Sonia Langlais

2026 -Ride for the Chopper

I'm fundraising for...

Northern NSW Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service which changes outcomes in our community every day.

I am participating in the Ride for the Chopper to support the important lifesaving work of the Rescue Helicopter Service on call to our community 24/7, 365 days a year.

Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is a flying intensive care unit.  The AW139 Helicopter has a Pilot with a minimum of 15 years flying experience; a Crewman, a SCAT trained Paramedic and a Doctor.  

Surgeries can be performed from the helicopter as well as blood transfusions.  It has the capacity to carry 2 patients or 2 Neonatal Cots. Not only does the Rescue Helicopter attend accidents it also transfers critical patients to larger hospitals for specialist treatment plus conducts Search and Rescue missions. 

The AW139s cost $1,000 per hour in fuel, $1,000 per hour to run the engine, $1,500 for the airframe and for $500 avionics, that’s a total of $4,000 per hour.

It costs about $40 million a year to keep the helicopters and crews ready to respond when needed.

Please give generously and share my page with your friends, family and colleagues. Thank you for supporting Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.  

My Achievements

Donate to Self

Shared Fundraising Page

First Donation

First Blog or Log

Reached Fundraising Target

$100 - Helipad Hero

$250 - Lift Off Legend

$500 - Blue Sky Dreamer

$1,000 - Airborne Angel

$2,500 - High Flyer

My Updates

Keeping up with the training!

Tuesday 18th Aug
63 km with a few hills this past Sunday. Another glorious day out. Physio must be doing something good: no knee pain. Less than a month to go before The Ride. Here’s to hoping my MagPed get here soon… In the meantime, keeping up with the training on my spin bike and on the road. 

Sponsors ride on Sunday

Monday 10th Aug
Took pictures at some of our sponsors’ businesses. Only 38 km but the climb to the lookout made up for it! 

Shout out to Warren at Proactive Physiotherapy! Bike fit did the trick, no knee pain on the hard climb. Started doing some physio as well as it would appear the bike wasn’t the only issue…

Continuing power and cadence training on my good old Spinner Edge too. Getting a few tips from some Facebook pages dedicated to cycling and plenty of encouragement from the Sunday Ride group. I will get there!

Another Sunday ride.

Sunday 2nd Aug
Glorious day and great company! 41.5 km… Finally comfortable with the bike. Felt somewhat easier today so maybe cadence training and strength training sessions are helping. Six weeks or so to go before heading to Lightning Ridge! 

Keeping going!

Tuesday 28th Jul
Short 35 km ride this past Sunday. Cold but gorgeous day. Small group but determined. Have started strength and cadence training, hopefully will see results!

Nundle ride

Monday 20th Jul
Fantastic ride to Nundle and back this weekend (with an overnight stay). Great company, great food, and great riding - save for the head wind! Cardio going good, now need to focus on quad strength and endurance… Bike tune up worked wonders - no more chain rub. Just need new pedals, a few tweaks here and there, and off we go again!

Another training ride!

Sunday 12th Jul
36 km today, more hills and a head wind at times. Survived! As they say, what doesn’t kill you… At least it didn’t rain! The prospect thereof was enough to keep some people away it seems - small crowd, but a brave one! 

First official training ride!

Sunday 5th Jul
Met with a few veterans and other newbies of the Ride for a training ride today. Gorgeous day although a bit cold at first. Great ride (50km), great people! I think I’ll survive… More comfortable with the bike, can’t wait for the real thing!

New ride

Friday 26th Jun
Took my new ride for a spin today! All good. 🙂

Thank you to my Sponsors

$140

Sonia Langlais

$106.12

Anonymous

Go for it Sonia!

$106.12

Andrew Watson

Best of luck and enjoy the scenery.

$106.12

Susan Penny

Ride well ( don’t fall off!!)

$104.35

Simon Battersby

Well done Sonia. Pedal hard!

$75

Anonymous

$54.84

Stuart Harris

Good luck!

$54.84

Hae Won Jo

Best of luck!

$54.84

Michael Bastick

Best wishes

$54.84

Sarah Cudmore

Go Sonia !

$28.43

Ashleigh Parsons

Good on you!!