BUILDING A LIFESTYLE

Tell us a bit about your cycling past. Do you have any competitive successes or the love just something you’ve rediscovered?

AI always had a bike. I grew up in Adelaide, moved up here in 2003, brought my bike and pretty much that’s what I came up here with, a bike and a fishing rod, planning on the professional life of architecture. Then I started riding socially here. We used to race among ourselves in South Australia but came up here, met a couple guys who invited me along and within two years I’d become part of the Cairns Cycling Club committee and participating in events such as the Tour of the Tablelands. It was the largest stage event in Queensland and we’re looking to bring that up again. Then I’ve just done racing in the club to the current day.

Q AWhat do you think is behind the growth of cycling in this country and the Far North?

I think it’s a lot of things. The idea of just the gear, the fitness, the social aspect as well. What started off when we first got here was riding around with a group of six of us and that’s now swelled to a group of up to 60 or 80 riders sometimes, which makes it a little bit difficult to manage, but I think it’s a lot of everything. With all the different sporting events on the calendar, most of which are associated to cycling, with the mountain biking, the Crocodile Trophy and the ironman and triathlons, people are looking to keep their bikes rolling.