BENDIGO man Ben Rix is all set for the Tour De Cure ride through country Victoria this week which will see him ride from Ballarat to Bendigo.
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The Tour De Cure helps raise awareness about cancer and funds for cancer research by stopping off at various points along the journey and educating school children about the importance of preventative measures such as healthy living.
To do the Tour De Cure, each individual has to raise $5000 and Mr Rix raised his amount by hosting a successful fund-raising golf day on Sunday.
Mr Rix said the golf day was his first experience at organising an event and he couldn't have been happier with the outcome.
"We originally had 50 players, but got about 90 to 100 players," he said.
On Sunday afternoon he said he already raised the $5000 needed.
"Most players also chipped in a bit extra for the cause," he said.
"Everybody knows someone effected by cancer, whether indirectly or directly. Everybody's paid over."
Mr Rix said this year's ride was his fourth Tour De Cure, and all up he had probably raised between $25,000 to $30,000.
As part of this year's ride, he will leave Ballarat on Wednesday and travel via the Grampians to Bendigo, where he will arrive on Saturday.
He said the tour's message was "be fit, be healthy, be happy".
"It's about educating kids on things they can do as preventative measures," he said.
He said statistics showed cancers were higher in regional areas because they didn't have the same access to services of major cities.
"The original tour would have one signature tour, from a capital city to another, now there's regional based tours focused on places like Ballarat, Bendigo, Warrnambool, Maryborough," he said.
He said the tours were also a chance to sort out what was important in life.
"I love them, and what you get out of it at the end is the big picture," he said.
Mr Rix said he wanted to thank Sim'R Cafe, The Resi Hotel, Harley Street Bakery, The Black Swan Hotel, Whill IGA, The Coastal Motel Apollo Bay and Erik Hendrix from Neagar Park Golf Club Pro Shop.