Rotorua woman biking to Taupō to bring hope to struggling mums

Rotorua's Danielle Porteous is gearing up for the ride of her life tomorrow morning. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua's Danielle Porteous is gearing up for the ride of her life tomorrow morning when she will cycle 85km from Rotorua to Taupō to raise money for the charity Mothers Helpers.

Porteous has spent four months training and initially only managed to cycle 4km.

Now, with a supportive coach by her side, Malcolm Hore, she is managing 50km and said the effort had been worth it.

"I am driven and determined to grow within myself on this journey and in turn help a good cause to help not only mothers but the next generation of children [so that they] have a healthy and happy family."

Mothers Helpers provides early intervention support to mothers experiencing depression/anxiety during pregnancy or after baby's born, helping them to recover as quickly possible to reduce the impact it can have on the whole family.

The charity was set up by founder Kristina Paterson in 2010 in response to an estimate of 7500 New Zealand women experiencing delays in diagnosis and treatment for perinatal depression/anxiety every year.

Paterson said there was currently no government funding to address delays in diagnosis and the only funded treatment options for most people were medication when best practice said we should be offering talk therapy first to those with mild depression/anxiety.

"If it wasn't for the efforts for amazing people like Danielle Porteous, and those donating to her cause, we simply wouldn't be able to deliver this vital service - and that includes providing support to some of the families with young children who have lost a loved one in the recent Christchurch attacks," she said.

Porteous begins her journey at 7am in Rotorua tomorrow with supporters filming her live.

You can follow Danielle's journey at her @Yes Man Journey Facebook Page and donate to her Givealittle fundraising page at: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/yes-man-journey