Riding high: John Burtt and Rylan Bird saddle up for Geelong Cycling Club.
JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
OPPERMAN, Mockridge, Evans – the list of high-achieving local cyclists begins pretty impressively.
The common denominator for cycling in the region for almost 100 years has been Geelong Cycling Club.
“I’ve only been in the club for 10 years, so I’m only a Johnny-come-lately,” president John Burtt admitted.
“I don’t want to try rattling off famous names for fear of leaving people out but there have been a lot of very good riders who have been members of the club.
“These days we have young up-and-comers like Leigh Howard who has been fantastic with his time, acting as an ambassador for the club,” John enthused.
“If you have aspirations as a competitive cyclist then Geelong is the place to be and the way to go.
“We have a number of young riders competing in elite events like the Tour of Geelong, Tour of Tasmania and Tour of Bright. It gives riders a pathway.”
John said the club ran weekly races for its 150 members, with up to 60 riders on any given weekend.
“There are lots of people out there who are fit and have high-end machinery and look the part who are cycling regularly.
“Many of them do the Saturday or Sunday morning ride then head off to the coffee shop and home.
“We want to encourage Geelong’s recreational cyclists to transfer some of that competitive spirit into a club capacity.”
John said the road cycling season had just ended, with the track season about to begin.
“The cycling track at Geelong West has been upgraded and the grandstand is being refurbished. We also run events on the Belmont criterium track.”
John was aware that, as with many clubs, attracting juniors was the key.
“We have a few ideas about a junior development program and we’re looking at developing a hybrid bike for juniors,” he said.
“We’re working with a local bike shop to put together a universal sports bike based on a BMX to allow the rider to change the drive mechanism.
“Then parents wouldn’t have to fork out for a road bike and a track bike and would also have an everyday bike for their kids – it would be multi-purpose.”
John said the concept was under development with the support of local business interests and Cycling Victoria.
The amount of positive publicity afforded cycling in recent years meant interest in the sport had grown, he said.
The 100th anniversary of the club should also generate much interest, with a celebratory dinner next week.
John said the club hoped to catch up with many former members.
Former Australian national cycling champion Matt Lloyd would be guest speaker at the dinner from 7pm next Friday in Skilled Stadium’s Captains’ Room.
John urged anyone interested in attending to inspect the club’s website at geelongcycling.com for more information.
