Over the weekend of 21-23rd October 2022, 40 women for the Sisters of the Saddle cycling club rode more than 300km, including 2,500m in elevation, and exceeded their fundraising target by raising over $300,000 for their charity partner: TRACTION.
The women spent ten weeks training and covered more than 1700km leading up to the event, the equivalent of riding from Brisbane to Melbourne. They rode with purpose and raised money to develop a co-designed program in collaboration with TRACTION and Indigenous Community partners in Southeast Queensland, to develop a community bicycle and mentoring program for young people.
On Day 1 of the charity ride, the group started at The Glen Hotel in Eight Mile Plains, with the riders riding through the scenic hinterland of Buccan and Yarabilba before climbing through the rainforest to the top of Mt Tamborine. Day 2 saw an early start as they rode to Currumbin Valley and headed back into the foothills of the Gold Coast. The SOTS cyclists ended their days at the RACV Royal Pines Resort at Carrara.
To assist the riders in achieving their goal, we set up a PLASMAIDE Recovery Bar at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, offering various recovery services and recovery technology such as Normatec compression boots, Hyperice percussion guns, full-body massages, and sachets of PLASMAIDE Advanced Endurance + Recovery.
"The Recovery Bar has been amazing," said one rider. "My legs [felt] strong after the ice bath and boots ... [it] helped me get through the ride in comfort."
PLASMAIDE staff was on hand to assist the riders in using the services and providing advice on how best to recover after a day's ride and what to do to prepare for the next day. The SOTS charity ride was the first event in 2022 where we had an opportunity to place a pop-up PLASMAIDE Recovery Bar; look for more events in 2023 where PLASMAIDE will have a presence assisting athletes with their endurance and recovery.
The SOTS challenge saw 40 professional women—backed by a support team of 10—from varying backgrounds, industries, and fitness levels come together to challenge themselves. They pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and exceeded the goals initially set for the charity ride from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.
The PLASMAIDE team congratulates the Sisters of the Saddle on accomplishing such an inspiring challenge. And PLASMAIDE would like to thank the team at Hyperice Australia for furnishing the recovery equipment.
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About Sisters of the Saddle (SOTS): Sisters of the Saddle (SOTS) was established in 2022 to connect women who want to make a difference and use cycling to support charities. 2022 will be the inaugural year of the SOTS Challenge. Riders will cycle from the Gold Coast to Brisbane over three grueling days to raise funds for vulnerable kids in a fully supported, professional environment.
About TRACTION: TRACTION is a grassroots charity that has helped over 1,770 young people since its inception in 2015—its mentoring program for vulnerable youth with the innovative feature of building bicycles. The organization has delivered over 74,500 mentoring hours to vulnerable youth.