Bicycle Network Victoria: Ride On magazine

My first Great Vic was also on the Great Ocean Road. I went with my neighbour, Mike Ryan. Neither of us had done much riding then but it didn’t take us long to get into the daily routine. Mike would race off early each day and try to be first to each campsite and I would follow later. My main concern was just finishing each day. The highlight of that first year was going over Lavers Hill and Cape Otway in pelting rain. I was stoked when I reached Apollo Bay in time for lunch.

The next year, a workmate Tony Maher joined me on the ride. A terrific electrical storm struck the pre-ride campsite the night before the ride, knocking over a light pole. Fortunately the tent it landed on was unoccupied at the time. My tent had a broken pole and a hole in the roof that we patched with duct tape. At the end of the ride I had enjoyed myself so much that I rode home from Heidelberg.

2006 was notable for the heat. The first five days were stinking hot. Tony and Mike were both on the ride. Tawonga Gap and the James Morrison concert were highlights. Despite the volume I drank, that year I lost fpur kilograms that sadly returned in the weeks following.

In 2007 Tony and I were joined by another colleague, Michael Bosmans. Mike Ryan was on the ride too, now as a volunteer in the Medical Centre. The weather was cooler, it was foggy on the way from Rawson to Maffra. The final downhill into Buchan was spectacular and the final-night Kate Ceberano concert was magic.

Early 2008 I decided to take my second daughter Stephanie on the ride on a tandem bike. I purchased a second-hand tandem via eBay for $500 and we did lots of training before the ride.

The first four days were tough with strong headwinds really slowing the bike. Tony and Michael were there, as were Mike Ryan, his daughter Brittany and his sister Jenny. Two more colleagues, Louis & Phil also joined us. Stephanie ever bright and bubbly never complained. When she was tired she continued to pedal hard, pushing me along when I was tired. She also chatted with lots of other riders who went past us and we made friends with many of the other tandem riders.

Joe Lionnet is the coordinator of the DANTAX bike club. His daughter Stephanie nominated him for the Spirit of the Ride award that he shared with Jackson Browning.