Riders on Rotary’s Great Australian Bike Ride left Healesville with a $1000 donation from the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Pictured from left are Gonny Rundle, Roberta Gordon, Tom Brown, John Farrugia, Ryrie Ward Councillor Jeanette McRae, Geoff Kennedy, Malcolm Nicholson, Mayor Len Cox, Brett Cottee and Karen Brown.By Kath Gannaway
TASMANIA was hilly. Victoria was hilly and New South Wales is also hilly.
Healesville Rotary member Karen Brown is convinced that the organisers of the Great Australian Bike Ride have looked at a flat map and chosen the hilliest route.
Karen and her fellow riders left Healesville on Monday 6 April having returned to the mainland after the first stage of their around Australia ride.
Speaking from Boorowa in New South Wales on Wednesday Karen said everything was aching – legs, shoulders, back … everything! “We’ve had one rest day in the last 14, at Rutherglen, and we are all hanging out for another on Friday when we get to Canberra,” she said.
“Our attitude to hills has pretty much changed over the last week,” she added.
“Now we come to a hill and it’s just another hill and we’ll just get over it.”
Healesville Rotarians on the ride are Karen husband David, Geoff and Jennifer Kennedy and Colin Johansen.
Joining them on the 17,831 kilometre expedition are riders from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
David Brown said the team is being well looked after along the way in terms of hospitality and are also getting a good response to their fundraising for Australian Rotary Health.
“If we stand still for any amount of time people are just pulling us up and making donations – small ones and large ones,” he said.
He estimated the ride was coming close to meeting the $300,000 mark including rider sponsorships.”
The ride will finish in October in Melbourne.
