Riders of all ages arrived at Royal Park in Launceston early in the morning to prepare for their ride of choice, whether it be the challenging 160 kilometre, or the fun 10 kilometre family ride.

It was the first year the family ride was included in the event.

Sally’s Ride co-chair Naomi Walsh said this year’s event was bigger than ever.

“We had more pre-registrations this year than we had in total riders last year, which is really fabulous,” she said.

“We also had people registering today, because a few days out people realise it’s going to be an ideal riding day.”

The day started out at 7am with the first riders heading off on what was expected to be a five-hour return trip.

“They were the more serious riders, such as the Tasmanian Institute of Sport riders,” Ms Walsh said.

“It’s a real sense of achievement for the riders at the end, because they’ve got to go such a long way.”

Ms Walsh said the warm weather seemed to be bringing in the crowds.

“I’ve spoken to people who were going to do the 45 kilometre ride, but they’ve had friends here and have decided to go on the 70 kilometre ride with them instead because it was such a beautiful day.”

Funds raised from the event are donated to initiatives that help build youth resilience.

“With an increase in registrations this year, we’ll have a good amount of funding to go towards the initiatives,” Ms Walsh said.

Ms Walsh’s co-chair Alan Harris agreed the event was a success.

“The rides went exceptionally well, and it was an absolutely fantastic day,” he said.

“We had an excellent result. It looks like we’re raised around $25,000.

“The Family Ride that we put on for the first time this year was also a great success. Overall, everyone enjoyed the day.” 

Mr Harris said he would like to thank the community for their support.

“We couldn’t have done it without our volunteers,” he said. 

“We’d also like to thank our sponsors, and the public for their patience when driving past our riders today.”

Mr Harris said the event will be back in action next year.

“We’re looking forward to a bigger and better year in 2018,” he said.