Around the Bay 2024 - A Customer's Journey

Nervous, excited, and a little hungry were the three things I felt sitting in the large crowd of cyclists waiting to have a crack at the 100km Around the Bay bike ride. My nerves came from only having ridden 2 or 3 times since the start of the year, and the fear of not being able to perform how I'd like or even worse, not being able to finish. Excited at the ride ahead, the weather held up overnight and it was looking like the sun was about to come out for a beautiful Spring morning in Melbourne. I was a little hungry as I had slept through my alarm and didn't get a chance to eat breakfast before meeting the crew beforehand – rookie mistake.  

A slow roll out of Albert Park was how it started, with the sun starting to show its face. First up was the crossing of the Westgate Bridge, to me this was the highlight. Nothing like riding somewhere you shouldn’t be riding, doing the same speed you do in a car, it was so fun I wanted to do it again and call it a day.  

There were a couple of unfortunate crashes on the way to Williamstown with the morning frost still wreaking havoc on the road, hundreds of riders in close proximity with a wet road is not a formula that ends well for everybody. I hope everyone who did crash is okay and escaped any serious injury!  

After some decent head winds, arriving back at Albert Park and crossing the finish line, I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment that we had gotten through unscathed with only minimal complaints (mostly from me) along the way. 

A huge shout-out to Giant Lygon Street for the pre ride service, making sure my bike was good to go. Another huge shout-out to Bicycle Network for once again putting on an incredible day for the community. The snacks, tunes, multiple rest rooms, and friendly staff made the day super enjoyable. Can’t wait to do it all again next year!