By Luke Voogt
A group of Geelong Year 12 students rode into their graduation on Wednesday night after conquering the iconic Great Ocean Road.
The graduates were among 28 Newcomb Secondary College students cycling in a week-long ride.
“It’s like a rite of passage out of the school,” teacher Stephen Bath told the Indy from Lorne on Tuesday.
“The Year 12s that are with us will have time to get home and have a shower before graduation.”
The school cancelled its plans for a ride in Gippsland last week with some hasty phone calls and emails, to avoid torrential rain.
“With that catastrophic weather forecast we would have been in trouble,” Stephen said.
But that failed to stop the students getting on their bikes the following week to continue the school’s 43-year-old tradition.
Their comradery impressed Stephen as they negotiated steep inclines and tour buses after peddling off from the Otways on Saturday.
“They all jump in and look after each other,” he said.
The group rode about 50km a day, according to Year 12 student Tylah Hewson.
“We might have one or two days where we do 60km to 75km or higher,” he said on Tuesday.
“I had to miss out a couple of training rides but I was able to get my body back in gear with the first two days of the tour.”
Fellow Year 12 student Jared Mason enjoyed challenging inclines of the scenic ride.
He was excited for the ride home from Lorne to Newcomb on Wednesday for graduation.
“I can’t wait to experience that.”
