dropped off the radar and it would certainly be good to see a return of this ride (leave it with me..)

The Great Australian ride from the most easterly to most westerly point of the continent is certainly one of the more hard core charity rides, established by Stuart Ball in 2011 to aid the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation and since it’s inception has raised over $450,000 and the charity base has now expanded to include other worthwhile organisations such as RFDS and Fred Hollows Foundation.

And let’s not forget that our own Club’s donations each year to the RFDS are a way to pay it forward to this essential service for any of us that get off the beaten track on the bikes. We donated $1300 last year as a Club.

So I am of the firm opinion that riding for a good cause adds a little something to the ride and is a definite win-win!

“No one has ever become poor by giving”. From the Diary of Anne Frank.