Rotorua Singlespeed Society hosting Celebrate Life ride for cancer

The Rotorua Singlespeed Society is hosting the Celebrate Life ride, auction and raffle on December 4. Photo / Supplied

The Rotorua Singlespeed Society is hosting the Celebrate Life ride, auction and raffle to raise money for the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

On December 4 the ride will kick off with coffee at Eastwood Cafe on the Scion campus, a cruise to Secret Spot Hot Tubs at Waipa for a BBQ lunch then prizegiving, raffle draw and auction at the Pig and Whistle.

The auction includes a hand-made chart of the Whakarewarewa Forest Mountain Bike trail network by local artist Tony Hadlow, art and photography by locals Kelly Shrimpton, Kathryn Bloor and Lee Ormsby and a hand-crafted steel Jeffson bike that featured in the NZ Mountain Biker magazine.

Tickets are $50NZ with details at bluedogtv@me.com.

The prizegiving items were donated by bike shops, tourism and hospitality.

Society member Paul Laing said part of the motivation for a similar ride last year was to support some of the great folk who had helped them over the years who were doing it hard in tough covid times.

"It's the same in 2021.

"We have around one thousand dollars of prizes, all a broad reflection of the best our town has to offer with gifts from tourism, bike shops and hospitality," Laing said.

Society president, Gary Sullivan said cancer had no boundaries.

"We'd like to think other mountain bikers round the world might find inspiration from this and run their own fundraisers.

"And we're welcoming everyone who wants to join us, not just singlespeeders, "Well, up to 100."

The society was founded in November, 2007 and has run three New Zealand Champs, an Anzac Singlespeed Champs and two Singlespeed World Champs.

As part of these events the society has raised over $60K for rider travel, Canteen, Haemophiliac Society of Canterbury, the Cancer Society, Kidney Health New Zealand, RSA National Welfare Fund, Leukaemia and Blood Cancer Society, a fundraiser for Laura, a rider who became a paraplegic after a crash in the forest, Lifeline Aotearoa, a local mental health project, Brain Injury Trust, Rotorua, Tipu Wai, a local initiative focussed on regional replanting in native tree and water quality.

It also raised a combined $6K for the Rotorua Mountain Bike Club for trail development and equipment and signage for the Rotorua Trails Trust working bees.

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