Caption: Pedalling to raise money for prostate cancer research, federal politicians Tony Abbott, Member for Albury Sussan Ley, Pat Farmer and their team of cyclists reached the Culcairn roundabout, midday Thursday.
Tony Abbott, Member for Albury Sussan Ley and Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation Pat Farmer were among federal politicians on charity bike ride to raise money for prostate cancer research.
Embarking on March 31, the cyclists completed a nine-day 1,030km journey from Melbourne to Sydney’s Westmead Hospital on Tuesday April 8.
On Thursday, the cyclists passed through Burrumbuttock, Culcairn and Henty, staying overnight at Henty before moving on to Junee, Cootamundra, Goulburn and Sydney.
At Culcairn, they were greeted by local Lions who hosted a barbecue lunch voted the best barbecue yet by a number of cyclists.
Sussan Ley was in good form, hoping to cycle a total of 100km for the day.
“Prostate cancer affects 15,000 men every year and tragically kills 3,000 annually,” she said.
Pleased that the cycling team passed through her electorate of Farrer, she said, “Pollie Pedal aims to boost funds to leading researchers studying the causes and treatments of this disease.”
It was Tony Abbott’s 11th Pollie Pedal. He pointed out - the charity ride is a great chance to raise awareness of prostate cancer with one in five Australian men at risk.
“The money will contribute to a dedicated prostate cancer research laboratory and support specialised researchers continue and initiate research into this disease,” Mr Abbott said.
Biotech company Amgen is the major sponsor of the 2008 Pollie Pedal. Other sponsors include Novartis, Blackmores, Hartmann, Yum, Ramsay Heath Care, Tourism Training Australia, KPMG, the Mormon Church and Servcorp.
People wanting to support the 2008 Pollie Pedal charity bike ride can contact the Westmead Millenium Foundation on 1800 639 037 or (02) 9845 6289.
Over the past decade, Pollie Pedallers have ridden 11,000 km to raise more than one million dollars for organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor, Ronald Mcdonald House, Youth Insearch and the Paralympic Games as well as medical research into childhood leukaemia and diabetes.