Cycle into Tour de Moray!

By Edward McLeish

Southbankers can pedal into spring and try out the newly upgraded Moray St bike corridor as part of a six-week everyday riding festival.

The City of Port Phillip will launch the inaugural Tour de Moray festival on October 16, with a free breakfast at South Melbourne Market on National Ride2Work Day.

City of Port Phillip Mayor Dick Gross said he hoped the event would encourage riders to take to the road.

“Bike riding is a fantastic way to get around and Moray St’s recently upgraded bike lane and Victoria’s first protected roundabouts are a great example of the user-friendly bike corridors we want across Port Phillip to encourage riders of all ages and abilities,” Cr Gross said.

“You don’t have to be super fit or lycra-clad to enjoy riding around our beautiful city.”

The recent bike lane upgrades in Moray St include fully separated bike lanes from City Rd, Southbank and Victoria’s first protected roundabouts, which provide cyclists with a more practical bike route from Albert Park to the CBD.

The upgrades were delivered in 2018 in partnership with Rail Projects Victoria as part of the Metro Tunnel Project.

In addition to the breakfast launch, one of the features of Tour de Moray is the free Bike Scavenger Hunt on October 26.

There’ll be pop ups and freebies looping around South Melbourne, guided bike tours of the Tour de Moray route, rickshaw rides for non-cyclists, family activities hubs at South Melbourne Town Hall and Emerald Hill Library, and free food at South Melbourne Market and Albert Park Lake.

Tour de Moray also features a bike story time, bike-themed book display and local history exhibit at the Emerald Hill Library, free bike tune-ups from Back2Bikes and bike confidence courses, concluding with a shop-by-bike day at South Melbourne Market on November 23.

All events are free except for the bike confidence courses, which have a small cost and require bookings.

portphillip.vic.gov.au/festival-everyday-riding.htm