It was, of course, all worth it though as the 32 riders from the New England North West area raised more than $20,000 for the charity.

Legacy is close to the hearts of many officers and their families in the region, with special mention being made of Tamworth's Senior Constable David Rixon, who was killed during a routine traffic stop in 2012.

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Daniel Goodwin is another who lost his life following years of service in the police force, and whose family was hugely helped by Legacy in the years since.

His wife, Sergeant Mareika Wilkins and two children Ben and Jack Goodwin remain heavily involved with the charity and the ride, and she said it is a truly special organisation.

"It's very personal for us in that Police Legacy did everything for us, they were amazing," she said.

"They're one of those organisations you don't know you need until you do."

Detective Senior Constable Simon Tolhurst was instrumental in setting up the ride this year, and said he felt it was important for it to go ahead in some way, even though COVID restrictions had hampered their normal plans.

"Myself and Sergeant [Darren] Wilkinson from Inverell, we normally ride every year for Police Legacy and the ride is from Sydney to Canberra," he said.

"But unfortunately due to COVID we haven't been able to do that, so myself and Wilko put an idea together that we were going to ride from Inverell to Tamworth in one day to help raise money."

Some incredible fundraising efforts took place, especially from Jackson Zifodya who raised more than $5000 alone.

The public is still able to help out, and can donate through the Police Legacy website.

In a last-minute surprise, local highway patrol gave the riders an escort into Tamworth, where they finished the ride and enjoyed some much-needed refreshments and The Bell House cafe.

As an added sweetener, riders were also greeted with the news that three beers each had been put aside for them.

It was music to the ears of many of the riders, especially given they had to battle hot, and at times blustery conditions on the journey, which began at 6:30am.

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