A group calling themselves the ‘Cobar Gang’ has set themselves a goal of riding 10,000km this month to raise money to fight children’s cancer as part of the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) Great Cycle Challenge.
The national fundraising event for children’s cancer research has raised $6.6million since its launch in 2013.
The month-long personal challenge encourages individuals to ride as many kilometres as they can and also raise money.
Participants use the event’s mobile application to track their rides throughout the month of October; each ride is automatically recorded on the individual’s fundraising page so that others can track their progress.
The Cobar Gang consists of locals Samantha Dixon, Lyndsay Klopper, David McEwan, Johanna Strahl, Shakira Colling, Alex Eves, Colin Eves, Thomas Jones, Kylie Lynch, Raymond Jones and Tristan Marshall.
On the group’s fundraising page (www.greatcyclechallenge.com.au) Alex Eves explains that cancer is the largest single killer of children from disease in Australia with 600 children diagnosed from cancer every year and sadly, three dying each week.
“Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.
“So we are riding and raising funds to support the Children’s Medical Research Institute to continue their work into prevention, diagnosis, treatment and finding a cure for childhood cancer,” Ms Eves said.
Cobar High School teacher, Samantha Dixon told The Cobar Weekly that she had originally set a goal of 200 kilometres but has already increased that to 400 kilometres after receiving some very generous donations.
“So far I have ridden 80 kilometres,” Ms Dixon said on October 7.
“Everyone in Cobar has been so supportive,” Ms Dixon said.
