WAGGA firefighters Dave Herrick and John Tonkin are ready to click into gear for a monster charity effort.
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The two will form part of a group of riders comprising of firefighters riding from Huskisson to Mount Kosciuszko over four days to raise money for the Burns Unit at The Children's Hospital at Westmead.
Mr Tonkin said it is first time participating in the 400in4 Charity Ride.
“Hopefully my family never needs it, but the Burns Unit does great work,” he said.
“I also wanted to help out a cause that doesn’t affect me.”
Mr Tonkin said he’s ready to throw the “dad bod” around and see what happens.
“Preparation is ramping up and doing as much as you can,” he said.
Mr Tonkin said the 2019 ride will run from April 1 through to April 4 and also involves stopping in towns and safety demonstrations at selected regional primary schools.
“Being a parent, it’s great to be involved in that aspect as well,” he said.
Mr Herrick has completed the ride four times and joked that it was a “casual” affair, despite days involving more than 100 kilometres of riding uphill.
“It’s a pretty long ride but nothing we can’t handle,” he said.
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“I’ve always cycled and I enjoy doing it for a good cause, but this year will be a bit more of a challenge as it’s not just going up the Hume Highway. Being a firefighter and a dad I think this cause is something to get involved in.”
Mr Herrick said people often ask him why he doesn’t do a ride for a local charity.
“Any kid that suffers from burns in our area goes to Westmead for treatment, so it’s funding that helps Wagga too,” he said.
“It does help kids in the Riverina and also the rest of NSW.”
Mr Herrick said it’s the same squad of guys, some of who have been doing it for 10 years.
“They are a great bunch of blokes,” he said.
“It’s not always about the riding, it’s also about the education along the way.”
One day one, the pair will ride from Huskisson to Nerriga (80 kilometres) then from Nerriga to Canberra (130 kilometres) for day two.
Day three will be the trek from Canberra to Cooma (117 kilometres) and then a final ride from Cooma to Mount Kosciuszko (100 kilometres) with the plan to climb to the crest.
Mr Herrick and Mr Tonkin encouraged Wagga to support them in their efforts.
“Keep an eye out for us in the coming weeks on the main street, we will be out fundraising,” Mr Herrick said. To support the firefighters head to 400in4.org/donate/.
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