By Luke Voogt
About 180 cyclists rode in an “illegal” event on the Great Ocean Road last month, according to a Surf Coast MP.
Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan on Wednesday urged Police Minister Lisa Neville to take action against the “rogue” cycling event on 21 October.
“Hundreds of cyclists dominated dangerous local bush and scenic roads without protection or road safety management,” he said.
But the event’s 71-year-old founder Richard McDonnell hit back, ridiculing the MP’s accusations.
“We had the police there the whole morning,” he said. “They didn’t try to stop the event.”
In a speech to parliament Mr Riordan said Great Ocean Road Cycling held the ride without permission, VicRoads’ knowledge and against the advice of police.
“Events of this type cannot be allowed to be orchestrated and run without planning approval.
There is strong concern in the Otways that the police seem powerless to stop this dangerous activity, with both organisers and individual cyclists clearly flouting the law.
“Can the Minister tell my electorate what actions if any will be taken by Victoria Police against the organisers?”
But the ride required no permit and had run without one for the first eight of its 11 years, Mr McDonnell said.
“I founded it and ran it every year with my family and volunteers.”
Police attended the ride on 21 October and told cyclists the event was unsanctioned, but did not stop them from riding, Mr Riordan said.
“If police had the authority, they would have stopped the event.”
He said the cyclists rode in teams of six during the time trial. He understood that only cycling events with groups of more than 30 riders required a permit.
In late 2013 Colac police approached Mr McDonnell and set up a meeting between him and the Surf Coast Shire.
Mr McDonnell went “through quite a few hoops and charges” to obtain a permit from 2014 to 2016, he said.
“If anything happened on their roads they were covered if anyone sued them.”
The Indy obtained copies of Colac Otway and Surf Coast shires’ permits for the event for 2014.
But the Surf Coast Shire would not support the event this year, following a dispute between Mr McDonnell and another group which planned a similar event that weekend.
The grandfather of nine from Glen Iris founded the event after buying a holiday home in Anglesea.
“I’m hardly described as a rogue,” he said.
“I’ve been riding for 30 years and set up the event because it seemed to be what people down there wanted.”
Mr McDonnell dedicated this year’s ride to Derek ‘Disco’ Josephs, who died in a cycling accident earlier this year.
He said the non-profit event brought “$350,000” to the region.
