Ride of Respect participant AJ Todd (43), of Dunedin, said he would be in the pack of motorcyclists on the annual event this weekend.
The ride was a way for the aluminium fabricator to give back to the soldiers who had given so much.
''I think about the guys in the trenches when I'm going through a tough time myself and they help me with what I'm going through.''
The thought of the soldiers being ''bombed and shot at in a foreign land'' put any problem in perspective.
''I think of them and if they can get through that, I can get through what I'm going through.''
The event was in its third year in New Zealand,
Nearly 80 riders in the South raised more than $2000 last year, he said.
The event aimed to raise awareness and funds for RSAs in Dunedin, Alexandra and Invercargill.
The riders leave the Dunedin RSA at 9am on Saturday.
The riders will travel to Invercargill, with stops in Alexandra, Cromwell, Frankton and Lumsden.
The ''ride of respect'' departs Invercargill on Sunday to make the Gore RSA for lunch.
Dawn services will be held in Balclutha, Dunedin, Hakataramea, Lake Hawea, Oamaru, Queenstown, Ranfurly, Roxburgh and Wanaka on Anzac Day.
Dunedin RSA president Lox Kellas said up to 5000 people were expected to attend the 101st Anzac Day service at Queens Garden from 6.30am on Tuesday.
''It's a chance to pause and reflect and think about the past so you can plan for the future.''
The guest speaker will be Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
The service was a time to reflect on the ''futility of war''.
Dunedin RSA Choir bass Graham Nicholls said about 60 choir members would perform at three events on Anzac Day - the dawn parade at 6.30am, a service at Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital at 11am and the Anzac Revue Concert at 6.30pm.
At the dawn service at Queens Garden, the choir would perform hymns and the song Sons of Gallipoli.
The choir rehearsals were ''following their normal pattern'', Mr Nicholls said.
''The closer we get to Anzac Day the higher the panic,'' he said.
The Southern Heritage Trust will hold its annual tour of Gallipoli war graves at the Northern Cemetery on Tuesday.
The free tour assembles at the Sexton's Cottage in the cemetery at 2.30pm.
For the sixth year, the Otago University Students' Association will hold an Anzac Day service on campus.
University of Otago chaplain the Rev Greg Hughson said the 1.30pm service would be held in a newly landscaped area outside the staff club.
Mr Hughson said the theme of the service was to ''honour those who fought and express our deep commitment to peace in this increasingly violent world''.
