Temperatures soared to 40 degrees in Orange on Saturday but it was not enough to stop 25 riders from donning helmets and motorbike leathers to raise more than $1000 for the St Vincent de Paul food van in Orange.
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The riders roared out of the Goldfields Tavern at Lucknow mid-morning and continued riding throughout the day until they reached Neville in Blayney shire.
All money raised from the Three Dog’s Orange City Charity Poker Run is to go to the Vinnies Van for food and supplies as well as vehicle maintenance.
Orange’s St Vincent de Paul Society executive officer Ellen Sharp joined the ride and was delighted by the support for the Vinnies Van.
Mrs Sharp said the van delivers food to people experiencing financial difficulty.
She said the van delivers food twice a week in the off pension week each fortnight.
“These guys have come up with this off their own bat,” Mrs Sharp said.
“We’ve got a number of businesses who actually support the van in providing the van with food, this will help [extra] food costs as well as maintenance, food, tyres and fuel.”
Saturday was the first day the charity ride has taken place and was organised by Greg and Deb Lytton as well as Nat Skrypka.
“All the cancer charities and kids charities, they get so much exposure, we decided to pick [a charity] that is small and overlooked and it’s a local charity too,” Mr Skrypka said.
Although none of the riders were looking forward to heading out on such a hot day he said it would make the beer seem colder at the end of the ride.
Mr Lytton said it was a coincidence there were three main organisers for the Three Dog’s ride, which was the first poker run the group has planned.
“Because we are doing something for the homeless I thought [the name] would stand out a bit,” Mr Lytton said.
“There’s an old saying, a one dog night, two dog night and three dogs means it’s really cold.”
Mr Lytton said there had been a fire on one section of the road but it had been extinguished before the poker run was due to start.
Although it was a full day of riding stops were scheduled along the way, including Bathurst, O’Connell and Perthville.
Money raised from the ride was from merchandise and the $50 entry fees, which also covered lunch, dinner, camping, entertainment and entry into a lucky door prize.