Our very, very first walk and RIDE to school event for Great Southern Grammar students was held in Bike Week. Despite the incomplete pathway, more confident cyclists were invited to tackle the mountain bike track while walkers enjoyed the leisurely stroll to school through the forest.

It was our best turn out yet with around 120 participants from kindergarten to year 12, parents, teachers and students. A spectacular sunny morning with the King River still and sparkling like an absolute mirror.

The cyclists headed off first after a safety talk and tackled the beach before entering the forest hill climb - real mountain bike country! The pack were contained between lead and tail riders and the tail rider carried a first aid kit which was not needed, but always good to have just in case...

The walkers headed off after the cyclists had cleared the sand with a lead and tail walker, again the tail walker had a first aid kit.

Once through the forest, we picked up a few extra walkers and cyclists at the Kalgan Fish Traps, an historic Noongar fishing site, and continued on the path and over the bridge to school.

Thanks to City of Albany TravelSmart Officer Carl Beck for supporting the event, conducting bike safety checks on all bikes prior to the ride and taking the lead on the ride with our champion state cyclist student Daniel.

Thanks also to our local federal member Rick Wilson for sending a representative from his office to join us on the walk. Great to see the support and example set by the leaders in our local community.

It was great to hand out those Your Move stickers to all participants so they could stand proudly amongst their peers at school and encourage those that couldn't make it to participate next time.

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Jenny

Love the level of detail in this story and the amount of effort that went into thinking through maximising participation and safety. Just would have loved to have seen some lovely photos of the King River and all those cyclists and walkers!

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Michelle

Well done Nikki! You are a great champion for your school. Thank you for the inspiration.

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