This year's Tour de Rocks will see 370 riders and 120 supporters set off from Armidale Ex Services Club at 7am on Thursday, April 11. Tour chair Kaye Endres said it will be the biggest year yet, the forecast looks really good and organisers are hoping for a fine day for the riders.
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It's a gourmet bike ride. There's not a lot of people who would lose a lot of weight on this bike ride.
- Kaye Andres
"It's huge. A lot of food has been ordered, so hopefully we can feed the masses," she said.
"The first night we have to seat 500 people for a baked dinner at The Junction. On the second night we have gourmet casserole and plenty of cakes and slices, wraps, spaghetti bolognese along the way."
Last year the tour raised about $259,000 for the fight against cancer, and this year Kaye said there are more people involved. She said the Tour de Rocks was far from being just an ordinary bike ride.
"It's a gourmet bike ride. There's not a lot of people who would lose a lot of weight on this bike ride."
"The first day we ride 90 kilometres and we pull in on The Junction, on the Old Kempsey Road. The supporters go down early, so the campsites are all set up there,
"We have a huge marquee down there, it looks like a circus show. Remembering, that down at The Junction there is nothing," Kaye said.
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"So we have to take a power generator with us, we've got a 4000 litre water tanker coming up the hill and we have to plan for the whole dinner, the roast veges, the lot."
Kaye said the second day would see the riders another 95 kilometres further on at the Willawarrin Showground, where they would camp for the night.
"They do have power there, so that's one good thing," she said.
"On the third day we get back on our bikes and ride from Willawarrin to South West Rocks. We finish there at lunchtime on the headland. We feed all the supporters and all the family members who come down and all the riders. And the last lot of riders get in at about 2pm."
"Then on the Saturday night, we have a finale at the Country Club at South West Rocks. It's all about raising funds to cure cancer, and we appropriate the funds back into those communities that support us."
Kaye said the tour also funds Tour de Cure.
"Their main focus is money for research. So, in the last seven years we've given them $100,000 each year, and we have our own cancer research projects now," she said.
Kaye thought because the event was now held annually, riders were becoming more aware.
"I think people are just starting to realise how scenic the ride is. We're seeing them stop for a chat or a lolly more often," she said.