REDLANDS Cycling and Multisport Club is gearing up for its sixth year in the Great Cycle Challenge.
For team leader Case Scholtes, the motivation behind the effort is deeply personal and firmly rooted in community.
The 81-year-old Wellington Point rider has always believed sporting clubs should stand behind a charity, and the Great Cycle Challenge has become the perfect fit for Redlands.
“We ride amazing kilometres, mostly around the Bay, to draw attention to the cause – Children’s Cancer Research,” Scholtes said.
He said returning each October was never in question.
“How can we not keep coming back,” he said.
“Many of those children in the previous year’s promotion are still undergoing treatment or have sadly passed away.
“Our efforts have been successful; we can’t let these children down.”
This year, the club has set one of its biggest targets yet – 31,000 kilometres and $31,000 raised in 31 days.
It’s a distance equal to cycling from Cleveland Library to the Perth CBD seven times.
Riders aged 15 to 81 will chip away at the tally through early morning Bayside loops, commutes, social rides, races and even holiday kilometres.
For Scholtes, the emotional weight of the challenge is felt most during those quiet dawn rides along the water.
“I think about the months and years of hospital treatment the children endure and the effect a child’s illness can have on their entire family,” he said.
“How mum and dad strive to maintain some normality for the siblings defeats any fatigue from those cycling kilometres.”
He said every rider gave something up to be part of the challenge, whether they’re retired, running a business, juggling work or managing family life.
“We call the effect of riding those kilometres and participating in fundraising ‘the hurt locker’, and that brings us together,” he said.
Scholtes said the team hopes the community will once again rally behind them with donations.
