ON A bitterly cold, dry season morning at Delamere Station, lycra was a cruel request.
However, there were no complaints from Willie and Wayne Jamieson as they proudly donned their riding kit ahead of the 2015 Ride to Conquer Cancer.
As they showed off their gear emblazoned with the Australian Agricultural Co (AACo) logo, the couple were preparing to head to Queensland to embark on the 230km ride on August 15.
Preparing for an arduous cycling event is not as easy as it sounds when you are a busy station cook and bore mechanic, but the Jamiesons - who are formerly from Charters Towers - have made time for the cause close to their hearts.
"I am up at 5.20am every day to get breakfast ready and by the time Wayne organises the bore ute, I am out of the kitchen by 7.30am," Willie said.
"We are out until 5.30pm and dinner is served at 7pm.
"Every day we find half an hour to do a 10km ride."
They don't worry themselves with the lack of time for training and they appreciate their busy day-to-day activities that keep them in shape.
"In our jobs we are very active, so we are generally fit," Wayne said.
It isn't just lack of time to train that is a struggle for the pair.
The sealed roads are limited, so they have had to train on mountain bikes, as opposed to road bikes.
"We used to use our road bikes, but it is too narrow when a truck would come by, and we couldn't veer onto the dirt like we can on a mountain bike," Wayne said.
Surrounded by flat country, the winds do pick up but, yet again - true to the couple's glass-half-full attitude - they find the benefit.
"There are a lot more hills in the races down there but, in saying that, we have a bit of wind up here; the wind is good resistance training," Willie said.
"We found that a lot easier than up here."
One luxury of training around the property is not having to share with any other cyclists.
So the Jamiesons had a few things to work out quickly last year in a race that attracted 1124 riders.
"We aren't really up to scratch with the bike protocol, with indicating to people behind you, when you come up to potholes and things like that," Willie said.
"Because we are out here on our own."
These two stick by each other, quoting the same finish time last year: 5 hours and 15 minutes.
When questioned, Willie said: "Well I came in 15 minutes before Wayne - he kept stopping, eating and drinking.
"The last couple of stops I had to keep moving, I wasn't going to keep hanging around if he was going to keep talking."
Last year, the 27-strong AACo team raised the most money of all the groups.
This year the team has attracted 40 participants with a goal of $200,000.
"It is so exciting to see people get behind the cause, because there isn't anyone who hasn't been touched by cancer in some way," Willie said.
AACo joined the ride last year when the company was touched by the disease.
"One of the longstanding members [of AACo] died of cancer and [AACo] wanted to get behind the family and bring awareness to cancer," she said.
It is little wonder how they can set such high goals for fundraising.
The prizes are not to be sneezed at.
First prize gets you a Toyota LandCruiser worth $85,000, second prize is an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Rugby World Cup in England and third prize is a flash new bike - appropriate for the fundraiser.