Kylie Minogue Tickets For The PCFA

"I've absolutely loved being back in Australia and now I'm even more excited to announce the dates for my Australia Kiss Me Once Tour 2015.  Bringing my show back home is always an amazing feeling so I can't wait.  Get your dancing shoes on!"

That's how Kylie Minogue, our very own pop princess describes the feeling of performing back home in Australia and it's exactly how I feel when I say that thanks to Frontier Touring and the Mushroom Group I have a pair of tickets to Kylie's Rod Laver Arena show on March 18, 2015.

The tickets in the lower section are premium and well worth the cost of a $10 raffle ticket.  Only 100 will be sold and the raffle closes on September 25, regardless of whether 100 tickets have been sold or not.

If you've never seen a Kylie show, it's well worth it.  After shooting her 2012 Anti-Tour show in Melbourne I became an instant fan of her stage performance ... you will too.

Every dollar raised through the raffle will go directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through the Long Ride.

If you're interested in a ticket please email me at leigh.wilkins@bigpond.com. For the lucky winner I'll even throw in a photo from the show so you have something to remember it by (www.leighwilkins.com).

The runner up will win Every Poster tells A Story - 30 Years of The 
Frontier Touring Company signed by Lionel Richie

TJM Mt Isa Have Again Thrown Out A Life LIne

The good people at TJM Mt Isa have come through with not only a financial donation to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through the Long Ride but have also donated some fantastic high quality 4x4 products.

The guys have provided two vehicle recovery kits, a must for any serious 4x4 enthusiast or off roader.  The kits include -

• Tree trunk protector 
• Snatch strap 
• 4 Bow Shackles 
• Winch extension strap 
• Heavy Duty snatch block
• Heavy duty leather gloves
• Recovery blanket 

There's no set price on this gear, although I can tell that the high quality means they're not cheap to buy, so make me an offer. The best between now and September 22 will secure you some of TJM best equipment and all thanks to the guys at TJM Mt Isa.

If you're interested email me at leigh.wilkins@bigpond.com

Long Ride 2014 - Poker Run

As the lead up to the Long Ride 2014 counts down an event that should prove be hugely popular is the Long Ride 2014 Poker Run.

Starting at 8:30am on Sunday August 31, in Yarraville, the run will take in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria.  Cost to enter is just $20 with $500 up for grabs plus plenty of prizes.  See below for details -

Riders Cync For Long Ride

The Cync motorcycle group, founded by Phil MacKrell, has always been associated with bringing riders together and often for great causes.  Saturday night was no exception as around 50 riders grouped at Melbourne's Southern Star wheel at Harbour Town to help raise funds for the Long Ride and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Phil along with fellow organisers, Neb and Rohan, encouraged all riders to buy tickets for the adrenalin raffle as well as buying Cync merchandise.  Almost $200 was raised in just an hour or so - thank you to everyone who got involved.

The Cync guys have pledged greater support through a number of initiatives in the lead up to and during the Long Ride.  I'm looking forward to seeing their support and can't thank them enough.

Geelong Cats Limited Edition Signed Poster

There's no doubt that a number of sporting teams are huge supporters of community events and initiatives.  Supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia through the Long Ride 2014 are a number of high profile teams associated with the colour blue - Melbourne Victory FC being one, and now the Geelong Football club is another.

The Cats have very generously supplied a limited edition print, only 1500 are in existence, that is signed by all 46 registered players as well as the coach, Chris Scott.

Number 1198 of the 1500 prints, all of the signatures are genuine and signed with a silver pen - this is the genuine article donated for the purpose of raising funds for the PCFA by the Geelong Football Club.  The poster has been professionally frame with archive quality materials.

To raise money for the PCFA this rare piece of sporting memorabilia is up for auction with a start price of $100, it could be yours for as little as $101.  The auction is open and will remain open until 11:59pm August 15, 2014.  All you need to do is tell me your highest bid and I will manage the bidding in much the same way that eBay works - anyone in the world can bid and postage or delivery will be included in the price, essentially I will take care of the delivery costs.

To make a bid just email me at leigh.wilkins@bigpond.com with your highest bid, your full name and contact details.  Also let me know what name you would like displayed as your bidding name (only the highest current bidder will be displayed - below).  If you would like further details please let me know.

CURRENT BID: $155.00 Tasha Procko

Who Could Resist A Drop of De Bortoli?

I think it would be fair to say that most of the Long Riders enjoy a nice wine and not too many could go past a glass of one of De Bortoli's finest.

Coming along for the Long Ride 2014 is De Bortoli wines through their fantastic support in supplying wines to help raise funds for the PCFA - I must say it's very hard not to be tempted to enjoy all of the wine myself.

De Bortoli Wines is a third generation family wine company established by Vittorio and Giuseppina De Bortoli in 1928. The couple emigrated to Australia from Northern Italy, from mountain villages at the foothills of the Italian Alps, near the historic town of Asolo.

Their son, the energetic and dynamic Deen De Bortoli, (b 1936 – d 2003) expanded and consolidated the business created by his parents. Deen's children established De Bortoli's reputation for premium wine including icon dessert wine Noble One and the Yarra Valley wines.

Italian family values passed down from Vittorio remain core values, there is a culture of hard work, generosity of spirit and of sharing good food, good wine and good times with family and friends.

It's these values that has seen De Bortoli show their support for the Long Ride, the PCFA, and men's health in general.

If you love a wine and want to support a business that cares about men's health then try a De Bortoli.  The Deen De Bortoli, Vat Sauvignon Blanc is a cracker.  This is a clean and vibrant wine, with lovely melony characters on the nose and a light edge of citrus and grapefruit, and better still it is amazing value for money.

I dare say a De Bortoli or two will be enjoyed on the Long Ride, we'll even drop by the cellar door at Bilbul (Griffith).  Thank you De Bortoli for your support of men's health.

Black Swan ... Flavour Is Everything!

While eating my Jordan's granola for breakfast every morning as part of healthy routine to try and get fit and prepare for the Long Ride, one thing that is a must is a few 'blobs' of Black Swan Yoghurt on my breakfast.

I simply couldn't go without it, and have found it to be one of the better tasting as well as most healthiest yoghurts on the market.

Black Swan founder Christos Saristavros loved his food and used his family's recipes to produce dips which he sold at the South Melbourne market. At that time one flavour dominated his business - Tarama (made from fish roe). From those humble beginnings some 15 million containers have found their way into Australian homes every year making Black Swan Australia's favourite dip.

Just one way you can enjoy Black Swan yoghurt.

These days Black Swan's recipes are constantly changing reflecting the dynamic nature of the community. They still make Tarama of course but also guacamole, cheese and chives, hommus ... in fact over twenty different flavours.

Since starting as a one man business Black Swan have diversified so much that they now employee 75 people and for me, yoghurt, just one of their fine products, is the one that I will always use.

Black Swan have been extremely generous in coming forward to help raise funds for the PCFA through the Long Ride by providing a donation of considerable size.  While I am extremely grateful for the donation, I much more grateful for the healthy option that they provide with my breakfast.  Thank you!