The 10 riders and two support crew who took part in the 2020 run … ride hero “Cookie” Jeffrey, from Wondai fire station, is at front in pink shorts; Cookie raised an extra $1500 for Movember by shaving off his moustache, hair and eyebrows

November 7, 2020

Motorists startled by the sight of 10 red “postie” bikes chugging along local roads in recent days could be forgiven for wondering what had caused the sudden rush on mail deliveries …

But the motorbikes aren’t in Australia Post service and the riders on board are usually seen in much larger red vehicles, ie. fire trucks.

For the second year in a row, a bunch of firefighters chose the postie bikes as their way of raising awareness about men’s health issues – and funds for Movember.

The 10 riders and two support crew for the four-day ride came from Wondai, Tannum Sands, Walkerston and Kingaroy fire stations.

They pulled out of Kingaroy Fire Station last Wednesday morning and then travelled to Mundubbera via Wondai and Proston, raising funds and awareness along the way.

On Day 2, they headed back south, towards Miles via Chinchilla.

Day 3 saw the convoy travel via Jandowae to Kaimkillenbun.

The team returned home on Saturday via Bell and the Bunya Mountains, making a total trip length of just under 1000km.

The ride was fairly leisurely as the bikes have an alleged top speed of 95km/h “downhill with a tail wind”.

Former Kingaroy resident Robert Horton, now at Walkerston, said Kingaroy firies had been raising funds for Movember for the past 10 years.

But last year, they decided to “have a real crack at it” and the idea of the Kingaroy Firies Postie Bike Run was born.

Each of them bought a postie bike.

Some firies have been using them as their daily drives, while others have left them in the shed in between fundraisers.

Each team member raises funds individually as well as the team effort.

A special salute should go to Wondai firie “Cookie” Jeffrey who raised $1500 by shaving off his moustache, hair and eyebrows!

This year’s ride was organised by Kingaroy firefighter Shane Kratzmann.

The riders stayed in pubs in each of the overnight stops as well as buying meals to help the economies of the towns they visited along the way.

By Wednesday afternoon, the team’s online fundraising had reached almost $8000, which included about $500 in cash collected in buckets on the ride.

“Some of the locals have been very generous,” Robert said.

It’s not too late to support the Firies on their “Postie Rode”. Donations can be made online

And these are the “postie” bikes … Honda CT90s and CT110s which aren’t the fastest forms of transport

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