Two cycling enthusiasts have set off on a 620-kilometre journey to relive the adventures of early explorers Hamilton Hume and William Hovell.
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The Explorers Bike Ride 2024 kicked off in Albury at 7am on Monday, January 1, for a trip that will end at Werribee, Victoria, tracking Hume and Hovell's epic trip.
In 1824 NSW governor Thomas Brisbane commissioned Hume and Hovell to lead an expedition to find new grazing land in the south of the colony, an adventure that led them to the bottom end of Victoria.
The pair financed the expedition themselves with some government assistance, with Brisbane supporting but not financing the expedition.
The first stop for Albury retirees James Brodie and Mike Frey, in following the footsteps of the explorers' trip 200 years later, was a memorial plaque at Murray Arts Museum Albury, formerly the Albury Town Hall.
The long ride is the brainchild of longtime Albury and District Historical Society member Peter Harper who is hoping the ride might attract more adventurous people who share an interest in our colonial past.
When he was exploring the movements of Hume and Hovell in NSW two years ago, he decided to research their journey in Victoria.
"During COVID ... we found the Hume and Hovell track north of Albury," he said.
"I thought, well what's in Victoria? And then I found there were 38 monuments that were built at the 1924 centenary of the Hume and Hovell expedition there.
"This ride tracks those and is a carefully planned out journey.
"They're special routes that I've worked out. It's taken a lot of reconnaissance trips - the routes are all in the website that shows you everything about the ride."
"Each stage involves about four hours of riding a day. You can camp at the end of each stage or motel accommodation is available in some of the towns."
The ride can be done in several stages with an app designed to show the way through GPS mapping.
"The ride is open for the year, it ends in November, the bicentenary of Hume and Hovell's journey," Mr Haper said.
"I'm a bit surprised James and Mike chose to do it now in the heat, I was expecting people to show interest in autumn."
Mr Harper said Mr Brodie and Mr Frey expected to take six to seven days to complete the journey.
"For them it is a camping adventure," he said. "They have said to me that they're not taking a whole lot of food because they plan to have meals along the way.
"For instance, tonight they will be at Yackandandah at the camping ground there, which would be walking distance to the two pubs there."
Registering for the Explorers Bike Ride 2024 is free, with an option to make a donation to the Albury and District Historical Society, part of which will go towards digitally archiving historical documents, records and newspapers.
