Not sore in the saddle- Richard John is participating in the RACV Great Victorian Bike Ride and encourages everyone to give it a go. 66610 Picture: Stewart Chambers

By Emma Sun
SPRINGVALE South’s Rich-ard John will be riding in the RACV Great Victorian Bike Ride in November.
The 62-year-old has previously participated in three bike rides and will be doing the nine-day ride from Swan Hill to Castlemaine.
Mr John said the 590-kilometre length of the ride was not intimidating and he loved the social aspect of it.
“I’ve always been doing the longest one – my friends are going on the ride too so I do it with them,” he said.
“It’s not a problem – I prefer doing that one to the shorter version.
“It’s very sociable. If you drive a car and you pull up at a light you can’t talk to other motorists but on a bike you can talk to people. You almost certainly make more friends.”
While the cold weather has prohibited part of his training regime, Mr John still takes about four rides a week, totalling about 80 kilometres per day.
The bike ride is organised by Bicycle Victoria and the nine day trip starts in Swan Hill with a loop ride before meandering the Murray River for three days to Echuca.
After a rest day, the ride will continue through gold towns before riding into Castlemaine.
There are also shorter options, with three-day and one-day rides available.
“If anybody is keen on going on the bike rides, I’d encourage them to do so,” Mr John said.
The ride will go from Saturday 26 November to Sunday 4 December. For more information and entry fees, visit www.greatvic.com.au or call 1800 616 600.