Bicycle Network: Success stories

Inspirational students

Neville and Ryan's Ride2School Success

Nicola rides on road to the beach

A great asset to the Ride2School program

Neville and Ryan's Ride2School Success

Read about Ride2School Day at Cambridge Primary School in this inspiring story about two grade 6 boys who took one small idea and made it into a successful reality, all by themselves!

“Our story actually begins with a punishment of sorts.
Two free-spirited grade 6 boys, Ryan and Neville, were sent to the Assistant Principal’s office over lunchtime as punishment for misbehaviour in class. After a lengthy discussion on respect, cooperation and consideration, an article on Ride to Work Day published in the RACV magazine was read to them, as a productive means of occupying the boys’ lunchtime. The group discussed the article to tease out understandings. In the course of this discussion, the Assistant Principal mentioned to the boys;
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had a ride to school day here at Cambridge?”
The boys’ eyes lit up; they thought it was a great idea!

And so our journey began. Over lunchtime across two weeks, Neville and Ryan started planning how they would make Ride2School Day happen at Cambridge. They began by brainstorming all the things they had to do, designing posters which they pinned up around the school, promoted the event by talking to all the grades, and notified the school community through our school newsletter. They even searched the school grounds for a safe location to park the many bikes, and ensured that the security of the bikes during the day was taken care of!
Now, here we have two boys who were by no means Rhodes scholars, who only reluctantly did homework (let alone hand it in on time), actually showing enthusiasm and initiative for something! They worked industriously at home designing posters, making up speeches and working out where to put the bikes – without being told to!

Then on Ride2School Day, Neville and Ryan arrived early at school. They secured a large space around the school by roping it off. They were going to use this area to park the bikes once the bike enclosure was full. They did not have to wait long as a steady stream of riders started arriving. Many children from grade 4 to 6 rode that day, much to the satisfaction of both Ryan and Neville.
It was a successful day with over 60 students riding to school. And as for Ryan and Neville, it proved to them that creative ideas can become reality: all it takes is a little thought, a touch of imagination, a little planning and heaps of enthusiasm!"

-Nella Cascone, teacher at Cambridge Primary School.

Nicola rides on road to the beach

Students at St Mary's Primary School in Williamstown don't get to the beach by car, bus or even on foot ... they ride! Grade 6 bike rider and student, Nicola, was so inspired with all the great things the school does to promote riding, she had to write in and tell us about it!

"Students from year three and up are taught about how to ride safely as well as the importance of riding a bike for health and wellbeing and for getting to know their local community. Bike riding is especially important in year five and six because in summer the children undertake an intensive week long water safety program at Williamstown Beach.

Each day the year fives and sixes ride on roads, over bridges, and on bike paths to get to our local beach. The children are divided into groups of six or seven with parent helpers. Everyone rides safely in single file for the ten minute trip to Williamstown Beach. Students have to be aware of other road users such as cars, trucks, and pedestrians. This is done everyday for a week and everyone enjoys getting out and about in the sun!"

Students from St. Mary's Williamstown ride to the beach

A great asset to the Ride2School program

Connor Ovendon is a star rider at Bacchus Marsh Grammar. Diagnosed with a neurological condition, the Grade 6 student rides his bike each morning up the hills to school - a route most students wouldn't even consider.

Connor is an inspirational rider, a credit to his school and makes his parents very proud.

Connor really enjoys riding to school because it’s healthy, active and fun. "I enjoy it heaps and I think I get to be fitter. When I’m older I would like to go mountain bike riding, out in the bush. My family went to Bright and we got to ride for 20kms. Riding a bike really helps my muscles a lot and it’s something everyone should have a go at," says Connor.

His PE teacher, Rachel Peterken, describes Connor as "an asset to the school". "Connor is a great student at Baccus Marsh Grammar and always enjoys his PE lessons. This term we have held our first Bike Ed Program, Connor was very excited about this program, as he is a regular rider to school. This is quite a difficult task at our school as we are on top of a very large hill and he has had some difficulty with his bike as it is quite an old bike. Consequently Connor has been a great asset to our program as he is quite knowledgeable about bikes and can be relied on to help others with Bike Checks, raising and lower seats and fixing chains," says Rachel.

