Secondary News 

Great Victorian Bike Ride

On Saturday Nov 23rd students from Edenhope College left before dawn to make their way across the state to Wodonga to begin the Great Victorian Bike Ride. For five days the students were committing to waking up at 5:30am, riding their bikes all day, camping in tents, battling sunburn, pouring rain, lightning, dancing to live music, meeting people from all walks of life and enjoying their meals with 2,500 other riders. Our first day was a ride of 74kms to Myrtleford. Students explored the treasures of the antique shop whilst Isabel found a meringue to enjoy from the local bakery. Then finding another lolly shop, the students enjoyed a sweet treat despite the rain. The girls rode out the following morning to Wangaratta, again in the pouring rain. Other schools went out of their way to commend our students on their safety and respect to other riders and route officials, especially in trying weather conditions. As we rolled into camp the sun came out and the washing was hung out to dry. With some time to spare students explored the local town and then enjoyed a show at the cinemas. Tuesday held a 60km loop day back to Wangaratta. It sounded easy on paper but reality gave the students a physical and mental challenge like no other. Climbing 547m elevation over two giant hills amidst 20mm of rainfall was a tough challenge for the early morning. 

Isabel Bourne, Kate McDonnell and Taewyn Brennan deserve a medal for the resilience, determination and grit they showed on this day. Not a single complaint, smiles in the face of the challenge and the buzz of accomplishment at the finish line. Our final day riding towards Mansfield was 113km of yet more rain, but also finally a bit of sunshine! Riding our of camp at 6:40am, the girls zoomed along the route and went from sopping wet to warm and dry as the weather gave us whiplash. Kate in particular was a saving grace for some other school groups this day, helping change tyres and riding with younger riders who were finding it tough. 

This ride truly brings out the best in our students and teaches them more than they realise. The independence, trust, responsibility that they develop goes beyond what they can ever learn in the classroom. Each person on the ride must pull their weight, support and keep one another safe. Our students have discovered that they can push through the most challenging circumstance with mental and physical toughness. They should be so proud of their efforts, attitudes and achievements. A huge thank you to Stawell Secondary College, Jerry Kealy and Trevor McClure who drove many kilometres to get us where we needed to be.

Mrs Morgan Kealy

Energy Breakthrough 2024

Balmoral Community College and Edenhope College again combined together this year to enter a team into the Maryborough Energy Breakthrough.

During the 24 hour endurance race our team completed 434 laps, covering a total distance of 685.72km. Our quickest lap for the weekend during the race was 2.04mins, which is an average speed of 45.79km.

Our team included: Madie McLean, Jordyn Cumerford Te-Ao, Mathew Rees, Ctayah Roberts (Pit crew) from Balmoral and Buzz Brennan, Lolah Joubert, Declan Joubert, Levi Linto, Layla Linto from Edenhope.

We had some extra students in Ivy Linto and Adelle Joubert from Edenhope join in the action by assisting in the pits during the event.

The forecast for the weekend was for high temperatures in the 30’s, which it was for Friday and Saturday, which our team were prepared for, however a change came through bringing rain with it. Saturday evening and Sunday morning had the students riding in the rain, which made it challenging with fogging up of windows and riders getting wet.

Mechanically our trike made it through the race with minimal problems (only one roll over), only needing to change 3 flat tyres, and tweaking the brakes a number of times.

A big thank you to the parents who assisted over the weekend, in the lead up to and following the event. Without your support, this event would be a bigger challenge.

A big shout out to the sponsors for this years trike: Edenhope Butchers, West Currie Consultants, Edenhope Post Office, Edenhope Dine Inn, Balmoral Café and Caravan Park and Manna Support Pty Ltd.

Keiren Brennan