IT was a perfect day to ride hard and fast at the recent Coondoo Classic and mountain bike riders from all over the South Coast powered around this great track in Falls Creek.
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This year was the event 10th anniversary and it just keeps on getting better with age.
Teachers Cathy Boyce and James Wright get great satisfaction with how a mountain bike event they help start 10 years-ago continues to go strong.
At the first event 80 students riders took part.
The first race was only Shoalhaven competitors and not its open for riders from the entire South Coast and inland as far as Crookwell and Goulburn.
Now on average they get 180 competitors at the event and one year hit the 250 mark.
Riders, over the past decade, came up from Eden and down from Wollongong to hit the Coondoo track.
“It was pretty exciting to see the kids take part in an activity that have not been involved in the school curriculum over time ,” Mrs Boyce said.
Mr Wright agreed that bike riding gives people another sporting option.
“They may not be good at cricket or soccer but they can ride a bike. You don’t have to be fast and it’s a bit more about participation,” Mr Wright said.
The event brings the students from Vincentia High together and the senior riders become role models for their younger school mates.
They hope the event will still be going in another 10 years.
About the track
Located 15 minutes South of Nowra, Coondoo is the original home of SCUM’s (South Coast United Mountain-bikers) endurance races.
Originally 6km in length, the course has been extended to enable events of various configurations and loop lengths (up to approximately 10km).
With a couple of small changes in altitude and plenty of course variation this is one of the jewels in the SCUM crown.