Mandi Ovendon, Connor's Mum couldn't be more proud of her son's dedication. "We have always encouraged our children to be active and riding bikes was one way we could do this. We used to regularly ride together as a family but it is difficult now keeping up with all the bikes. Connor has always enjoyed riding and we saw this as a great way to get to school. His father rides his bike to work, catches the train to the city and then rides, so Connor can do the same thing. We are keen to develop responsibility and independence. Although we were initially concerned about his knowledge of the road rules, we kept persisting until he learnt. Connor suffers from Muscular Dyspraxia which means he has trouble with muscle memory and he needs to keep using the muscles as regularly as possible. We saw this as a great way for him to do this," says Mandi.

Keep up the great work Connor!

The next Cadel

Parade College Secondary student, Lauchlan Denny, has achieved a remarkable feat at only 15 years old.

Showing extreme dedication, determination and a heart of gold, Lauchlan took on the road and cycled from Melbourne to Sydney in just 9 days. Setting himself this personal challenge, his efforts raised over $10,000 for a Nepalese orphanage.

Travelling to Nepal in November as part of the World Challenge, Lauchlan came up with the idea of cycling to Sydney as a means to raise money for a Napalese orphange. Setting off from Melbourne's CBD, Lauchlan clocked up 200km in his first day. His nine day, 1031km journey saw him take on the rain, hail, shine and everything in between – all without a single complaint.

"Cycling offers adventure, freedom, independence and most of all carries great responsibility as a road user," says Lauchlan.

"By pushing your mind and body to such extremes, you can only then realise what the human body is capable of..."

Since his return, Lauchlan has decided to take up road race cycling and has joined Brunswick Cycling Club U17 juniors.

Previously a dedicated football player, Lauchlan's cycling journey has ignited a passion for road riding and an enthusiasm for cycling at an elite level.

Lauchlan encourages others who might be thinking about riding to give it a go and realise that "the boundaries we set ourselves are only perceived."

So why not channel your inspiration from Lauchlan' s outstanding achievement and go for a ride?

We have found the best places to ride in your local area.

Park 'n' Go

Thinking about catching the bus to the train station, then more public transport the rest of the way? Think again!

After always riding to primary school, Anthony found his secondary school was too far away to keep up the habit. Catching a bus to Berwick station then a second bus to school, Anthony missed his daily dose of fresh air on the way to school.

While it was too far to ride the whole way to school, Anthony decided to get the blood pumping by riding to the station instead of taking the first bus trip of the day. Luckily for Anthony, Berwick station has a Parkiteer cage facility which means his bike can be parked securely. Parkiteer bike cages have been built at 50 metropolitan and regional train stations across Victoria and provide secure bike parking for a $50 (refundable) deposit. There’s no annual fee so once you’ve paid the $50 deposit... it’s free!

Anthony now rides to the station, and using an electronic access card, parks his bike undercover and inside a secure cage. This means he can get some exercise in before and after school as well as getting himself to his part time job after school.

Anthony said the main benefit of riding his bike is the convenience. He isn’t old enough to drive yet so it’s his best friend to get him around.

For more information about Parkiteer, click here or contact the Ride2School team on (03) 8376 8888 or ride2school@bicyclenetwork.com.au.

Anything is possible!

This is the story of an inspirational young student who has contributed to positive change in her local community. She shows that age is no barrier in the pursuit of creating more active travel friendly communities.

It all started in a letter writing class, in which Gabby chose to display her new skills in a mock letter to her local council.

Gabby is a keen rider whose route used to take her along a very busy road which forced riders to choose between either riding on gravel (which contains rocks and sharp stones) or taking on a single-lane road.

Taking a proactive approach to her frustration, Gabby decided to tackle the challenge head on by sending her letter to Bendigo City Council requesting a bike lane or a bike path along the road. As well as writing a letter she put together a petition and collected the signatures of over 300 locals who supported her cause.

After submitting her letter, Gabby attended the general council meeting with the hope of hearing of some action in response to her letter. While Gabby was happy the issue was raised, she was not satisfied with the proposed action. She put her dissatisfaction into writing yet again. This paid off, with Gabby finally receiving news that the council would create a crushed rock bike path along the troublesome road. This was completed in June 2011.

Gabby says her inspiration was “...giving a greater safety opportunity to the generations of tomorrow”. Her advice to other students who want to make change in their community is that “it does not matter how old you are. Anything is possible. So, get out there and have a go and definitely don’t be afraid”.

The Ride2School team are very proud of Gabby and are looking forward to hearing the outcome from her next project… getting a bike lane from Maiden Gully to Bendigo.

Have you got problems with roads or infrastructure around your school that make it difficult to ride? Follow Gabby's lead and write to your local council. Check out our tips on how to lobby local council for improved infrastructure.