A GROUP of builders from Alexandra are riding postie bikes to Townsville for a good cause, KATE ADAMSON reports
Like so many good ideas, this one struck Alexandra builder Rod Grotaers while he was downing a beer or two with a mate.
"We thought, wouldn't it be fun to do a postie bike ride one day," Rod says.
"Being out here in the country, the postie bike is a bit of an icon.
"All farmers have them. They get run into the ground and even the old bloke, 80, not out, is still riding his postie bike."
A year on, and Rod or "Rocket" is preparing to hit the highway with seven other builders in a convoy of postie bikes on a bum-aching ride 2600km north from Alexandra to Townsville, in Queensland.
Dubbing themselves "Hot Chippies", these lads, aged 18 to 52, will set off next Monday on the nine-day adventure, which has united the town and already raised $55,000 for cystic fibrosis research.
It was a chat with the boss's wife, Sharon Hedger, who lost her 17-year-old sister to cystic fibrosis, that launched Rod's simple idea into an event involving the entire district and communities along the route.
"Originally, we thought it as something fun to do. We certainly weren't going to do 2600km," Rod, a father of two, says.
"I'm just amazed how far it's gone, just a humble idea."
But it was exactly what Sharon and her husband, Steven, who run Alexandra's Hedger Constructions, were looking for.
"I had the cause, being cystic fibrosis, and it married up together and now it's bigger than Ben Hur," Sharon says.
"All of our boys really wanted to do something for a charity within our own organisation.
"The majority of the chippies have children themselves and those that don't are aware of the cause and in it for a bit of fun."
The money will go towards the Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust, to help find a cure to the hereditary disease, which causes the lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines to malfunction.
Most cystic fibrosis sufferers die in their 20s and 30s, usually from lung failure.
And Townsville was chosen as a destination simply because that's where Sharon's Mum lives, a tireless charity worker herself.
Rod, his boss Steven or "Hedge" along with "Pony", "Milky", "Deany", "Zac", "Gauds", "Pagey" and "Sykes", have been decked out with new Honda 110s, jackets and helmets all emblazoned with sponsors' branding.
A website, with a video link from a helmet cam, will carry updates and photos, keeping supporters up to speed over the nine days.
Rod says the ride has given the town something to talk about.
"They all think it's fantastic. I reckon at least half the money has come from local companies and people all around the district," he says.
Before a bum has even started aching, the chippies, their wives, friends and families and local businesses and sporting clubs, have been busy organising golf days, bowls night, money tins and cake stalls.
As a result, the chippies hope to raise more than $65,000.
"It's completely blown us away how much we've raised already," Sharon says.
"The support within our own community has been phenomenal because of the way the boys are talking about it."
Riding a postie bike, which Rod describes as "not quite a scooter and definitely not a motorbike", has fired up the testosterone among the chippies.
"At first, a few blokes were popping monos but now we just want to nurse the bikes for the big ride," Rod says.
"They are good fun but they're not a fast, gutsy bike.
"You can't take yourself too seriously really and that's what it's all about."
Brad Miljkovic, or Milky, says the chippies have avoided overdoing practice on the bikes, which manage a top speed of 60km/h.
"You can't do too many rides because the novelty will wear off," Brad says.
"We are supposed to be conditioning our bums but I'm not sure how we're going to do that."
Brad's wife, Shona, and his two boys, Tom, 3, and Coen, 18 months, will join the chippies in support vehicles.
Both Shona and Sharon got their motorbike licence last week so they can relieve the riders when bums start aching.
"I'm tipping we're going to be riding the bikes a bit," Sharon says.
Brad says the chippies couldn't wait to hit the road.
First they'll enjoy a heroes send-off with a farewell breakfast at Alexandra's Rotary Park next Monday morning.
"I've never done anything like this before and I'm pretty keen to get amongst it," he says.
"We all get along pretty good at work, so however bad or good it is, we'll be making it fun."
To make a donation visit www.hotchippies.com or phone Sharon on 0409 105 613.
