THE Ararat Ladies’ Social Bike Group has a motto – fun, fitness and friendship.
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That motto has kept the group cycling together for nearly 41 years, counting enough kilometres to have cycled around Australia one and a half times.
The group gets together to pedal an average of 15 kilometres in and around Ararat every week.
The group was founded in 1978 and five of the founders are still cycling.
Their love for the group comes down to that motto.
“(I like) the company of the girls and a bit of exercise, and friendship,” founding member Kaye Fox said.
“We do lots of things together and support the community together.”
Another founding member, Judy Wohlers, said the group was very welcoming, but offered one caveat.
“What happens in the bike girls stays in the bike girls,” she said.
“The fun, the fitness and the friendship – that to me is the most important thing.
“We are just a good happy band of girls and the main thing is we enjoy our bike rides.”
Shirley Pickering is the oldest founding member who still rides.
“It’s great, we all get together, have a talk and pedal away,” she said.
“I think we’ve been along every road along Ararat and along the outskirts and down every lane.
“Monday morning you get up and think ‘am I going to ride today? Yes, I am.
“We just love it.”
But the group does much more than than ride.
The group has a culture of supporting any local organisation who asks for or needs help, and has supported groups including The Red Cross, East Grampians Health Services’ Aged Care Auxiliary, BlazeAid, Landcare, the Blue Ribbon Police Foundation and children’s Christmas appeals.
This culture was built up through the many members are already involved in charity groups and will ask the bike group if they can help out in various ways.
“With BlazeAid one of our girls said ‘they need sandwiches out there, do you reckon we could cut some sandwiches?’,” Ms Wohlers said.
“So I had a table full of sandwiches here and we just took them out in my refrigerated truck.”
“A lot of our riders are involved in community events.”
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