Theatre nurses Tawny Dennis (Cranbourne), Nelly Hartley (Narre Warren North) and Fiona Lanting (Berwick) say they will be in stitches of laughter as they battle through the Great Victorian Bike Ride later this month. By Alison Noonan
NURSING weary bones will be a breeze for three Casey women when they embark on the Great Victorian Bike Ride later this month.
Theatre nurses Tawny Dennis, Fiona Lanting and Nelly Hartley say they can’t wait to get on their bikes for the nineday, 570 kilometre cycling holiday from Swan Hill to Melbourne starting on Saturday 26 November.
The three friends have been training for the charity event since May and feel well prepared to ride with the 4,500 cyclists expected to take part.
Cranbourne resident Ms Dennis, 24, said she was looking forward to a lot of laughs on her first ever ride after some hilarious preevent training moments.
“It’s been good with the three of us. We have a lot of fun and it gives you a bit more motivation.
“We always have a good laugh together. Our training has been quite funny actually,” she said.
“We rode to Carrum on our first training ride. I had an old bike and my pedal fell off.
“Nelly had a bandage in her bag so she used it to tie our two bikes together and she towed me all the way to Carrum. We got a few funny looks that day!
“We were admiring the houses on another ride to Port Melbourne and Nelly was so busy choosing the house she wanted that she rode into a fence and fell off.”
Ms Dennis said she had mixed emotions about the ride but believed her training regime and two companions would help get her over the line.
“I’m a bit nervous that I might not make it! I think I’ll be buggered,” she said. “But I’m really excited. It’s something new and different that I haven’t done before.
“I’m sure I’ll enjoy myself and will be a lot fitter when it’s over,” she said.
The entry fee for the 2005 VicRoads Great Victorian Bike Ride is $705 for adults, $565 for children under17 and $195 for under10s.
The ride is a fully catered, tent based holiday. There is extensive back up including luggage transport, a licensed cafe under canvas, massage, full medical team and bicycle repair facility.
Money raised from the Great Victorian Bike Ride goes to the Bone Marrow Institute’s ‘Back on Track’ program, which assists children who are receiving treatment for leukaemia and other forms of cancer.
For more information contact Bicycle Victoria on 1800 616 600.
