EVERY Wednesday morning a group of senior cyclists from Bendigo, Newstead, and Castlemaine get together to ride their bikes, have a laugh and a chat.<\/p>\n
Their aim is to enjoy the ride, the company, and the scenery, and grab coffee at their destination or somewhere along the way.<\/p>\n
Barbara Beissel help create the group known as Wednesday Wobblies almost four years ago after asking for a show of hands from her fitness group from those interested in going for a bike ride.<\/p>\n
She said it \u201csnowballed from there\u201d and the Wobblies now have 16 regular riders on their list.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe camaraderie in the group is just really effervescent,\u201d said Ms Beissel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re open to anyone who wants to join us, hence the Facebook group was to encourage everyone to get on their bikes and ride.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how many people our age have bikes in their sheds and haven\u2019t ridden them in so long, and there\u2019s been quite a nice reaction from a few people who\u2019ve said I\u2019m back on my bike again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another original member, John Bourke, had open heart surgery 12 months ago and he said all he could think about was getting back to riding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the motivation, get back on the bike,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t stop riding a bike when you get old, you get old when you stop riding a bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take it slow and we like to stop and look at things, the history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Beissel said the group doesn\u2019t generally ride on busy roads, but they have ordered high-visibility vests for safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fairly cautious, as senior people,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just confidence, I think, just confidence that it\u2019s not as dangerous as you think it\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Bourke maps each week\u2019s ride and posts it to the Facebook group the Sunday night before, and while Ms Beissel has lived in Bendigo for six years, she still considers herself relatively new to the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen parts of Bendigo I didn\u2019t know existed,\u201d she said. \u201cThese rides have really opened up locations for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all agree that coffee\u2019s the best place to finish wherever we go. If it hasn\u2019t got a coffee stop, we don\u2019t do it!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
EVERY Wednesday morning a group of senior cyclists from Bendigo, Newstead, and Castlemaine get together to ride their bikes, have a laugh and a chat. Their aim is to enjoy the ride, the company, and the scenery, and grab coffee at their destination or somewhere along the way. Barbara Beissel help create the group known […]<\/p>\n