There are few people who could say they feel as fit and healthy in their 50s as they did in their 20s.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But that is exactly how Spreyton man Mick Munro has described how he and wife Alice feel after rediscovering biking in January 2021.
Since dusting the cobwebs off their bicycles 12 months ago, Mick has lost 30kg and Alice has lost 20kg.
"I'm nearly equally as fit as I ever have been, and getting fitter and stronger all the time," Mick said.
The 56-year-old said he and his wife, 53, started off at the end of 2020 with a plan to get fit by going on long walks together.
That plan was quickly derailed by a sprained ankle which put Mick in a moonboot for a few weeks, though not before they had a chance to go for a walk on the Wild Mersey trails at Latrobe.
"I thought 'stuff it we'll get the bikes out again'," he said.
"We already had the bikes but we hadn't rode them for a couple of years. Alice had a fall and that put her off a bit."
I'm nearly equally as fit as I ever have been, and getting fitter and stronger all the time.
- Mick Munro
The couple's first ride lasted for about five kilometres before Mick, a former enduro and trials motorcyclist and runner, "was absolutely knackered".
Last weekend they rode 100km on the Wild Mersey trails at Kentish.
Mick and Alice are riding e-bikes - mountain bikes with a battery powered pedal-assist function - but that has clearly not hampered their fitness journey.
"The difference is amazing. My resting heartrate now is in the mid-50s. I don't know what it would have been before."
And, he said, his energy levels are through the roof.
As well as almost-daily bike rides, Mick said he and Alice have enough energy to do some maintenance work on the trails they ride - often taking rakes in their van to the trailhead to clear debris from the tracks.
READ MORE:
And though the couple have clearly put in the work over the last year, Mick said it would not have happened were it not for the Wild Mersey trails.
"Definitely wouldn't have done it without the Wild Mersey network," he said.
"We started on the footpath which is alright but its not as much fun. The trails are amazing.
"The builders have done such a good job, and the whole community of mountain bikers is just amazing."
Their children are adult now and often ride with them, but Mick said the trails would have been an incredible asset to have when the family was younger.
The Wild Mersey network has been developed and built by the Kentish and Latrobe councils and opened in stages since 2018.
Latrobe mayor Peter Freshney said the couple's efforts were "incredible".
"I admire people who make a decision to change their lives. And these two people have done just that," Cr Freshney said.
"For council to have played a small role in that, providing recreational facilities, makes me very proud.
"But full credit goes to the couple. That's incredible."
Cr Freshney said the council was waiting to complete some stages of the project, including a suspension bridge across the Mersey River, before actively marketing the trails.
"But even before that we're seeing wonderful benefits for locals and tourists alike.
"We're really looking forward to what the Wild Mersey can do for our community."
"We know that when the infrastructure is in place, that people will ride," Ms Hetherington said.
"That's why we advocate for more safe infrastructure, because of the public health benefits."
Ms Hetherington said while she applauded the Munros' fitness journey on mountain bike trails, people could achieve the same just on sealed cycle paths.
"If we have safe paths in place for people just to travel they can get healthy just by getting about.
Sandy Powell
Court and crime reporter covering the West and North-West of Tasmania for the Advocate.
Court and crime reporter covering the West and North-West of Tasmania for the Advocate.
