Biking the Clutha Gold Rail Trail

Well, we must be the luckiest teachers in the world!! On Friday we had the wonderful pleasure of taking Room 4 on a biking trip. We started at the Lonely Graves (just below Miller's Flat) and cylced the 15km journey alongside the Clutha river until we arrived at Beaumont. The scenery was sensational and the kids were AWESOME!!!

Students had bikes of all sizes, some with gears, some without, and yet they all pedalled their hearts out without a single grizzle. The were cheerful, delightful, and super enthusiastic.

We had an amazing group of adults with our group. They cycled amongst the students, offering encouragment where necessary and keeping the pace at the front and back of the group.

We also had the amazing support of our support driver, Maria, who drove (very slowly) down the Millennium track beside us, carrying lunch boxes, drink bottles, sticking plasters etc.

Check out some of the photos from our amazing day!!

Our first stop was the 'Horse-shoe bend bridge.' We stopped and walked through the paddocks to find the bridge. It was a very flexible suspension bridge and moved as we walked over it. Most of us were brave enough to walk across the bridge.

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 Then it was finally time to get on our bikes and begin our ride. We were very eager to set off so once the bikes were unloaded we were off!!

 We had a few stops along the way so that we could rest our weary legs and refuel our hungry/thirsty bodies. It was nice to sit beside the river and enjoy a picnic lunch. The river-side scenery was MAGIC!!

 Thanks to the heavy rain that fell the night before our trip we had a fabulous big puddle to play in. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to zoom through the muddy puddle.

 The key to success was maintaining momentum so that you didn't have to put your foot down. However, there were many children who went home with soggy socks and soggy sneakers. But - it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!

 There were plenty of people willing to come to the resuce of anyone who got stuck!

 MMMMMmmmm, Mrs O - Do you think you may have picked up the wrong bike???

 When we completed our 15km journey we were rewarded with a play/padde/swim in the Clutha River. We found a terrific wee spot to play in while some of the adults drove back to retrieve the vehicles.

 We had a great time building a damn together.

 It really was the very best way to spend the last Friday of our school year.

We had so much fun, it will be hard to pick a highlight of the day.

 For Mrs May and Mrs O it was the kids, the adults, the scenery, the weather, the cycling, the fresh air, the picnic, the mud puddle, the enthusiasm, the fabulous track, playing beside the river, the amazing sense of achievement, and spending time with our wonderful class before they all go on holiday! :-)

Tell us what your highlights were...