The Quinn family were turned upside down in January 2020 when their son Bayden took his own life.
His parents Kevin and Sheree describe Bayden as a vivacious character, well known sportsman, a successful travel agent, and just a great bloke to all that knew him.
He was the life of the party, always out for a good time with not a worry in the world, or so they thought.
The family still struggles daily to deal with the tragedy of a young man who at just 27, in the prime of his life, decided to take such a drastic measure.
One of the aims of the family today is to raise awareness and try to prevent another person or family from going through the same pain they’ve experienced.
In 2021, Bayden’s brother-in-law Nick Mann, an avid cyclist, mentioned to a couple of friends that he wanted to do something to help raise awareness.
He said he was thinking about riding his bike to Menindee and maybe see if he could get some donations along the way for Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast.
He soon realised this was not going to be a one-man journey as the people he spoke to all said you’re not doing it alone, we’re coming too.
That’s how the Ride for Quinny first started.
Together with his good friend Jim Hocking, they started planning the ride and decided that the money raised should stay in the community and maybe help fund a position that could go out to the sporting bodies, and clubrooms, and generally just make sure everyone was okay.
After meeting with Lifeline Broken Hill Country to Coast, and giving them their idea of the ride, things progressed fast.
It was decided to change the route to the Tibooburra Road, as it wasn’t too busy, and it was a bit flatter.
On the day of the ride around 30 riders turned up, all with different levels of fitness, some on borrowed bikes and some hadn’t even trained, and together they raised over $50,000.
Nick Mann said the Broken Hill community really got behind the cause and the money was raised from a Facebook platform and local businesses.
“Jim and I visited businesses in Broken Hill with a letter outlining what we were going to do and the purpose, and many came on board to help sponsor the event.
“The assistance from Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), the police and the Council have all been really supportive which has been essential in the successful running of the event.
“My main motivation for the ride is to raise awareness of mental health issues and particularly for men.
“Often men don’t want to talk about struggles with mental health,” Mr Mann said.
This year marks the second year of the 100km ride, and it begins at 6am on Saturday October 29, starting at Pots and Plants Broken Hill at 720 William Street.
Registering for the ride or donating to the cause is simple, just by scanning the QR code you will be taken to a sign up and donation page.
