Ballina man Ben Hamilton is riding his bike 500km to help young kids with cancer.
The Big Ride for Little Kids Facing Cancer is being run by Camp Quality. So far he’s raised over $500.
Mr Hamilton told Echonetdaily, ‘I saw the opportunity to ride and raise money for kids with cancer. I thought it was a great idea so I jumped on it.’
Recently he’s been riding ‘all over’ the Northern Rivers. ‘My staple rides are the Ballina to Byron loop or Ballina to Woodburn,’ he said.
‘Work and personal life has been very full-on at the moment. The only time I can get up to ride is between 3-4am before work. I have found it very fulfilling, and it sets me up for the day.’
Another challenge ahead
Ben Hamilton is also the co-founder of gambling awareness and advocacy group Kickin’ The Punt. He is preparing for a big ride to Sydney later this year in memory of Gary ‘Gee’ Van Duinen.
‘The ride for kids with cancer coincides with my ride for Gee, so it was a no brainer, said Mr Hamilton.
‘The aim of the ride for kids is to raise awareness and I’m aiming to raise $1080 which will pay to have a few kids attend Camp Quality.
‘I have set the target of 500km in two weeks. I plan on riding 35-50km most days, and whatever is left I will do back to back on the last weekend of the challenge,’ he said.
‘I might have to do a couple hundred km’s on the last weekend, but I’m prepared to do it. It will be a good test for my big ride in September. It’s my ride for Gee, which I’m aiming to ride 1000km in 4-5 days to raise awareness for gambling addiction and suicide prevention.’
So far Ben Hamilton is halfway to his fundraising target for Camp Quality. You can get behind him and help young kids with cancer here.
