By TANIA PHILLIPS
TWO men, two bikes, 900kilometres and seven days.
Local businessman Tony Worrad of NR Signs and friend Ray Chatt are set to journey from Tweed Heads to Singleton in a bid to raise funds for Rotary Oceania’s Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) program.
The pair, who have been supported by the Good Guys at Tweed and Ballina and Rotary Clubs from Tweed to Singleton, have been training five days a week for several months.
They will finally head off from Chris Cunningham Park at Tweed on Sunday morning from 8am.
The ride idea came when Ray, 69, who took up cycling eight years ago when he retired from the mining industry, was working as a marshall at a Bike Victoria event.
“There was a man riding there who said he had just completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain for his 80th birthday,” Ray said.
“I thought if he could do that at 80 why couldn’t I ride from Tweed to Albury (where his son lives). I told Tony about the plan and he decided that he would ride to Singleton.
“Then we decided that we should do it for charity.”
Touched by the plight of the young children being helped by ROMAC, Tony, a member of Murwillumbah Central Rotary, contacted the local rotary clubs – who jumped at the chance to be involved.
He said club members from Rotary Clubs along the route would ride with them for portions of the trip. Tony and Ray said they had been touched by the support of all the clubs as well as the local community.
“Good Guys from Tweed, Ballina and Coffs have jumped on board to sponsor along with Telstra Tweed,” Tony said.
Tweed Good Guys head Rory Curtis, a Rotary member himself, said the Tweed and Ballina stores were right behind the ride.
“We are pleased to be able to support Tony and Ray in their mission to raise awareness of and funding for the ROMAC program which provides medical treatment for children in developing countries who would otherwise not be able to access surgery,” he said.“We are extremely lucky to live in a country where high-quality medical resources and assistance are at our disposal so any way that we can help those less fortunate is a good thing.”
Tony and Ray leave on Sunday 3 November after a farewell event from 8am to 9am in Chris Cunningham Park. They will stop over in Ballina, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Taree and Bulahdelah before arriving in Singleton on Saturday November 9.
The pair is inviting other cyclists to support the ROMAC cause and join them for sections of the 700km ride.
To make a donation to the Ride for ROMAC go to www.trybooking.com/66934 . For more details about the ‘Ride for ROMAC’, go to the page on website www.murwillumbah-central-rotary.org.au and for information about the work of ROMAC see www.romac.org.au
