Brisbane 2 Ipswich Challenge Report
A resounding chorus of clicks as cyclists’ cleats clipped into their pedals, heralded the start of the Brisbane 2 Ipswich Challenge on Sunday.
The cycle challenge was a huge success with at least a thousand riders taking part. As usual the variation in ages, riding styles, and cycling apparel was wide – not to mention the types of human-powered vehicles… top of the range road bikes, mountain bikes, tandems, recumbents, and of course, footbikes.
Three Kickbikes took up the Brisbane 2 Ipswich Challenge, ridden by Bruce Cook, Alan Stewart and Deborah Stewart, all of whom offer their special thanks to Lyn Armstrong who was the official Kickbike Support Officer for the day, racing around in the Kickbike Van and chatting with people about the benefits and cross-training benefits of footbiking.
The bike ride, titled the Mall 2 Mall Challenge in previous years, sported the new name of the Brisbane 2 Ipswich Challenge as well as a new route.
The ride started at Moorlands Park, Patricks Lane in Toowong, with plenty of parking available in the surrounding side streets. It then turned into Sylvan Road and Milton Road to enable to riders to get onto the the Bikeway which was followed for a good part of the course.
The route was continuously undulating with a few challenging hills around Riverview. The signage was excellent, and even though there were a good number of road crossings and turns, every single one was manned by at least two volunteers. Police presence was exceptional, with Police Officers directing traffic on a few of the major road crossings, a police vehicle and several roaming Police Motorbikes.
Head winds were fairly strong and the day warmed up nicely. Fortunately, there were three rest stops for cyclists who found the course that little bit challenging – one at Jindalee, another at Goodna and one more at Bundamba.
Alan Stewart completed the course in just over 2 hours with Bruce Cook coming in about ten minutes later. Deb Stewart finished in just under 2 and a half hours.
AFA would like to congratulate Bruce, Alan and Deb for their performances on the day, as well as thank Bernie Ripoll, the Patron for the Brisbane 2 Ipswich Bike Challenge for putting together yet another successful cycling event.
Special thanks also to the event organisers, volunteers, Police and St John Ambulance Officers for their help and friendly guidance on the day.
Also a huge thank you to the sponsors of the event. Without their support we’d all still be hitting the roads, alone as we drone out our daily training regime. The sponsors make it possible for riders to come together and share a love of the human powered vehicle, the sense of freedom that riding instills in you, and great weather that Ipswich and Brisbane turned on for the day.
Please support the sponsors of the event when you can. They include: Goodna RSL Services Club, Ipswich City Council, Wingate Properties, Brisbane City Council, Springfield Land Corporation, CitiSwich Industrial Estate, Yellow Jersey, Brodies, Truck Cranes Australia Pty Ltd, Ipswich Festival, Stefan, Ipswich Central Motors, Mix Events, JBS Swift and Company.
Thank you to all the riders who participated, and for your encouragement to our Kickbikers – we’re all looking forward to next year’s challenge.
Really enjoyed the ride. Hope to be there again next year. Thanks to the organisers for the opportunity to be a part.