Cycle ride set to boost town’s horsepower

A Donnybrook vet will swap his scrubs for lycra this weekend when he competes in an ultra endurance cycling event in the name of Horsepower Capel.

Cameron Skerman said he hoped to raise a dollar for each kilometre he covers in the great Southern Ultra Challenge, a 1600km event that will take him east from Perth to Merredin and south to Lake Grace, Ravensthorpe and Albany before returning to Perth via the Stirling Ranges.

“Being a self-supported ride we all start together at 8am on the 23rd and you choose where you stop, when you stop, how long you stop for and you carry all your own supplies,” he said.

“With no support vehicles, if you run into trouble you have to be self sufficient or phone a friend.”

No stranger to ultra endurance rides, Mr Skerman took part in the Mount Magnet 1400 last year and started endurance riding back in 2006 with the Busselton Iron Man challenge.

With more than $1600 likely to be donated, Horsepower Capel committee member Carol Brice said a new pony for the organisation was not out of the question.

“It would be fantastic because we’re not funded by anybody,” she said.

“When members of the community like Cameron do something like this of their own accord it is just outstanding.”

People can track Mr Skerman’s progress at greatsouthernultrachallenge2019.maprogress.com under competitor name RideDMC.