19 February 2013
Adelaide’s recreational cycling community is being urged to gear up for the next big community cycling event for 2013, the University of South Australia’s Ride for Pain, and help raise awareness about chronic pain.
Coming hot on the heels of the Santos Tour Down Under Bupa Challenge Tour, cyclists can maintain their fitness by training for Ride for Pain – being held this year on Sunday April 7 – and test their grit in the event’s ultimate test, the Corkscrew True King of the Mountain Challenge.
UniSA’s Professor of Clinical Neurosciences Lorimer Moseley is the brainchild behind the ride which was held for the first time in 2012, with 550 cyclists taking part across the event’s three routes.
Prof Moseley says cyclists doing the 100km Adelaide Hills route will again be able to put themselves in the shoes of a chronic pain sufferer and overcome the mental and physical challenge of Corkscrew Road – a 2.4km uphill climb with an average gradient of 9.4 per cent.
He says that new this year, cyclists can take part in the Corkscrew True King of the Mountain Challenge, in which Strava users will be weighed at the bottom of Corkscrew Road and their Strava username will then be matched to their time with their age and weight to develop a ‘line of best fit’ through the data. Strava is a running and cycling GPS tracker.
“The cyclist who deviates furthest from that line (in the positive direction!) will be declared the True King of the Mountain,” Prof Moseley says.
“This Challenge is all about adjusting for height and weight to level the playing field – and there’s a metaphor there about chronic pain sufferers and people using the resources they have available to them as individuals.
“There also hasn’t been research done previously about the relationship between age and weight and climbing on a bike, so this will be an interesting experiment.”
Prof Moseley recently won the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Marshall Warren Award for his research project into new theories on chronic pain. The award recognises the best, highly innovative and potentially transformative grant-funded project in Australia.
Prof Moseley says research is the key to curing and preventing chronic pain.
“Chronic pain has an enormous impact on society, with one in five Australians suffering from a chronic pain disorder that reduces their quality of life,” he says.
“It costs Australia around $35 billion in health care and reduced productivity each year and has major social and family consequences.
“We know the inaugural Ride for Pain changed public opinion and helped to increase awareness of chronic pain to thousands of people both here and overseas. We hope this year’s event will continue to boost that awareness and help to raise funds towards chronic pain research conducted here in South Australia.”
Cyclists of all abilities are encouraged to participate, with a 20km River Ride along the River Torrens for recreational riders and families, and the 100km Adelaide Hills endurance course (with an optional 45km shortcut) available to cycling enthusiasts.
Champion cyclist and former Tour Down Under winner Patrick Jonker – who is an ambassador for Team UniSA-Australia in the Santos Tour Down Under – will again be riding the 100km route.
Ride for Pain is proudly sponsored by WorkCoverSA and partnered by BikeSA, the Australian Pain Society, Pain Australia and bikeexchange.com.au.
For more information and to register go to http://www.unisa.edu.au/rideforpain
Media contact: Kelly Stone office 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email Kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au
