Anyone who cycles in Bendigo, or knows a cyclist, will be familiar with the term 'the Bendigo cycling community'.
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While 'cycling' is literally the central word, it is becoming more and more apparent that 'community' is in fact the focus - the cycling just happens to be the interest that brings this group of people together.
The Cups for Corryong initiative is a perfect example.
This wellbeing and fundraising venture was initiated by women's cycling group the Thursday JoyRiders to support communities in fire-affected areas, such as Corryong.
Maria Tzaros, the driving force, or perhaps the cycling force, behind Cups for Corryong shared an idea she heard about.
It involved people donating a cup containing a personal message of support to those affected by the bushfires.
As a regular rider and, of course, coffee drinker, Maria appreciated the sentiment behind the gesture.
Sharing a cuppa is so often what we do with friends, family, workmates and neighbours: a cuppa is what brings us together, even when times are tough.
Later that afternoon, four Thursday JoyRiders - Maria, Alexandra Gartmann, Simone Fordham and Liz Foster - sat around a kitchen table to turn this idea into a reality.
Supporting one town was important to the group to reflect the message of one community supporting another.
Corryong was chosen due to some established links of Alexandra's, including her ride with Tour de Cure through the area in 2019.
Within days, Melissa Wilkie of the Gazelles Women's Running group and Rachael Jobling of Base Fitness Studio jumped on board to throw their support behind the initiative, along with cups, messages and cash donations from many of their respective members.
These groups have committed to support Corryong for 12 months, with quarterly events proposed.
In just 20 days, more than 90 cups with personal messages and donations totaling in excess of $3000 were received for the Corryong community.
Amicus Bendigo serves as the collection point for the initiative.
The cups will be distributed to families of Corryong College and Sacred Heart Primary School.
Funds raised will be used to purchase vouchers from Corryong businesses, which will be distributed to school families impacted by the fires.
As cyclists, we are so pleased to belong to a community motivated by the desire to be healthy and more importantly, we're incredibly proud when that common bond is used to benefit those in need.