When Geelong Bowls Region announced there would be no play until January 2021, Ocean Grove premiership player Tony Joel asked coach Matt Flapper to go on a bike ride.
With no bowls on the near horizon and the club closed, Flapper hadn’t ridden a bike since he was a kid, but agreed.
“I had been doing lots of walking and trying to increase my fitness levels since the bowls club had closed back in March so he encouraged me to come for a ride,” he said.
“I had not ridden a bike consistently since riding my BMX as a kid.
“I borrowed a mate’s bike, went to the Belmont Crit track with Tony and also met Murray Noonan and started having a ride.”
After a few rides, some ideas got thrown around and suggestions of a charity ride started gaining momentum.
“The Great Cycle Challenge was mentioned and raising money for kids fighting cancer,” Flapper said.
“It was put to me how about we ride 1000km each in the month of October?
“My immediate words were ‘you’re kidding yourself – how the hell could I do that?’.”
But after some careful thinking, Flapper, Joel and Noonan were joined by former Ocean Grove bowler Liam Power to form Grovers 4000.
The quartet committed to riding 1000km each during October.
“He (Power) had actually participated in the challenge last year and so the Grovers 4000 started pedalling,” Flapper said.
“Right now, cancer is the largest single killer of children from disease in Australia. Over 600 children are diagnosed with cancer every year and sadly, three die every week.
“Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.”
Grovers 4000 is riding to support the Children’s Medical Research Institute to continue its work into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and finding a cure for childhood cancer.
They set themselves a target of $5000, which was reached in the first week.
They changed it to $10,000, which was also reached and so they lifted it to $15,000.
The tally stood at $18,354 when the Voice went to print and the new goal is now $20,000.
Go to greatcyclechallenge.com.au/Teams/Grovers4000 to help the fellas on their quest.
