The inaugural Lismore Cycling Festival which includes racing, as well as ‘Come-and-Try’ events for children and adults, attracted close to 200 riders as well as a crowd of spectators last weekend.
‘All the organisation went really well and we had a good lot of riders,’ according to Mat Johnson, secretary of the Byron Bay Cycling Club, organisers of the event.
Get on your bike
‘We are really trying to push the idea for people to get on their bikes and to start replacing short car trips,’ he said.
‘It is also an opportunity for everyone to learn the road rules, both drivers and cyclists.’
Saturday’s events included the two ‘Come and Try’ events including Cyclocross and a special juniors Crit-Cross followed by criterium racing on a closed street circuit around Lismore’s Oakes Oval sporting hub.
Riders came from Lismore, the Sunshine Coast, and even from Sydney.
Not all about racing
Sunday featured long distance Fondo events, which are for participation and are not about racing.
There were three distances for different abilities including the Gran (110km), Medio (70km) and Piccolo (28km).
‘We had perfect weather, support from Lismore City Council and over 60 volunteers, from the club as well as organisations like Southern Cross University and the Dunoon RFS,’ Mat told The Echo.
‘Its a great area to run the event because Lismore is surrounded by beautiful countryside.
‘We are hoping to get more support and grow the event for next year particularly for families and children,’ he said.
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