No, they were not on a mail run. They stopped by on a different kind of route, all for a good cause.
On Tuesday, The Late Mail Postie Bike Ride passed through the Southern Riverina to support Wings4Kidz, a free flight service and medical charity for families in regional and rural areas.
With more than 70 people involved in the charity ride, the Southern Riverina News stumbled on some of the riders having lunch at the Finley Country Club Hotel Motel.
One was Wings4Kidz representative Brendan Crane, who said this year’s charity ride featured several regional NSW towns.
“Jason Turner is the organiser, and he’s a Mudgee local. We covered about 2400km this year from Ilford to Mudgee via Echuca,’ he said.
“We travelled to Cowra then Wagga, then to Echuca through Finley then back to Wagga via Mulwala.”
Mr Crane said a lot of effort goes into such a long-distance charity ride, especially on the postie motorcycles.
“Everything has to be organised - from the riders, to the doctors who come along to make sure we’re all in tip-top shape to ride, mechanics who make sure the bikes are also in the best condition possible, as well as fuel trucks which carry up to 180 litres of diesel.
“We spend 50 to 60 per cent of the time on dirt roads.
“And the postie bike is a glorified whipper snipper. It is of course only 120cc, and we travel at around 60 to 70km/h.
“Some of the postie bikes only have 4.5 litres fuel capacity, which is not enough to complete our 200km stretches, so we have regular fuel stops.”
While the capacity of the bikes makes the trip a little longer, Mr Crane said the slow speed helps riders appreciate their surrounds and the cause they ride for.
“It serves two purposes. It helps us to slow down and be able to enjoy the scenery.
“But also as every cent goes towards Wings4Kidz which is a free flight service, and it makes riders aware of the medical trips families have to make in the car every single week.
“It (Wings4Kidz) is an 100 per cent volunteer run organisation.
“Plus we all have 9 to 5 jobs, so we don’t have time to promote and raise awareness for the charity. We are lucky to have around 70 ambassadors on postie bikes do that for one week each year for us.
“The fundraising is to help get families to the medical support they need.
“We’re still counting, but we’ve received just over $290,000 this year thanks to the support of the broader community.”
While it’s not yet clear whether the Southern Riverina will be included in future routes, Mr Crane said the region left an impression.
“The food we had there was beautiful. The Country Club looked after us; the publican was fantastic and had a laugh with us.
“While we were only there for a short stop, the weather turned it on for us, and the guys that did get a chance to explore the town really enjoyed themselves.
“Most importantly, the drinks were cold.
“After 220km mostly on dirt roads you’re looking for comfy seats, cold drinks and good hospitality - and there was plenty of that at Finley.”
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