By Aaron Cordy
TWO local lads, Simon Robertson and Jim Marx, embarked on a casual bike ride yesterday, Tuesday, November 4. Scaling a few hills and checking out the beautiful scenery along the way, the pair should be back in Shepparton on Thursday, November 13.
The avid riding enthusiasts, Simon and Jim, are riding in stages. Stopping in Wangaratta, Beechworth, Tallangatta, Corryong, Khancoban, and heading towards Thredbo, where they will meet friends along the way. From there, they head to Eucumbene. From Eucumbene, they ride to Nimmitabel, and if time permits, they will reach Bega.
The idea came about as a bit of a whim from Simon, while his wife and friends were calling him mad, Jim thought it sounded like a good idea.
“I initially planned to go on my own, because I thought no one would be stupid enough to go with me. And I was quite happy about that,” said Simon.
“I retired two years ago, and I’ve been riding for over 20 years pretty steadily. This was a sort of an individual thing I decided on a whim. I thought everyone will think I’m mad. That’s okay, I can deal with that. Then I mentioned it one night to a group, and a good mate of mine said, I’ll go with you. So, there’s two idiots in Shepp. We’ve been getting flack for that ever since.”
Both riders are north of 60, but with good experience behind them, they are confident and have embraced the challenge.
“I just enjoy these sorts of things. Also, Simon couldn’t go on his own. The other reason is, we’re doing this bike ride, we need a goal. It’s pretty hard to just ride every day and not have something to aim for,” said Jim.
