I just spent a week in another world, with Therese and my mate Andy riding the Great Victorian Bike Ride (GVBR), the annual Bicycle Network (BV) cycling & camping festival, which attracts all kinds of bicycles and many types of riders. This year’s youngest participant was 2 years old, while the oldest was 88. An intergenerational ride that sees thousands of school-aged teenagers and older folk sharing the road to adventure.

The GVBR is a fully supported, ticketed event, an all-inclusive moving feast for the senses, camping and living together as a cycling community. Riders traverse in excess of 350k of mixed terrain, exposed to the elements and vagaries of the road, never without incident, although we all survived to tell the tale.

The GVBR is supported by a cheerful band of tireless volunteers whose sole aim is to keep the pedals turning, while local communities in the towns and villages we pass through put on special events to cater to an endless stream of hungry cyclists.

This year’s event took us through bucolic country scenes in the South West of the State to Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road. Wild and windswept, the riders wrestled with a moody Mother Nature, we were punished on steep climbs, then rewarded with invigorating downhill runs, breathtaking vistas and unexpected wildlife encounters.

Yes, there was rain, plenty of it; however, battling through the elements together only strengthens community solidarity. There’s the queuing too, for meals, toilets, showers and assistance, a perfect opportunity to make new friends and share stories. Romance blooms on the GVBR.

Cycling is a social good, while the benefits of participating in a GVBR linger long after the ride is over. Life lessons perfected on the ride, such as self-reliance, perseverance, and tolerance, transfer seamlessly into other areas of life. Next year, the GVBR is set to ride through the historic goldfields of northern Victoria. I expect there will be rain, hills, thrills, spills, and adventure.