I was out for an early morning walk last Thursday (11th April) when I came across a remarkable event. I saw a heap of bicycles scattered across grass on the Creek-lands near the Ex-Services Club and a crowd of brightly dressed cyclists. And, at roughly 7.30 am they were preparing for a 270 km bike ride in aid of charity from Armidale to Southwest Rocks on the NSW coast near Kempsey. This ride is apparently open to all interested cyclists who form teams to get sponsorship from family, friends and other organisations. All participants ride c 90 km each day and organisers provide meals and camping berths at selected locations en route. It's not a competition, but rather a social event.
Last year the ride raised c. A$260,000 ... which is quite impressive and I gather that the participants this year may number up to 370 riders and perhaps another 130 supporters! The bikes in question were mainly not road bikes, but had thick tyres like mountain bikes. This is hardly surprising as the Kempsey road has long stretches that are unsealed.
This is what I saw, and thankfully I had my mobile phone with me to take the pictures attached below. First we see a scattering of bikes on the ground.
Nest I saw an archway reflecting half an bike tyre.
Here we have the crowd of riders preparing for the start.
And they were addressed by one of the key organisers who explained the events protocols and organisation.
It was an impressive start to the event. I had two regrets. They would be cycling into a stiff easterly wind and there were rain clouds hanging around.
By the way, this item was actually posted from Hong Kong just 2.5 days after I saw the above event! Even at my age, life can be crowded! You'll find out more about my exploits here in subsequent posts.
AS
Last year the ride raised c. A$260,000 ... which is quite impressive and I gather that the participants this year may number up to 370 riders and perhaps another 130 supporters! The bikes in question were mainly not road bikes, but had thick tyres like mountain bikes. This is hardly surprising as the Kempsey road has long stretches that are unsealed.
This is what I saw, and thankfully I had my mobile phone with me to take the pictures attached below. First we see a scattering of bikes on the ground.
Nest I saw an archway reflecting half an bike tyre.
Here we have the crowd of riders preparing for the start.
And they were addressed by one of the key organisers who explained the events protocols and organisation.
It was an impressive start to the event. I had two regrets. They would be cycling into a stiff easterly wind and there were rain clouds hanging around.
By the way, this item was actually posted from Hong Kong just 2.5 days after I saw the above event! Even at my age, life can be crowded! You'll find out more about my exploits here in subsequent posts.
AS
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