Future Spark

Great Victorian Bike Ride Rundown

Back to work for this tired & sore adventurer.

Sitting back in the office today, freshly back from my “week in another world”, I’ve been reflecting on what a wonderful 9 days I had on the Great Victorian Bike Ride. 590km around Western Victoria on a push bike was one hell of a good way to see our beautiful state.

Along the ride the landscape was continually changing, with everything from the lush pastureland & forests, to arid dustbowl lakes & scrub. The effects of the drought could be clearly seen along the way with many of the major lakes completely dry after years of minimal rain fall. This being a clear indication that climate change is a reality for the people of Victoria.

Of course for me it was pure business (no that wasn’t me at the bar each night), spruiking up a storm handing out the limited edition wristbands at many of the campsites. All in an effort to spread the word about Future Spark. I had the opportunity to talk to so many people about the event and everyone was very enthusiastic about the concept, which is an excellent sign! I look forward to seeing all the schools & clubs I talked to registering their teams for the event early next year.

I’ve mentioned this to more than a few people, but I think that bike riding really does bring out the best in everyone. The whole event ran like clockwork and I didn’t hear any complaints from the 4000 or so riders despite the cramped conditions over the 9 days.

I’d like to thank everyone I met on the ride who were so helpful & friendly. I’ll most certainly be on next years ride and highly recommend it to everyone. A special mention must be made to the volunteers for the event who did a cracking job over the week keeping everything in order. Their company was always welcome and it was good to see them letting their hair down on the dance floor at the end of the day. And for all the people who kept politely informing me that Movember was over; you’ll be happy to know the trucker moustache is now gone…..but it’ll be back!

If all goes well we may even get the trailer out for next years GVBR.