More than 580 participants took up the challenge of riding their bicycle from Bundaberg to Burnett Heads (20 km) on Sunday, June 20th for the annual City to Coast Community Bike Ride. Funds raised from this event go towards supporting the work of the RSPCA in the Bundaberg area.
For the second year in a row QSDTA Wide Bay entered a team, doubling the number of participants from last year’s event to 18. Team QSDTA, as we were officially registered, consisted of Instructors, Black Belts, students and family members wearing our Camp Soran T-shirts as our (unofficial) uniform. The ride commenced at 10am sharp from the Riverside Parklands. Sabum Jackson led the first group of QSDTA members, setting a steady pace with the lead pack. Instructor Garth and I stayed back with the second group to ensure all of our team arrived safely and to give encouragement to students that may be lagging.
Branch Instructor Greg was the first to cross the finish line for our team, leaving newly promoted Junior Black Belt Liam and fellow student Aaron battling Instructor Kerri for 2nd place. All team members had crossed the finish line at the South Head Parklands at Burnett Heads within 2 hours of the start.
After a quick sausage sandwich and a uniform change the QSDTA members lined up and performed a brief demonstration for at least 100 spectators. The demo was well received by the onlookers, who gave a rousing round of applause when the event organisers announced that the demo participants had all just completed the ride some 15 minutes earlier.
I was pleased to have a good number of participants for this ride and hope to have even more in 2011. My thanks to all involved in making this day a success.
Sabum Kris Richardson
Regional Instructor/Examiner
Wide Bay & Burnett Region