Peter Shields pedalled into the spirit of Christmas

What a privilege it was to be able to participate in the Great Victorian Bikeride last week to promote and raise funds for the amazing work undertaken by the Summer Foundation. It was also fantastic to be able to enjoy this experience with my son Noah.

We rode a total of 326 km over four days including 3,555m of elevation gain – lots of hills!

Day 1 – Port Fairy to Petersborough

We started the bike ride in Port Fairy and rode 102 km along the great Ocean Road to Petersborough.
Amazing views included Bay of Islands, worm Bay and Bay of martyrs.

Day 2 – Petersborough to Beach Forest

We started with an amazing 82 km ride along the Great Ocean Road past the London Bridge, the blowhole, the 12 apostles and Gibsons Steps. We then headed up the formidable Lavers Hill and spent most of the day climbing up through the beautiful Otway ranges to Beach Forest. We climbed almost 1,400 vertical metres which is alot for anyone but a bit of a shock for Noah who hadn’t done any training for the ride!

Day 3 – Beach Forest to Deans Marsh

Day three was a shorter day with 66km along the stunning Turton’s track that winds its way through the Otway ranges for some more climbing but incredibly stunning scenery. We then rode through some stunning lush farmland to our camp in Deans Marsh. It was great to see these small country towns come out in force to support the 4000 people doing the ride.

Day 4 – Deans Marsh to Torquay

We left Deans Marsh and climbed back up into the Otway mountains before descending down into Lorne. It was great to be able to grab a quick bite to eat from the Grandma Shields bakery at Lorne (named after my Grandmother). Unfortunately the rain was reasonably heavy as we rode back from Lorne along the Great Ocean Road to Torquay via Aireys Inlet and Anglesea. We covered 77 km with an elevation of 825m for the day and were very glad to reach the finish line in Torquay and get off the bikes for a bus trip back to Melbourne.

To contribute to this fundraiser, please click here – We are also excited to be able to let you know that all funds raised through this campaign will be matched by a philanthropic fund!

To read more about what the Summer Foundation please click here.