3500 riders departed Bong Bong Street in waves from 6am on Sunday, October 21, heading off on different courses before arriving back in Bowral at Eridge Park by noon.

The award-winning cycling event changed things up this year, offering four courses for riders to choose from for the first time: The 175km Maxi Classic, the 120km Challenge Classic, the 90km Rouleurs Classic and the 35km Social Classic, all riding through the most scenic areas of the Southern Highlands.

Event director Vanessa Burgess said the event was a chance for experienced and professional riders to mingle with social and amateur riders to experience a scenic regional tour of the Southern Highlands.

“Three years ago we did it here for the first time and it has just grown and grown. We’re seeing a larger percentage of female riders every year, it’s a grown to be fantastic event,” Ms Burgess said.

The cycling event was also an opportunity for teams to raise funds for various organisations, like Rare Cancers Australia, a Bowral based charity that participated for the first time.

Rare Cancers Australia co-founder, Kate Vines said she and the board were looking at new ways to engage with the community about rare cancers which account for more than 30 per cent of all cancer diagnosis. 

“Our new community engagement manager, Zac Hulm, has been cycling for a long time and he thought it would be a great event to get involved with. It’s our first year, but it won’t be our last,” Ms Vines said. 

Another team, Bike Odyssey, travelled from around NSW to participate in the event and raise funds for Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.

Rider Megan Scott said the team began raising money around 12 months ago after a fellow cyclist was diagnosed with cancer and used services provided by Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.

“We rode the 120km course on behalf of Bike Odyssey to raise money for Lifehouse and considering we were expecting shocking weather, it was great, we were very lucky,” she said.

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Event organisers provided an online platform for different teams to choose different charities. This approach has generated more than $250,000 worth of donations to various causes.

Riders spent the afternoon in a makeshift marketplace with live music, free massages, food vendors and various stalls and displays from many major cycling brands.

The event is organised and run by Bicycling Australia and Yaffa Media.

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