Wagga residents join Pedal Cure 4 FightMND charity ride to support Motor Neurone Disease research

About 12 Wagga residents have joined this year's Pedal Cure 4 FightMND - a gruelling 880km bike ride with overnight stops in Temora, Lockhart, Berrigan, Albury, Wagga, Narrandera, Griffith and Ariah Park.

The annual charity ride draws in participants from across eastern Australia to support those living with motor neurone disease, raise awareness and ultimately help researchers find a cure.

Resident Terry Willis is one of those taking up the challenge, three-and-a-half years on from losing his mother-in-law, Pam Robinson, to MND.

"We've sort of held off until about now to recover from some of that grief, and we're at a point now where we're really keen to support a fantastic cause for a disease we're confident that within time will have a cure," he said.

"MND hits the Riverina really hard, so it's a great cause, a great time for us to get involved, and it's not a bad group of people to be involved with."

With some trepidation, Julie Cornell and her sister will join Mr Willis as first-time riders, supporting their brother Neale who has been living with MND since 2013.

"It makes it a lot more enjoyable riding alongside my family," she said.

"Because it's not just about helping those through treatment, is also about finding a cure for sufferers."

The Pedal Cure 4 FightMND army has raised their fundraising target after smashing their initial goal with several charity events still on the calendar.

Initially aiming to raise $200,000 before the end of their seven-day ride, this year's 60-plus participants have raised their target by $50,000 with more than three weeks left until they mount their bikes.

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Sureway's chief financial officer Paul McGowan has joined the ranks this year and said the support from the community so far has been fantastic.

"The fundraising and the commitment from local people to contribute has been amazing," he said.

"To hit that $200,000 mark, four weeks or three weeks before the event is tremendous."

Sureway, an employment and training service with a large footprint throughout the Riverina, is one of this year's major sponsors and will be hosting a fundraising night on day five of the ride at the Australian Rules Club in Wagga.

Mr McGowan said the company's participation will help them establish a blueprint of how it might better invest further into regional communities.

"We see a strong alignment between like the health of MND, versus the mental health issues in the local community, so being the CFO of the company, it's really great to be involved in something like this," he said.

"We've often been involved with sponsorships and charities, whether it be for droughts, the pandemic situation, bushfires, and this is just another way that we've been able to contribute to our local communities."

Pedal Cure 4 FightMND will begin in Temora on March 5 and finish in Griffith on March 12, with Sureway's fundraising evening to be held on the ninth.

Those looking to support the riders can visit: https://hub.fightmnd.org.au/pedal-cure-4-fightmnd-2022.

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