THE marauding hordes on the Great Victorian Bike Ride are headed this way, almost 2500 of them, including 2200 riders, and 300 support crew with 700 primary and secondary school kids among them.
Today (Tuesday, November 28) they;ve hit Paynesville and they’re headed for Sale for two nights on Wednesday and Thursday, November 29 and 30), then it’s on to Port Albert (Friday, December 1), Fish Creek (Saturday, December 2) and finishing the 546kms run at Wonthaggi on Sunday.
And at the famous Port Albert Fish and Chip Co, right there on the historic wharf at Port Albert, Jake and Katie Cripps reckon they’re ready for them.
“We usually do up to 300 fish and chip lunches but we’ve got two kitchens, extra staff on and plenty of fish so we can do more than that, but how many will want fish and chips we don’t know. When it runs out, it runs out,” said Katie during the week.
And it’s all locally caught fish, mostly by the Cripps family themselves, except the banana prawns which come from Queensland and the scallops that come from Bass Strait.
They get the gummy shark for the fantastic flake off their own boat out of Port Franklin, and they get the whiting and rock flathead out of Corner Inlet when it’s available and they have a trawler at Lakes Entrance too.
So, there’s a veritable fisherman’s basket waiting for the early arrivals at Port Albert on Friday… mmm!
Then it’s on to Fish Creek and Inverloch.
The great unknown is the weather.
PR official on the ride, John Myers, was grateful of a nice tail wind on the ride to Paynesville but he's watching the weather and reckons the rain will arrive at Sale at 3am on Wednesday, raining through the rest day on Thursday and then (hopefully) fining up for the run to Port Albert on Friday.
The Bureau is calling for anything between 30mm and 70mm at Sale on Wednesday so it's no passing shower, plus up to 50mm on Thursday whoa!
They'll need a fish'n'chip lunch by the time they get to Port Albert!
Over the nine-day marathon, the bike riders will travel from Orbost to Inverloch and wend their way through the region with visits including Buchan, Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Sale, Port Albert and Fish Creek.
Chief Executive Officer of the Bicycle Network which runs the event, Alison McCormack was out on the ride herself on Tuesday and was full of praise for the participants, volunteers and the welcome providsed by locals.
“Bike riders love Gippsland and the route we have this year is stunning.”
“The riders get the chance to explore some of the state’s best food and wine destinations and there are lots of scenic highlights along the way.”
But it’s all about the people – the riders and the locals – who delight in this celebration of fun, friendship, exercise and the great outdoors.
And please, watch out for them on the road when they are passing through your area. Slow down and give them a wave.