Glowing praise for Parkes' gravel

"It's some of the best gravel I've ever ridden on," said Christopher Visvis from Sydney after he had just completed a 130km ride around the southern end of the Parkes Shire. Christopher was one of the 197 cyclists who took part in the first goodnessgravel Parkes, a gravel and road cycling event on 1 November that started at Harrison Park and trekked to Tichborne, Cookamidgera, Mandagery and, those in it for the long haul, down to Eugowra and back. There were three options on offer - 130km, 110km and 50km. In total there were 158 men and 39 women who took part, and of those, there were five people from Parkes. A further breakdown in figures show the majority of participants came from Greater Sydney (66), 23 travelled from the ACT, 10 from Queensland, four from Victoria, two from Tasmania and 92 from the rest of NSW. There were 157 gravel bikes, 30 mountain bikes, one e-mountain bike and nine e-gravel bikes. And the average age was 51. All in all the reviews have been outstanding. Christopher described the experience as "unbelievable", and he's certainly no stranger to these events - he's been cycling for 15 years and has completed about 80 per cent of the goodnessgravel events since 2021. "It's great that it's in different areas," he said, adding that it gets him out and seeing the countryside. goodnessgravel organiser Will Levy couldn't be happier. "We had an amazing first edition of goodnessgravel Parkes," he said. "We have received a lot of emails and even phone calls from riders who had a great time. "Just one of them said: 'I just want to say thanks for the event – sure I pay for the privilege – but that one was a cracker. Just the right mix of tough yet excellent and flowing downhill, with a touch of cruel uphill'." Will said this particular rider has done eight of their events in the past. Paul Wilks, 44, and his 23-year-old nephew Dustin Wilks from Mudgee were the first to cross the finish line in the 130km ride which took four hours with breaks. "The roads were awesome - smooth and in good condition, just great," Paul said. "The directions and organisation was really good, and no drivers hassled us." Steve Keen who moved to Parkes in 2022, joined the Parkes Bicycle Users Group (BUG) a few months ago and challenged himself to the 50km course. "It was my first big ride in 25 years," he said. "I used to ride in Sydney. "I struggled towards the end, the hardest part was the head wind and actually pedalling down hill because of the wind." Steve's family - wife Alison and daughters Courtney and Karina - were by his side when he crossed the finished line. "They cheered me on when I left and cheered for me when I finished," he said. Even former local Rodney Lovett, now of Bathurst, made an appearance - he's uncle to none other than our sporting royalty Kurt and Ben Lovett, and rode the 110km course. More than 50 per cent of those who participated in Parkes were repeat goodnessgravel riders since their events began in 2021, Will said. This included two riders who have been to 10 of their events in the past. "197 riders is really good, we average about 150," Will said. "This is the first out of our 18 events that a council has said we'll be there on the day. That's a huge deal, they've been so proactive." Parkes Action Club volunteers were also on hand during the day assisting organisers and supporting riders. "The majority [of riders] would have stayed at least the Friday evening in the Parkes area," Will added. "Anecdotally, we estimate 50 per cent stayed Friday and Saturday nights with over 60 doing the ‘optional Sunday Dish ride', plus many came with their families." The cyclists were among hundreds of others who were in Parkes on this weekend (1-2 November) as the town also hosted a regional country trials for little athletics and a fitness games at a local gym. See our photos from the event and those taken by Outer Image Collective in this week's Champion Post (20 November).