The 16 riders were part of the  Tour de Cure NSW Country Tour, a 626km  journey from Armidale to Terrigal on the Central Coast.

Among the riders were four Armidale men – Bill Wheeler, Damien Schmude, Dave Boundy and Scott Fittler.

They, with their fellow riders, hope to raise $113,000 on the four-day tour, with about $100,000 under their belt already.

They also want to educate kids about the healthy lifestyles that can help prevent cancer and yesterday visited Quirindi Public School to spread the word.

“The local community have just been fantastic and the kids, especially the little kids, just love it,” Mr Wheeler, chief executive officer of National Buildplan Group, said.

As well as visiting schools, community groups along the route also received donations of $5000, including Sydney Children’s Hospital for cancer research, Can Assist and Tamworth prostate cancer group.

Mr Wheeler said Buildplan had been involved in Tour de Cure for about five years, which was sparked when an employee joined the ride and the company made a donation.

Now a number of employees are involved in the cause and it has led to the creation of the Tour de Rocks, a ride from Armidale to South West Rocks.

While he might be a big wheel in business and his cycling charity work, the Buildplan boss might also have marked a quiet new achievement last night, with a prestigious win for one of his latest projects, the Margaret Whitlam Recreation Centre in Waverley in Sydney, at the latest Master Builders Association awards in Canberra last night. Buildplan also won MBA construction awards in similar categories for regional projects three years ago, for the $33million Australian Equine and Livestock  Events Centre it built in Tamworth, and also for the Guyra Glasshouse project, the giant horticultural tomato-processing plant.