Tocumwal Lions and Big Ride 2025 participants in Tocumwal on Friday.
Tocumwal Lions Club members were on hand to meet the Big Ride 2025 group which stopped in the town for lunch on Friday.
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The Big Ride is a volunteer run event raising funds and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) South Australia, NSW and Victoria.
Participants are riding jet skis from Albury to Goolwa, in South Australia, alongside Big Ride founder and Adelaide local Brendon Henman.
The ride started on Thursday, April 10 and finishes in Goolwa on Easter Saturday.
Tocumwal Lions Club members provided a barbecue lunch for the 25 riders and their support crew.
Big Ride 2025 volunteer Linda Crabb said there were four volunteers — who are all friends — running the event.
It was inspired by a close connection with MND.
“Brendon, his wife, Anthea, Amelia and myself all got involved after Anthea’s mother was diagnosed with MND in 2022, where Brendon saw first-hand how this not only affected his mother-in-law, Sue, but also how it affected the immediate family and the difficulties of keeping Sue at home,” Ms Crabb said.
The Big Ride 2025 participants arriving at Tocumwal.
“Sue passed in September 2024 and in that time Brendan saw the strain it put on his family due to the lack of accessible care and knowledge around the disease, so he decided that there was a need for more resources and care for those suffering from this disease as well as support for families.
“The jet ski came in as it’s something Brendon loves, and we all have been on houseboats and waterskiing trips together.
“Brendon, Amelia and I are currently rebuilding shacks along the Murray post-floods to help support a local area and people affected.
“Coupled with his love for the Murray River where we have all spent a lot of time and his desire to explore the entire Murray River, the idea for The Big Ride was born.”
You can follow The Big Ride on social media and or donate towards their fundraising efforts at https://the-big-ride-2025.raiselysite.com.
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