Rain, hail or shine: Mark Dockrill will be saddling up again for Bupa Around the Bay next month. Picture: Ted Kloszynski
MARK Dockrill laughs when he's asked whether riding hundreds of kilometres around Melbourne ever gets any easier.
"It's always a tough one; it depends on the conditions," the Chadstone resident says.
"Once you've done it as well, you know what you're in for and you just take it in your stride."
This will be the 19th year that Mr Dockrill, 47, will be taking part in Bupa Around the Bay.
For him, it's an annual social event he does with his mates.
"We don't treat it as a race," he says.
"We take our time. We take all day to do it. We stop and have coffee at different shops. One year when it was hot, we stopped and had a beer in Frankston. We just ride around and chat the whole way and talk crap.
"It's just a fun day — it's a great ride."
The event is one that Mr Dockrill is determined to finish regardless of rain, hail or shine.
"If the bike fell in half one year, I'd probably just go into a bike shop and buy a $50 bike and finish it. That's just part of the attitude.
"I won't continue if I'm going to do long-term damage to myself but I've done it some years with shoulder injuries and things like that. You have to nurse yourself along but because we're not racing, you can."
Like with any serious physical event, recovery is painful. He's normally sore for the next few days but there are some perks.
"We generally have pizza and beers afterwards but that's probably not a great idea," he says, laughing. He encouraged residents to take part in the ride.
"It's a great sense of achievement."
He had some advice for new riders.
"If you haven't done it before, do some long rides. It's really two rides in one.
"Take your time and enjoy it. Don't try and set a record time — do that later on, get it under your belt first and then work out what you want to do later."