You’d look sweet, upon the seat, of a bicycle built for… someone dapper like you!
That’s right, with temperatures across the Northern Rivers cooling down significantly of late, this weekend you have the perfect excuse for pulling out your Sunday Best, riding elegantly through a scenic landscape backdropped by rolling hills and sun-dappled valleys and raising money for a good cause: men’s mental health and prostate cancer research.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride [DGR} is now in its tenth and Byron Shire organiser Hugh Taylor says the 2021 event will go ahead rain or shine.
‘There’s only five mm of rain predicted for Sunday,’ Mr Taylor said on Friday, ‘that’s not even enough to wash my bike!’
Mr Taylor said last year he and his female partner celebrated the fundraiser bike ride in true style: ‘cross-dressing’.
‘I went as the old TV character Aunty Jack while she wore a (mens) suit,’ Mr Taylor said, ‘but this year I’m going to wear a suit’.
The DGR is to happen on the Northern Rivers as cyclists in the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Italy and France celebrate the same event, with all money raised distributed to relevant groups via the Distinguished Gentlemans’ trust fund.
Around forty Northern Rivers’ riders raised about $15,000 last year, Mr Taylor said.
Donations can be made via the event’s website.
Sunday riders
Sunday’s DGR starts in Lismore at 8.30am where riders will meet in Brewster Street at the McDonalds fast-food store, aiming to hit the road by 9.30am.
Participants are welcome to join when the early riders reach Byron via Bangalow: meet at the Caltex petrol station on the left-hand side of Shirley Street exiting Byron Bay.
The ride is then to continue through Brunswick Heads before stopping at Mooball for lunch at either the café or pub there.
Other villages to receive distinguished riders on Sunday include Murwillumbah, Uki and Kyogle before the group travels back through Lismore and end in Ballina for a small bbq at Rogers Automotive, with donations towards costs welcome.
Remember: the DGR is NOT a race! Plenty of time to slow down, admire the sunflowers by the side of the roads and show off your outfits to passer-by.
Mr Taylor said despite the name of the event, riders of all gender are welcome to join.
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