One of the highlights of this year at Stratford Primary School involved a group of Grade 5 & 6 students participating in a 3 day, 2 night bike riding experience along the East Gippsland Rail Trail

The ride began at Howitt Park in Bairnsdale and students rode their bikes along the rail trail for approximately 28km. Once they got to the Caravan Park in Bruthen, they pitched their tents and swags, checked their bikes and then did some exploring and checked out the area around the football ground. During the night it rained just a little and by the time it was morning, the tents and swags were covered with a light layer of ice!

After breakfast, which was eaten inside the camp kitchen with the fire once again providing warmth, all the gear was packed into the trailers. The riders then set off on day 2 of their ride of 27kms. It was a long, slow incline out of Bruthen – 8km of it! testing the endurance of all riders. The scenery was superb, and the rail trail was in excellent condition. The trestle bridges were absolutely amazing. Lunch was eaten at the Stony Creek trestle bridge just before Nowa Nowa. After some quite steep descents and ascents, the riders arrived at the Mingling Waters Camp Ground at Nowa Nowa and once again set up swags and tents.

Day 3 saw the riders embark on a 39km ride to Orbost. Sore muscles, tender backsides and lower than usual energy levels did not stop the enthusiasm and excitement. Once again the bike trail was in good condition, a little stony in parts with quite a lot of long and steady climbs with some exhilarating declines. Upon arriving in Orbost, it was wonderful to see the faces of parents and friends who were ready to collect the riders and take them home.

It was a wonderful ride. An excellent activity for school groups to be involved with. Not only did it test the endurance of the riders and their commitment, it also relied on supporting, encouraging and helping others, and working together to achieve a common goal.

This ride could not have happened without the support of our Chief Cook – Margaret, our catering officer – Emma, our mechanic – Dwayne, the wonderful adults/teachers who volunteered to ride with the team – Craig, Bronwyn, Keith, David and Joan. And most of all, the riders who completed this awesome journey – Katie, Amy, Cassie, Declan, Harry, Lochie, Bailey, Charlie and Daniel.

Joan Keil

East Gippsland Rail Trail committee of management has secured funding from the Federal Government, through Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, to reseal the section of trail from McEacharn Street, East Bairnsdale, to the Nicholson River Bridge.

Preliminary works for this long awaited upgrade commenced last week and will continue this week, with the reseal to take place after the Melbourne Cup long weekend.

The trail will remain open during the preliminary works, however, sections will be closed during the reseal to allow the necessary machinery to access the trail.

Users of the trail may be asked to find alternate routes whilst these works are undertaken. Daily updates will be available on East Gippsland Rail Trail’s Facebook page.

Image: East Gippsland Rail Trail volunteer committee members, Alistair Campbell and Andrew Sharpe, discuss the works on the East Gippsland Rail Trail with Mick Crane, of Cranes Asphalting.

Great things are happening on the East Gippsland Rail Trail, with new trail distance signs showing the way. In a project jointly funded by the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, East Gippsland Shire and the volunteer East Gippsland Rail Trail committee of management, new signage has been installed along the full 98km length of the trail from Bairnsdale to Orbost.

The project has had a local input right from its inception to its final delivery. The volunteer committee of management recognised the need for standardised signage for both locals and tourists to get a better understanding of distances between points on the trail as well as other useful information. A style was agreed upon and that’s when Craig Dykes and his talented team at Signline in Bairnsdale came on board. Craig was enthusiastic about the job and helped the committee with great advice.

Employing local people and using locally sourced material was important and this has led to a fantastic outcome. The posts used for the signs are from nearby old bridges recently demolished. The signage was produced in the Bairnsdale factory of Signline and then Craig’s crew installed the 70-odd signs along the length of the trail. More is to come, so keep an eye on the trail’s Facebook page for more details.

Image: East Gippsland Rail Trail committee of management member, Al Campbell, Signline’s Craig Dykes, East Gippsland Rail Trail committee of management member, Andrew Sharpe, and Signline’s Haydn Erfurth with one of the East Gippsland Rail Trail’s new sign.

East Gippsland shone as 130 cyclists hit the East Gippsland Rail Trail for the sixth Great East Bike Ride across the weekend.

Starting in Bairnsdale last Friday, the cyclists pedalled their way along the trail, or caught a lift from their parents, finishing at Orbost’s Forest Park on Sunday.

Conducted by Snowy River Cycling to attract people to cycling and the beauty of East Gippsland, owner/operator, Liz Mitchell, said this year’s ride was one again fantastic.

“We ended up with 130 riders for our sixth ride with an unusually high percentage of repeat riders,” Liz said.

“There are normally a lot of repeats, but this year I think we had about 30 per cent repeats, which is really high.

“The ride went amazingly. We don’t normally have issues and this year’s ride was drama free.

“We were a little concerned about the heat, but we were well prepared and got going early on Saturday with a half day ride to Nowa Nowa where we had a lot of activities provided including paddle board and kayak hire, massages (which were booked out fairly quickly) and free activities like yoga and a bicycle maintenance workshop. We even had a community singing session.

“On Sunday, when the wind came through, most of our riders had arrived to finish in Orbost, so we were really lucky with the weather.”

Liz said the ride once again drew a lot of families as well as older riders and beginners.

“There were 15 to 20 families with kids from two to three years old on the back of mum or dad’s bike or in a trailer, up to teens,” she said.

“The bulk of the riders were 55 upwards. Their kids have left home and they were now getting into cycling. We have a lot of riders who are riding a big ride for the first time on this trip.

“It’s really satisfying to see. They often push themselves to participate, train in preparation and find they really love it. It gives me a lot of personal satisfaction to see.”

PICTURED: Riders young and old, 130 of them, had a ball riding the East Gippsland Rail Trail for the sixth Great East Bike Ride over the weekend. Many were returning to complete the ride while for others, like the Blazing Saddles team, from Sale, it was the first time they’d participated. Darren Haylock, Kylie Safstrom, Craig Rainey, Sonya Stephenson, Caroline Rainey and Andrew Stephenson even came with their own support vehicle.