Colac cyclist Luke Rowe says participating in the Port Campbell to Warrnambool handicap race and joining the Colac Cycling Club might not have happened if it wasn’t for a surfing accident.
The Geelong-based rider was a keen cyclist in his younger years but gave away the sport to focus on playing mainstream sports like football and cricket.
During his football and cricket career in the Geelong area, surfing became a major part of Rowe’s life, but an accident which “blew his knee out” caused Rowe to find something else to do.
And it was Rowe’s childhood sport of cycling that reached out to him.
Rowe’s Colac connections run deep with the long-time Colac Cycling Club members David and George O’Dwyer relations to Rowe.
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Where To Buy“I raced as a junior in Geelong up until I was 18, then I went back and played footy and cricket until I was about 35 down here in Geelong,” he said.
“In that time, I was surfing, and I had a really bad surfing accident and blew my knee out.
“But I had a couple of family members that were cyclists at Colac and they asked me to jump back on the bike and have a ride, and I have been there for probably two years now riding and have really enjoyed it.”
The 42-year-old currently rides with the Colac and Colac Veterans cycling clubs, and this weekend will be the first time Rowe has competed in a major road handicap since being 17 years old.
“The last time I rode a major road handicap was probably about 25 years ago and that would have been the Melbourne to Ballarat when I was 17,” he said.
“My preparation has been not too bad, I own my own business as a bricklayer, so I don’t have the time to train as much as other people, but I do enough.”
Rowe said he had set no expectation on where he was aiming to finish on the weekend but instead wanted to enjoy the relaxation cycling gives you.
“For me it is not about winning or losing it is about competing and having a mental break from everything else and being out on your bike kind of gives you that, break from work and the stresses of life and that is why I do it,” he said.
“I think people these days need to take a stock on things and if you are competing in a sporting event at 42 it is a good thing that people are involved.
“For me it is really good to get to represent Colac Cycling Club at events like this.”