“Save the Devil” charity Relay
Tasmanian Devils are known to not be the cleanest animals around the bush, but on a sodden wet Sunday at the beginning of May 74 hardy mountain bikers possibly rivaled the devils in the muck stakes. Mud was the uniform of the day as riders battled through wet and slippery conditions at Launceston’s Trevallyn Nature Recreation Area to raise money in the LMBC’s inaugural “Save the Devil” Charity Relay.
Despite the weather a fun atmosphere prevailed as teams of 3 or 6 accumulated red dots for each lap they completed and huddled by the fire in the shelter when not riding. Kids scampered about trying to keep their freshly painted faces dry and a sausage or burger from the BBQ kept everybody smiling.
After 3 hours of riding the bell to finish the event was rung and club president Louisa Hay dashed around the muddy riders counting red dots on team number plates to see who had ridden the most laps. It soon emerged that there were was a tie for first place with two teams twelve laps – Ambulance Tasmania #2 and JJC – while the Sprung and Lgh teams tied for second place on eleven laps. While there were too many teams to mention that had come in equal third on ten laps all riders put in an exceptional effort on a challenging track . Winners prizes were divided up between the winning teams, spot prizes were drawn from a hat and everyone was happy.
The participation of many first time riders at a LMBC event really showed the commitment many Tasmanians have for saving our much loved Tassie Devil. With all entry fees on the day and the proceeds of two raffles being donated to the appeal LMBC was able to hand over $1950, a result all riders and helpers can be proud of.
Over the ten years the Tasmanian Devil population has been decimated by a contagious facial tumor that has brought the population to the brink of extinction. Through research into the disease, monitoring of the population and the disease’s distribution and the establishment of ‘insurance devil islands’ the team at The Save the Devil Program is working tirelessly in this race against time for the iconic Tassie Devil.
Also recognizing the sense of urgency in raising funds to help those helping to save the devil were many local businesses who donated significant prizes as incentive for mountain bikers to participate and to be used as raffle prizes. The club would especially like to thank Corinna Eco Cabins for their donation of the major entry prize - a weekend for two in the cabins and a cruise on the Pieman River! (Won by Nick Lawrence, of course)!
The club would also like to thank the Tamar Valley Wine Route, Crerar Restoration and Construction, Sinapius and Icon Wines, Levee Food Co., The Mill Providore, Sprung and Cycle Torque and Coffee, Chris Crerar Photography and Cafe Culture, who all donated generously and helped make the day a real success. The day would not have come together, however, without the help of the crew at Parks and Wildlife, who allowed the event location to be changed at short notice, and Jess Tyler from the Save the Devil Appeal, who was a real help in supporting the event and securing some of the major prizes. There were also many LMBC volunteers who donated their time to help make the event run smoothly on the day.
The club is very proud of all who participated and helped in having a fun day and at the same time help those helping the devil and hopefully prevent the unthinkable.
