Next month a peloton of lycra-clad city cyclists will head west to raise funds to support the mental health of rural and remote Queenslanders.
RideWest is held every two years as a fundraiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section), with funds being channelled directly to their mental health wellness program, Wellbeing Out West (WOW).
WOW provides free mental health education, one-on-one counselling and support to people living in remote areas of the state.
It targets anyone experiencing tough times because of worsening rural adversity.
RideWest, an eight-day 1311km bike ride from Brisbane to Longreach, has raised over $2,600,000 since its launch in 2010.
This year 36 riders have signed up for the trek, with around a third of those taking part for the first time.
The ride runs from April 24 to May 1, 2026, with riders supported by a volunteer crew of 12 who include bike mechanics and RFDS nurses.
The event has a Major Sponsor for the first time in McCullough Robertson Lawyers (McR), which is supporting RideWest as part of its 2026 centenary celebrations. McR’s history is deeply tied to western Queensland.
McR has four partners and staff riding in the peloton for the whole journey, with two others joining for the final leg between Barcaldine and Longreach.
John and Petrea Sloman took over organisation of RideWest from founders Les and Shelley Hancock in 2017.
Mr Sloman said all those involved were motivated by sobering statistics showing people in remote areas were four to five times more likely to have mental health issues than city dwellers.
“The funding from RideWest gives the WOW program the flexibility to not only take a proactive approach to helping those in remote communities, but also to have the ability to react immediately when there is a specific need in those areas, ensuring services can be provided swiftly and are not tied up in government funding approval wait times,” he said.
“Because almost everyone involved is a volunteer and each rider pays $3000 to cover costs, we can ensure all money raised goes directly to WOW to support that important work.”
Some of the riders over the years have been motivated to take part because of mental health related tragedies among their friends and families.
“Many of the riders also treat it as a bit of a mental health reset for themselves,” Mr Sloman said. “They can get away from the phone, talk more, meet new people and release all the tension from their normal working life.”
The riders are greeted warmly by the towns along the way and get to visit places they might never otherwise see.
“I try to encourage everyone to not just look at the bike and how may kilometres they have done, but to look at the horizon, take a deep breath and appreciate what is around them,” Mr Sloman said.
Petrea Sloman said stopping in towns was a special part of the experience. There were often local functions, school visits and mixing with the locals in pubs and clubs.
“We try to support local businesses along the way and sometimes with a team of around 50 we use all of the accommodation available in a town,” she said.
“We have amazing support staff and the whole event has a great vibe and sense of teamwork.”
As well as having McR as the Major Sponsor, Gold Sponsorship is being provided by Hall Chadwick QLD, AAM Investment Group, MDH and The Distributors.
Silver Sponsor are La Banderita, Medhurst Architects, Lily’s Little Lunchbox, Pedalhead Cycles, Hawthorne Infrastucture, NAB, B&E Rollers, Dowling Livestock & Property, JBS, Seasoned Finance
There is still time to support RideWest by donating through the RideWest website (https://www.ridewest.com.au/)
