Students Cycle for Duke of Edinburgh Award

On Friday 20th June nine students from Canowindra High School set off on a two day cycling adventure with Mr Mark Edwards, Mr Andrew Phelan, Mrs Carolyn Austin and Mr Andrew Holmes as part of the School’s Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

The first leg of the adventure was to ride from Canowindra High School to the end of Longs Corner Rd. This was by far the most difficult part of the trip with the students bat- tling pouring rain and robust head winds. The students were required to dig deep and push through the elements, as well as the range of emotions being experienced along the way. The second leg of the journey was to ride to Eugowra along The Escort Way, which at times is a very busy road and required the students to be on full alert. Mr Mike Harrison drove the support vehicle at the back of the pack and warned traffic of the cyclists ahead on his two-way radio. The vehicles along The Escort Way were very patient with the group, giving the students ample space to enjoy their ride safely.

After the group stopped in Eugowra for a stretch and a bite to eat they commenced the final leg for Day 1 into Gooloogong along Nanima Rd. This was a much more enjoyable experience with the open roads allowing more time to take in the beautiful country- side.

The group set up camp in Gooloogong for the night and once the fog lifted in the morn- ing, commenced the trip back home along The Rivers Road. The students completed the 110km journey with a ride through the main street of Canowindra, capping off an adventure that they will hopefully never forget.

Students involved were Joanna Balcombe, Amelia Holmes, Brooke Kinsela, Jack Workman (Year 9), Meg Austin, Matthew Harrison, Lachlan Balcombe, Brenton Clements and Mitchell Stanley (Year 10).

by Andrew Phelan