Lions International’s goal is to eradicate or cure preventable blindness and locals Phil and Sue Dawkins (pictured) have long been cycling for this cause.
In 1994, to support this cause locally, the 201V3 Lions District started the annual Ride for Sight. This year the traditional multi-day ride covered almost 300 kilometres through Gippsland.
Riders were supported by dedicated Lions Clubs at every stop. The second ride option was a four-week Ride with a Difference. Participants were challenged to ride a distance of their choice in their local area.
Phil and Sue chose to take the East Gippsland Rail Trail to Orbost, staying overnight there and riding to Sailors Grave Brewery at Cape Conran on their “rest day”, returning to Bairnsdale on day three.
Sue and Phil then joined the multi-day riders in Traralgon on their final ride to the Lions Australian Convention and were delighted to catch up with many familiar faces from previous rides.
They were excited to see four tandem bikes with a sighted “pilot” and a vision impaired “stoker” still participating – an important part of the event.
The generous community of Bairnsdale has contributed in 2025 with Phil and Sue as riders and Bairnsdale Lions, particularly Carl and Trish, as support crew (catering).
Once again, in keeping with the focus of the ride on sight, Bairnsdale optometrists Dyson and Long and Specsavers were major donors along with another local business, Resilift.
Sue and Phil’s local cycling friends, the Bairnsdale Bunch, showed their support by donating substantially to the cause as well.
The Ride for Sight has raised more than $1,000,000 for research into and treatment of vision loss mostly by the Centre for Eye Research (CERA) and Vision Australia.
Funds are used for research and treatment of eye health problems such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, improving the wellbeing
of vision impaired people.
