This year will be the 36th year of the Murray to Moyne cycle relay, and for 33 of those years Deniliquin's own Graeme Butcher has donned the lycra raising pivotal funds for the Deniliquin Hospital.
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When asked what the catalyst was to keep him riding year-after-year, often in tough conditions, the answer was quite simple.
"I love it,“ Mr Butcher said.
"It's a team effort; you form special friendships, meet new people, it’s great fitness and you get to create positive change for our local hospital," he said.
Graham ‘Woody’ Woodrup was the "visionary" and legend who established the Murray to Moyne.
He saw potential in a race that had very humble beginnings.
The year was 1987 and Hester Woodrup - Graham's wife - and a team of Port Fairy women laid down a challenge.
They challenged Mr Woodrup, the Port Fairy Apex Club and another team of local identities to ride in a relay from the Murray River in Mildura to the Moyne River in Port Fairy.
This first ride raised money for the Port Fairy hospital, and started at 2pm on a Saturday and was completed within 24 hours.
Mr Woodrup's vision, along with his dynamic personality and enthusiasm, has seen the event grow to what it is today.
The event raised $10,000 in its first year, and funds raised to the current year would be well into the millions.
It has also seen thousands of riders representing more than 150 organisations riding on behalf of hospitals and health services throughout Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
Mr Woodrup sadly passed in 1992 during a training ride.
His legend lives on through his wife and riders who continually promote the fabulous health and social benefits of riding a bike and using your talents to help people.
Although Mr Butcher never met Mr Woodrup, he has been fortunate enough to meet Mrs Woodrup on a number of occasions.
"It was really nice to meet her," he said.
"She's quite bashful but you get an insight into the fantastic team both her and Graeme were, she's an amazing lady."
A lasting legacy for Mr Woodrup is the GW Memorial Award which is presented to someone who displays 'exceptional effort and inspiration' to others in the course of their involvement in M2M.
Mr Butcher described the award as "prestigious", and those who win it are held in the highest regard.
For this year’s ride, Mr Butcher will be riding alongside David Murphy, Matt Tubb, Karen Butcher, Alex Romanin, Annie Romanin, Sue Laing, Sue Pitts, Vince Kelly, John Radeski and Darcy Briggs.
Their support crew consists of Jamie Counsell behind the wheel of the bus and Travis Cassidy, who will drive the sweep vehicle.
"I can't thank all the volunteers and sponsors enough for all their support, especially Dysons who kindly donated the bus for the riders," Mr Butcher said.
The ride starts this Saturday and will conclude on Sunday.
The riders will begin the ride from the Echuca starting point and travel 537km to Port Fairy.
Mr Butcher said including more starting points has been a great addition to the relay.
“It looks fantastic when you meet up with other riders who started at different starting points than you,” he said.
The number of riders per leg depends on team numbers, but generally there are four riders per leg.
All riders are supported by ride directors, lead vehicles, rear vehicles, first aid vehicles and ride marshals.
"The town marshals support riders with directions, and all the support riders are given is fantastic," Mr Butcher said.
Mr Butcher has only missed one year of the ride, which is only because it was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic set the participation rate of the ride back a little, but I think it's on the mend again now," he said.
When asked what were the toughest challenges of the ride, Mr Butcher didn't have to look far for one particular answer.
"The weather,“ he said.
"The ride used to be held around the time of the Anzac Day weekend, and you can bet there would be a howling southerly that made the ride extremely difficult.
"We had to push each other out of the bus to get on the bikes.“
The charity ride has since been moved to early April, which was a welcome change for the riders.
"The change of dates was a great idea. It has often provided kinder weather and day light saving gives us an extra hour of rest," he said.
Mr Butcher also listed ‘the dangers of road riding’ as a challenge each year
"The bingles at night used to be really bad with low vision and wildlife on the move; it was extremely dangerous.
"We all work, so if you had an injury you couldn't show up for work on Monday.“
With three new ride options now available, Mr Butcher said the Deni team chose to avoid night rides.
"A lot of teams still ride at night, but we welcomed the new options," he said.
Riders must be 15 years of age as at April 1, 2023 to participate in the Murray to Moyne.
There is a night ride option still available which is the 520km tradition event, with the relay riding Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday.
The day ride is a 250km-300km relay, with riders on the bikes until dusk on Saturday.
This would see them stop in Horsham or Stawell, with the rest of the ride completed Sunday.
Riders can also choose the Sunday Striders leg, which is a 90km relay from Hamilton to Port Fairy on Sunday, capped at 200 riders.
Mr Butcher said the Deni team has won the Sunday leg a number of times.
"For the Sunday ride, participants camp or stay in hotels in Hamilton.
"Riders depart around 7am and arrive in Port Fairy around 11am," he said.
Mr Butcher has captained the Deni ride team for many years, and his role includes registering the team, organising accommodation and equipment and fundraising.
"It's a team effort though,“ he siad.
“We have access to a cycle trailer, which has made transporting the bikes so much easier.
"The introduction of social media platforms has increased our ability to create awareness of the ride and fundraising.
"We set a goal to raise $10,000 this year and we have already raised close to $11,000, so that will be fantastic for our community.
"The most we have ever raised is $15,000, so hopefully we can come close to that or surpass it this year.“
"We are looking forward to ticking off the next item on the hospital's wish list this year."
For further information or to make a donation you can contact Graeme Butcher on 0409 712 710.