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Students tackle 560km bike ride

Posted on November 27, 2009, 9:09am

A group of Mount Gambier High School students will this weekend begin a 10 day journey from Portland to Geelong as part of the annual Great Victorian Bike Ride.

Three teachers and 14 students, from all year levels, will embark on the 560km bike ride, which includes the Great Ocean Road.

Sharon Holmes from the Better Healthy Active Regional Transport Support foundation put the idea to schools to enter a combined team, however Mount Gambier was the only school to extend its interest and assemble its own team.

Better HARTS is a local organisation and branch of the Division of General Practice and has donated jerseys to the team.

The organisation also sponsored bike education classes at the school.

Initially when teachers Matthew Dawe, Tom Dermody and Conor Buckley put the idea to the school about 50 people expressed their interest.

Later down the track when the distance and costs involved became apparent, numbers faded somewhat.

The 14 students participating in the ride are 100pc committed and know what is required of them physically and mentally to complete the journey.

The majority of students involved are road or BMX riders with the exception of a few who simply like using their bike as an alternative method of transport which is what Better HARTS is trying to promote.

Out of 5000 places, 1000 are set aside for school teams like Mount Gambier.

The ride is broken down into sections so participants can ride between 50-100km each day.

During the intense 10 day ride, a rest day is scheduled at the picturesque Apollo Bay where the Mount students are keen to hire surf boards and spend their day not resting, but catching waves.

The contingent train once a week at school where they take to the roads for a ride which often extends about 30km.

Individuals have also put in their own effort by going on a ride with HARTS on Saturday mornings while others hit the gym for their personal training sessions.

Initially the squad’s goal was just to raise enough money to make the event affordable which they did by conducting several fundraisers throughout the city.

By raising $7000 in about seven months, they narrowed the entrance fee from $600 per person to only $200 which covers accommodation, petrol and food as the whole trip is catered by the organisers.

Only days before they set off, the squad’s new goal is to finish.

“We are keen to just live the experience and make it to Geelong safe and sound,” Dawe said.

“The school, participants and parents have all been very supportive.”

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