Residents take part in 1237km charity cycle
A Toowoomba man has cycled from Brisbane to Longreach, as part of charity cycle RideWest.
Toowoomba
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David McNab joined a team of 29 riders cycling 1237km to raise money for the Wellbeing Out West program, an initiative of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Starting on October 3 near Amberley Air Base, Mr McNab rode close to 200km a day with the team, ending the journey in Longreach on October 9.
“It was a great week,” Mr McNab said.
“My brother-in-law had done the previous rides so I knew what it was all about and had been keen to try it out for myself.
“There was the physical challenge, but I knew it was about raising funds and awareness for mental health in rural and remote Queensland – which is a fantastic cause.”
Mr McNab said the event was postponed from earlier in the year, which allowed the team to get in more training.
“Despite the fact I live in Toowoomba, I work in Brisbane where many of the other riders were, so we would do training on the weekend and midweek,” he said.
“I would say day five or six, from Augathella to Blackall, was extremely challenging, it was a day of strong winds, it was warm and one of the longer days on the ride – you’re days in at that point.
“The legs were the least of the worries I would say, most days we would have a swim at the pool at our accommodation, which would help to cool us down and let the legs recover.
“The team environment, and the support they gave was also fantastic, everyone had tough times at different stages.”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the charity and the 6th ride the team have undertaken, raising more than $1 million dollars for mental health services for regional areas.
Last year the Wellbeing Out West program helped the RFDS to provide mental health support to more than 7500 people across Western Queensland via free education sessions and counselling.
