Starting out with a few riders, Eurobodalla Bicycle User Group has exploded in size. Promoting the group as way to fitness, friends and freedom, Liz and Guy have transformed the way of life for many in the Eurobodalla Shire.
Starting the Eurobodalla BUG thirteen years go, Guy, now President of the BUG, and his wife Liz encouraged people to join them on their Monday and Wednesday rides.
“We ride all over the Shire on the 35 ride routes we have mapped over our many years of riding in this area,” Guy told us.
“On a Monday we have three different groups - Liz takes the slower group, I take the intermediate group and we have faster group.”
“Then we have two rides on Wednesdays. One group gets about twenty riders and they call themselves the Cyclopaths. The other group is called the Flatliners who ride on the flat at a slow pace; it’s for people returning to riding. We started it only about 12 months ago and it’s been very successful.”
As the Eurobodalla BUG has developed, they are seeing more and more people ride every year. In 2018, they had 180 different people riding with them. Now in 2019, they have had 117 in just 5 weeks.
“Now, we get a lot of newer riders, those who have retired and thinking what do they do? Many of them who have joined have said ‘it’s been an absolute saviour,’” explained Liz, “88 is our oldest rider, she appeared last year. Our youngest rider is late 40s.”
When they are advertising for bike riding in their area, Guy explains that “We always promote it as several things - you get fit, you meet a lot of people and we take people to places they never knew existed.”
“Seventy-five percent of the Shire, or thereabouts, is National Park or State Forest. A lot of what we do is mountain riding - so you need a mountain bike or a hybrid to ride with us.” Guy continues, “many of the group ride electric mountain bikes, which have become very popular.”
When travelling in the Eurobodalla Shire, Guy and Liz gave some great advice.
“One of the first things we did as a BUG was to get the Council to form a cycle committee. They decided to have a brochure with 13 rides on it, I nominated all of these and they are now all plotted on the council website. Council signposted the whole lot, they received a grant from the State Government.”
“It’s a world class cycle ride from Narooma to Dalmeny, you have about 15km of cycle path. It follows the beaches, it’s got lovely boardwalks along the inlet. Very pretty.”
So if you’re ever in Eurobodalla Shire on a Monday or Wednesday, why not head for a ride with the local BUG!
