On the highway to health: motorbike riders fundraise for rheumatoid arthritis research

Aches and pains haven’t stopped a determined group of mature-aged motorbike riders* in their quest to help cure rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects more than 500,000 Australians.

Ulysses Club members, who are all aged over 40, will hit the road on the first Ride for Rheumatoid to raise money for research of the chronic condition, which has impacted some of its own.

Riders will leave Monash University on Sunday 16 March at 9am, and ride to the club’s annual rally in Armidale, NSW, arriving on Monday 24 March. Various stops will see them sell raffle tickets and increase awareness of RA.

Among them is Ulysses Club member and retired printer Ian Ray, 69, of Carrum Downs, who rides a Kawasaki 1000sx Sport/Tourer. Ian was diagnosed with RA in April, 2023, and manages it with medication.


“Initially it stopped me from riding for six months; I couldn’t flex my hips enough to get both feet off the ground onto the pegs,” Ian said. “Swelling of feet and hands has also caused issues with comfort, and some pain. With my current medication working, I am more comfortable on the bike than driving a car.”


The Ulysses Club, whose motto is ‘grow old disgracefully’, has been a lifeline for Ian. “The last two years have been really challenging; losing my wife and getting this RA diagnosis really knocked me,” he said. “Being able to chat with a group of like-minded people, even if I wasn’t able to ride, was huge.”


Club members have supported rheumatoid arthritis research since 1997, a year after founding member the late Stephen Dearnley’s wife Jo died from the painful condition. They have raised around $500,000, and currently fund PhD scholarships in RA research at Monash University, the University of Sydney and University of Queensland. 

Monash University Associate Professor Sarah Jones, Head of the Rheumatology Research Laboratory within the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, said RA was the most common inflammatory joint disease. Associate Professor Jones said a third of people with RA had to take steroid drugs with terrible side effects. 


“Our goal is to develop a new medicine that can be a safe replacement for steroids for patients with arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, and we’re on the brink of big breakthroughs,” she said.

“By studying how steroid drugs work, we have teased out the processes that give benefit to patients and separated them from the process that causes side effects. Now, we are working to develop a drug that delivers only those benefits.”

“The Ulysses Club has supported our work from its early days to now, by funding PhD students to join our team and lend their efforts to this great ambition.

On Wednesday, 19 March, Ride for Rheumatoid will arrive in Kiama, NSW. Seven years ago, retired office administrator Cheryl Mahedy, 65, who lives in nearby Gerringong, was diagnosed with RA. 

“I manage it by taking my medication (methotrexate), eating a mostly healthy diet and regular exercise,” Cheryl said.


“As my RA is well managed currently, it does not affect my riding at all. However, when I was first diagnosed and for a couple of years following my diagnosis, I did not have the strength in my arms or legs to even consider trying to ride.”


Cheryl is a member of the Ulysses Club South Coast NSW branch.

“I love the riding and the social gatherings and general camaraderie,” she said. “I will be taking part in the ride by meeting with the group from Victoria at a place called Marulan, near Goulburn, and riding with them into Kiama and then riding to the Ulysses National Rally in Armidale. 


“If it wasn’t for RA research and what it has already achieved, there is a good chance I would not be living the wonderful life I do today; I would quite probably be in a wheelchair and/or bedridden.”

Ride for Rheumatoid spokesperson Robert Hunt said club branches, members and sponsors had worked hard to fundraise in the past and now organise the ride. 

“What a ride this promises to be! Hopefully it will pave the way for this to become an annual event,” he said. “Donations are already coming in and I am hopeful of achieving more than $5000 by the end of the ride.”

The ride is expected to start at Monash University with 6-8 riders, and pick up numbers as it goes. Stops include Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Echuca, Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Canberra, Kiama, Royal North Shore Hospital, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, and Armidale (Final destination – Rally site).

*Note they are not bikies or bikers