Australia’s country children’s charity, Royal Far West, is shaking off the lock-down shackles and gearing up for its annual fundraising Ride for Country Kids.

Everyone’s welcome! The rubber will hit the road on Sunday 22 May from Bendemeer, with the first leg finishing at a community event in Armidale. Riders will then head to Inverell via the spectacular Copeton Dam, and then push on to Glen Innes, with a wonderful community finish in Deepwater to mark the end of the 430km tour.

Danielle Chapman, General Manager Fundraising, Marketing and Advocacy said the event aims to raise $600,000 for vital services and to raise awareness of the growing and unmet need in regional Australia for children’s health and developmental services.

“The need in rural and remote communities continues to grow – it’s unrelenting and that’s why this event is so important – to raise vital funds and awareness. The Ride has raised over $3M so far and it grows each year. It’s so fantastic to have new and return riders, including our ambassador Mark Renshaw,” said Mrs Chapman.

Mark Renshaw, who grew up in Bathurst and is most famous for his 1-2 finish on the final stage of the 2009 Tour de France with Mark Cavendish, said it’s great to be back.

“Regional communities have had a some very difficult years with back-to-back challenges and natural disasters – drought, bushfires, floods, the mouse plague, and the pandemic.

It’s great to be able to do something to help and I’d like to encourage other cyclists to join us. It will be a fun and memorable trip with likeminded people who are also keen to help country kids,” said Mr Renshaw.

All funds raised through the 2022 Ride for Country Kids will directly help country kids with complex, undiagnosed developmental and mental health needs, by giving them access to the critical assessments, services and support they need to grow, learn and thrive.

We welcome cyclists and teams to join us in May and ride to transform the lives of Australia’s country kids!