FORTY-six cyclists from the Coffs Coast, making up Team Faircloth and Reynolds, are in the last stages of preparation for the Tour de Rocks fundraising ride from Armidale to Woolgoolga on 24-26 April.
The three-day ride, covering 260 kilometres, sees hundreds of cyclists raising a minimum of $250 each to help raise awareness of cancer and cancer research.
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Tour de Force spokeswoman Kay Endres told News Of The Area, “Faircloth and Reynolds are a great supporter of Tour de Rocks and we love having the team onboard with us.
“There are 329 people registered, but we always get more registrations in the weeks before, so we’re thinking 380 in total.
“The route to Woolgoolga is amazing for riders and supporters as it is on backroads and so picturesque.
“To finish off at the beach is a highlight.”
Faircloth and Reynolds team leader Paul Courtney, has been on board with the ride since it started over 10 years ago and has seen the team grow from fewer than 10 cyclists to over 50 last year.
“We’re slightly organised”, he said, playing down the painstaking planning put into the preparation of the pedalling team.
“Ours is one of the bigger teams and because of the logistics, including overnight camping, we have four or five vehicles and a team of supporters who all have a job to do.”
This is the second year the ride finishes at Woolgoolga Beach, having been re-routed from the original destination of South West Rocks owing to major road works.
The route takes the riders through rainforest, the New England countryside, Australian bush, rolling hills and waterfalls, backroads, farm tracks and “a bit of mud” and then the beach.
Tour de Rocks 2024 raised $375,000 for cancer charities.
By Andrea FERRARI
