Student Achievement
SRT B2B Ararat practice
17 October
Despite horrendous weather on Thursday 12th October the SRT team safely completed a B2B (Broken Hill to Ballarat) practice run from Ararat to Ballarat in around 5 hours. Our students (6 riders + 8 crew) rode 120km in our newly refurbished ‘B2B’ aero trike. It was a challenging day given the conditions but our students rose to the occasion magnificently! Great initiative was shown when unexpected situations arose and the comradery between all was just a joy to be a part of. We even had a spontaneous visit from very interested Grade 1 & 2 students in Ararat while preparing for departure!
It's been a long and at times frustrating journey in getting the ‘B2B’ trip off the ground and although the 5-day event is to happen in May next year, yesterday was a practice and systems check day to give the students the exposure to a road type experience that we have not done for 14 years. Typical road speeds our students were achieving were around 50-70 km/h in our carbon fibre aero trike designed and built entirely here at Damascus College by the SRT crew. For comparison most average bike riders would travel at 18-25km/h on a similar journey. Big smiles all around when we returned to our SRT Hub, and a great sense of achievement shared by all.
We can’t wait now for next years full journey of B2B when we will be raising money for the Fiona Elsey Foundation in memory of Connor Prunty and will be live broadcasting the entire event to our community. Roll on May 2024!!
Alan Strange and Rachael Beardall
