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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-10 Daily Xml
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AMY'S RIDE

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (15:39): I rise today to congratulate everyone involved in Amy's Ride last Sunday. More than 3,000 recreational cyclists (and some who fancy themselves as a little bit more professional than that) climbed on their bikes, put on the Lycra and headed down the Southern Expressway which, for that one time a year, is closed to traffic so that the bike riders of South Australia can get out there and raise some funds for road safety.

It is a ride named in honour of Amy Gillett who (as Amy Safe) was a world champion rower for Australia and also rowed at the Olympics; someone I knew quite well in my role as a TV sports journalist and radio journalist back in the nineties. Unfortunately, on 16 July five years ago, Amy was killed in Germany when she and the rest of the Australian women's team were out on a training ride and a car veered across to the wrong side of the road, ran into the bunch and injured several of the riders and fatally injured Amy Gillett.

After her death, there was a great outpouring of grief not only from Amy's family but from the cycling community in general and a sense that there is a lot to be done in terms of sharing the road and getting that cooperation between motorist and cyclist on the road. The Amy Gillett Foundation was formed following Amy's death and several road safety messages have been designed through the Amy Gillett Foundation in cooperation with the South Australian government and other governments around Australia, and also with great organisations like Bicycle SA, which was heavily involved in the well-run event on Sunday and in previous years.

There was on offer a 25-kilometre ride, a 30-kilometre ride, a 60-kilometre ride and a 100-kilometre ride which took people up over Willunga Hill, which is a fairly difficult thing. I actually opted for the self-designed 33-kilometre ride because it ended at my house. It meant that I could then go for a walk and a swim at Port Willunga, and then meet all my mates who did the 100-kilometre ride in the main street of McLaren Vale at Vasarelli's restaurant. I was nice and comfortable and they were in their sweaty lycra. So, anyone who wants to come riding with me next year can end up having a much more comfortable ride.

The thing is that it is all about participation. I would like to thank the many volunteers who were out there on motorbikes, on the side of the road or coming around with pumps and puncture kits to help those who had had a breakdown or a puncture. One couple whom I saw out there with a puncture had arrived in Australia from Canada only last Tuesday or Wednesday. They were keen cyclists. They read about Amy's Ride and they went out and purchased bikes on the Friday and then took part. When I saw them on the side of the road with their punctures, they were still hoping to get up and over Willunga Hill and do the entire 100-kilometre ride.

Thank you very much to the volunteers. Without you these events are not possible and it brought so much fun, enjoyment and a sense of achievement to those 3,000 people who did the ride. The money is still being counted, but it will probably be over $100,000 for the Amy Gillett Foundation. I know Amy's mum and dad, Mary and Denis Safe, work tirelessly in their daughter's memory to try to spread the word. They are in Sydney this week promoting 'A Metre Matters', which was a slogan coined for last year's Amy's Ride and which just alerts motorists to the fact that, when you are overtaking a cyclist, to allow a full metre because you can never be sure.

As someone who rides a bike with very thin tyres, there can be a little pothole, a water meter cap or glass on the road, and you have to avoid those obstacles, and so we do have to move across and out of our line from time to time. If motorists can give us that space as cyclists that is much appreciated. Something I always do when people move over and out of my line is give them a little wave as they go past. When I ride around McLaren Vale, Aldinga and Willunga, I am on a lot of 80 km/h roads and 100 km/h roads, so it is very beneficial and I feel a lot safer when motorists do move over.

To everyone involved and to those who participated, such as people like Corey Wingard from Channel 10 (I saw him out there) and Tim Noonan from the ABC. It is great to see role models in our society setting a good example for people to get out, get fit and get on their bikes. It is a good time of year to do it as summer approaches and, of course, who could wish for a better destination than McLaren Vale.

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