South-west roads will face a new challenge on the weekend as a sea of bikes and hot rods rumble from coast to bush.
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The inaugural Bike and Rod Run 2018 is a charity fundraiser car and motorbike rally set to take over the region’s roads between Warrnambool and Halls Gap on Saturday.
The brainchild of Warrnambool bike enthusiasts David Bennie and Mark Leggett, the rally will travel 350 kilometres from the Flying Horse Inn to Halls Gap via Koroit, before returning to the Woolsthorpe Hotel via the Royal Mail Hotel.
Event organisers are hoping more than 200 riders attend on the weekend, raising funds for South West Healthcare prostate surgery equipment and the city’s Let’s Talk Foundation.
The family-friendly event will include a vehicle display, raffle and online auction, with more than $18,000 worth of goods and services donated by sponsors.
Prizes will be awarded for the best bike and hot rod at the event with live music, a spit dinner and jumping castle at the Woolsthorpe Hotel.
Event organiser David Bennie said he thought the south-west was long-overdue for such an event.
“We wanted to do something to help the community by creating something unique to the area,” he said. “Mark and I went on a ride 12 months ago and thought ‘this is what Warrnambool needs’.”
South-West Healthcare’s Suzan Morey said the hospital was grateful for the support.
“When this Bike and Rod Run was first organised, proceeds were to go towards the $270,000 prostate cancer detector we needed,” she said. “Overwhelming responses to the launching of our public appeal raised $306,000 in just 15 weeks and with the consent of the final donors, we spent the extra $36,000 on even more sophisticated technology worth $47,588.
“We're $11,352 short of that target,” she said. “Saturday's Bike and Rod Run will get us closer.”
Ms Morey said statistics supported the need for such equipment.
“One in five local men will have been affected by prostate cancer by the time they're 75. We want to ensure they're offered world-class treatment right here at home, where they live.”
The Bike and Rod Run departs at 9am.
Riders will be accompanied by support vehicles and police have been notified.
