This was published 8 years ago
Regional ride Lifecycle raising money for Snowy Hydro SouthCare Helicopter and Leukaemia Foundation
By Kimberley Le Lievre
A regional ride taking in the views of the country and the coast is set to raise money for Snowy Hydro SouthCare Helicopter and the Leukaemia Foundation.
About 10 riders will leave from Canberra on Thursday October 15 as part of the second annual Lifecycle event.
While last year the two charities held separate cycling events through similar country, the rescue helicopter service and Lifecycle have teamed up to do it bigger and better. The partnership was devised as both charities have similar messages, and new Snowy Hydro SouthCare chief executive officer Chris Kimball has been an ambassador for Lifecycle for a number of years.
Mr Kimball publicly battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2012, which resulted in him spending six months in Leukaemia Foundation accommodation at Westmead. He said it was great to be able to give back to the foundation through this event, while supporting his other passion, the rescue helicopter.
"For me, the opportunity to support the Leukaemia Foundation is deeply personal. [The Leukaemia Foundation accommodation] was an incredible resource for our family to be able to draw on, in that emotionally difficult and physically challenging time in your life," Mr Kimball said.
"To have an organisation provide something practical, that provides you some security, some comfort, and takes away one of the big worries you've got in that situation, the practical help they offer is just phenomenal."
Mr Kimball said it made "complete sense" to be able to share the logistics and share the resources to take this event to the communities supported by both charities.
"The messages are very similar in that we are both services that provide for that big regional footprint of the area surrounding the ACT, and we bring sick people back to Canberra in different ways."
Over 10 days, the Lifecycle riders will travel through Yass, Gunning, Crookwell, Goulburn, Braidwood, Moruya, Batemans Bay, Bega, Pambula, Bombala, Delegate, Cooma and Queanbeyan in an attempt to raise money for the organisations.
The dedicated cyclists will travel more than 1000 kilometres. The core group will be joined by local riders on every leg.
Lifecycle co-ordinator Mark Blake said he hoped there would be support from the community in their endeavour.
"We really want to emphasise to riders in each of the towns we visit, to come out and join the ride at a designated point, say 20-30 kilometres out from the town," Mr Blake said.
The Lifecycle ride will leave from Canberra on Thursday October 15, and return to the nation's capital on Saturday October 24. For more information visit www.life-cycle.org.au