2003 Pedal Prix

The 2003 Pedal Prix team at Murray Bridge

One of the most eagerly anticipated events in the senior school calendar is the annual 24 hour International Pedal Prix at Murray Bridge. Happy Valley School has entered at least one vehicle in this event since 1996. This year Pedal Prix was held on 20th-21st September, and our school entered two vehicles, The Valley Viper and The Valley Vortex.

Kim Wilson

A great deal of effort goes into organizing Pedal Prix every year. The weekend at Murray Bridge is the culmination of many activities that are planned by the Pedal Prix Committee throughout the entire school year. Meetings, fund-raising events, fitness programmes, vehicle education and vehicle maintenance are all part of the programme. Then there are uniforms to organize, rosters to be drawn up, local businesses to be approached for donations and hundreds of other tasks. Much of the work load and stress is borne by the Parent Coordinator. This year the task was very capably performed by Kim Wilson who was supported by a hard-working and energetic committee.

One of the most important tasks during the year was to prepare the cars. The Pedal Prix Committee expected students to be involved in the development of the vehicles. By doing this, it was hoped that students would feel a much greater ownership of what pedal prix was all about. To achieve this, students were rostered to attend technical evenings in the shed so that they would have a better appreciation and understand of the inner workings of the vehicles.

Another vital task was to ensure that the student's level of fitness was sufficient to cope with the demands of a 24 hour pedal prix race. For months leading up to the event, students attended early morning fitness sessions as well as weekend training at Mitsubishi.

Right: Phys. Ed. teacher, Scott Francis explains the first activity of early morning training to the Pedal Prix team members.

In addition, there was "Terry's Tour." Named after Terry Merrett who conceived the plan, it consisted of a gruelling bike ride through the rugged Kuitpo Forest in mid winter. Plenty of mud, deep puddles and tough challenging bike riding !

Above: Scenes from Kuitpo Forest training day on 28th July

The programme not only prepared the students for the physical challenges ahead, but also provided a wonderful opportunity for both students and parents to work together for a common goal. Team-work and cooperation are the two important ingredients in mounting a successful pedal prix campaign. During 2003, the students and parents of Valley Viper and Valley Vortex had plenty of both.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

2003 Pedal Prix in full swing

Students involved in 2003 Pedal Prix
Greg Abroe	Rhiannon Andrews	Daniel Brown
Steve Brown	Nick Boath	Alex Bulley
Amy Cotterill	Cameron Dennert	Thomas Dennert
Kyle Ellis-Adamson	Beth Excell	Ashley Gade
Scott Goldfinch	Emma Hillman	Kieran Hirlam
Louise Jesshope	Simon Karran	Chris Knoblauch
Luke Marah	Alex McDonald	Josh Merritt
Samantha Mills	Sam Pater	David Sargent
Tyson Slattery	Britt Smale	Elliott Smith
Rhiannon Stagg	Trent Spacie	Alex Spackman
Kim Wilson	Tegan Wilson	Sam Wright

More Pedal Prix Photos Click on thumbnail to view full size photograph and enter our special Pedal Prix photo gallery
Kuitpo	All rugged up	Ready to go

Terry's Tour	Winter morning	This is the life!

Mitsubishi training	Getting the feel	Timing

Familiarization	Murray Bridge practice	Driver change

Practice run	Ready to go	Parental escort

Parents settle in	Final instructions	The team

Take it out !	Tension mounts	Start

Under way at last	Pit stop	Go Viper !

Behind the scenes	Vortex	Another lap

Happy Valley Pits	Down the straight	Go Vortex !

Please Note: All of the photographs featured on this page, and in the Photo Gallery are available on CD from the school. The CD contains over 200 high resolution digital photos of Race Weekend plus training sessions at Kuitpo Forest, Mitsubishi and Murray Bridge. All money raised from the sale of the CD goes towards the Pedal Prix Programme.