Great Victorian Bike Ride

Great Victorian Bike Ride
Riders stretch along the Great Ocean Road near Port Campbell on the 2009 Great Vic.
Genre	Non-competitive fully supported bicycle touring event
Frequency	Annually in November/December
Location(s)	Victoria
Country	Australian
Inaugurated	1984
Previous event	2016
Attendance	circa 3,000-5,000 per annum
Organised by	Bicycle Network

The Great Victorian Bike Ride (GVBR), commonly known as The Great Vic, is a non-competitive fully supported eight- or nine-day annual bicycle touring event organised by Bicycle Network (BN). The GVBR takes different routes around the countryside of the state of Victoria, Australia each year. The total ride distance is usually in the range of 550 kilometres (340 mi), averaging about 70 kilometres (43 mi) a day excluding the rest day. The ride first ran in 1984, attracting 2,100 riders in what was initially supposed to be a one-off event, but due to its unexpected popularity and success it subsequently became an annual event. The Great Vic typically draws several thousand participants each year, with a record of 8,100 riders in 2004, which makes it one of the world's largest supported bicycle rides.

The Great Victorian Bike Ride is organised as a single annual event usually of nine days duration, taking place during late November and early December, at the start of the Australian summer. Total ride distance is usually between 500 and 600 kilometres (310 and 370 mi). The average daily ride, not including the rest day, is about 70 kilometres (43 mi), although this can range from less than 40 kilometres (25 mi) to more than 110 kilometres (68 mi).

The GVBR is supported and non-competitive, catering to riders of all ages and abilities, from young children to octogenarians, keen racers, fitness enthusiasts, once-a-year cyclists, riders with disabilities, and everyone in between. The oldest riders to participate were two 87-year-old men who did the ride in 2010. While most riders are from Victoria, cyclists from around Australia and the world also come to take part.

The ride is also completed on all manner of bicycles. Most riders use regular road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, and touring bikes of varying standard, quality, and age. Some less typical bikes are also used, including recumbent bikes and tricycles, tandem bikes, folding bicycles, children in bicycle trailers and on trailer bikes, and even occasional unicycles, scooter style footbikes, and custom made bicycles.