The 18th annual Ride for Sick Kids campaign was launched this week with a ride-off at Hexham.
A more than 500km journey from Inverell to the John Hunter Children's Hospital, setting off on September 6, the Ride for Sick Kids (RFSK) is a Ronald McDonald House Charity (RMHC) initiative which is looking to raise $200,000 this year.
71-year-old Maitland resident Bill Cox is "saddling up" to take part in the ride for the 18th time, having done the ride since its inception in 2005.
"To be able to get involved doing something that I love doing and helping other people, I didn't hesitate. I've just kept coming back and they won't kick me off," Mr Cox said.
"I've had a few health issues along the way too but this is really important to me. You get back to the house and you see the families who appreciate how much effort we are putting in.
"I'll keep coming back as long as they will have me and as long as I can keep riding."
Mr Cox, who has raced bikes for more than five decades, now has a pacemaker fitted after suffering a cardiac arrest. Despite this, he cycles on, and said the ride is getting quicker every year.
"I had a niece who lost a little boy to leukemia a couple of years before the ride and they spent a lot of time at Ronald McDonald House," Mr Cox said.
"Her parents could go down and stay so I knew the value of the house."
The ride-off on Thursday saw 15 people, involved with the ride in one way or another, compete to see who could pedal 1km the fastest on a stationary bike.
While he didn't quite set the day's quickest time, RMHC northern NSW CEO Ross Bingham said the day was a bit of fun and a chance to "raise funds for sick kids and their families from all across Northern NSW and the Central Coast".
At $135 a night, Mr Bingham said the $200,000 would pay for more than 1400 nights of accommodation at Ronald McDonald houses.
"We depend on the community to keep our doors open and to keep doing what we do," Mr Bingham said. "Families are travelling from Moree, Brewarrina, Grafton and the Central Coast to John Hunter Children's Hospital to receive specialist care whether it's an illness or accident."
The event will see 25 riders travel the more than 500km between September 6 and 10. Community members can sponsor a rider online, donate directly or purchase a small, paper "helper bike" in a Maccas restaurant.
"You're riding through the areas these families are from and you really get a feel for how far they come."
Mr Cox said the first day is the hardest.
"It's about 90km up hill from Inverell to Guyra," Mr Cox said. "It does get easier in places but it's still hard work. It's still nothing compared to what the families have to go through who have kids in hospital and having their treatment."
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