On your bike … Deer Park resident Rob Wilson will cycle across Victoria later this year. 66475 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Natalie Gallenti
WHILE most people would become fatigued just at the thought of riding their bike almost 600km across Victoria, Rob Wilson thrives on it.
For this Deer Park resident, bike riding is a way of life.
That’s why for more than a decade he has been taking part in the RACV Great Victorian Bike Ride.
And this year will be no different.
Mr Wilson will don his helmet and lycra, along with 4000 other bike riders, and endure a nine-day trek starting in Swan Hill and ending in Castlemaine.
“When I first heard about it, it sounded like a different holiday, but it exceeded all my expectations,” he said.
“There’s not much training involved, but you still need to have the endurance to ride far.”
Mr Wilson, who cycles to and from work during the week, said he took up the sport as a form of exercise, but now it is more of a hobby. He can ride anywhere between 50kms and 60kms on the weekend.
Vincent Ciardulli, Bicycle Victoria’s event general manager, described the event as “extraordinary”.
“Ask someone who has been on the ride, they will tell you that it’s a holiday you’ll remember all your life,” Mr Ciardulli said.
