A track trial for Human Powered Vehicles was conducted on the roadway around the Dimboola Recreation Reserve on Sunday.

Tony Davidson from Road RAGE and Matt McLoughlin from Holy Trinity Lutheran School in Horsham co-ordinated the event which provided local members of their teams a chance to get in some practice and to test out the track to determine its suitability as a venue for a race meeting.


Each rider had a 50-minute stint in one of the vehicles, travelling around the recreation reserve on a circuit of just over a kilometre. Orianna Panozzo from Horsham is seen above in the pink racing HPV.

These Human Powered Vehicles (HPVs) are small pedal-powered vehicles, in which a rider sits horizontally. Weighing around thirty kilograms, the vehicles are made of carbon fibre and Kevlar. On an open road they can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour, while races are usually a bit slower - a bit over 80 kilometres an hour.

The pink HPV used at Dimboola is ready for a race in Melbourne in two weeks' time, while the grey vehicle was being used solely for training purposes.

There are a number of competitions held around the country in both school and recreational settings.

Below - riders from Holy Trinity in Horsham took to the track in Dimboola on Sunday, including Harry Hollaway Orianna Panozzo, Jarrod Morrow, Shannon Wedding, and Sophie Pipkorn.


Sunday's trial attracted a number of interested locals, including Hindmarsh Shire Council Mayor Deb Nelson who expressed the Shire's keenness to see this venue host HPV race meetings in the future.

Road RAGE (Ride Against Greenhouse Emissions) is a team of 142 riders from all over Victoria and South Australia, along with some members from Queensland and even Cambodia. Local secondary school student Shannon Wedding, who attends Holy Trinity in Horsham, is one of the racers. A number of Horsham-based students also participated in this weekend's trial.

Rode RAGE also established G Trikes to provide high quality, low cost trikes and parts to make it easier for schools with limited budgets to participate in the sport.

Below - A map of the trial track around the Recreation Reserve