It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of an Audax legend, one of our Life members and cycling ambassador – Peter Moore.

The club has lost one of our most admired members and our thoughts at this sad time are with Jan and Peter’s extended family.

I am sure those in the club touched by Peter’s kindness and wisdom will be saddened by this news. Peter set the benchmark as an Audax cyclist, a mentor, and above all a true gentleman.

Peter was a man who above all else and despite his milestones, always made time for and was humbled when someone asked him for advice. We can only hope that his legacy of enabling others to achieve is a standard continued by fellow members and others in the cycling community.

Audax Australia Cycling Club has great pleasure in awarding Peter Moore a Life Membership for his outstanding contributions to the Club over many years.
The Audax Australia National President, sends best wishes and is sorry not to be able to be here to present this award in person.

However, it’s has noted that, wherever he is in the cycling world, Peter is surrounded by long-term friends and admirers – an inspiration to all.

The criteria considered when awarding life membership are:

• the member’s length of active membership
• the positions held by that member and for how long
• their history of organising rides
• their history of active riding, and
• finally, their other areas of service to Audax Australia

Life Membership is an honour not often bestowed, and in this case, the evidence of Peter’s merit is unquestionable.
Peter has been an active club member since at least 1991 when he rode his first PBP qualifying ride.
As Victorian and National Calendar Co-ordinator for four years between 1994 and 1998, Peter oversaw a huge expansion in the number of rides on the Audax calendar and introduced many innovations that are still the basis of our calendar today.

• In 1994 the calendar was state based, with the Victorian Calendar consisting of about 50 rides, or enough to fill 3 sheets of A4 paper.
• In 1995 Peter created a national calendar which included all states and totalled about 125 rides.
• By 1997-98 the calendar had grown to almost 230 rides and was almost four times the size of the 1994 calendar. Peter promoted this growth by looking for vacancies and encouraging both old and new ride organisers to fill the gaps.
• In 1997–98 Peter supported the introduction of the Dirt Series for mountain bikes and organised the first edition of an online calendar.

Early Audax Calendars are littered with innovative rides organised by Peter, including:

• 1992 – Divide Dalliance 200 km, a Sunday ride
• 1994 – Melbourne Bikepaths 50/100/200 km, first Melbourne ride on bike paths
• 1995 – Higher and Higher 100 km, first pre-Alpine Classic training ride
• 1999 – Southern Aurora Sydney to Melbourne 1,000 km, pre-dating the recent Sydney to Melbourne 1,200 km by 10 years
• 2009 – 5 To 9 Beats A Day At Work 400 km, Peter’s contribution to a super series in a week

However, Peter is best known for his vision, creation and organisation of the internationally renowned Great Southern Randonnée, with multi-distance rides from 300 –1,200 km. This ride features a classic route around the Bellarine Peninsula, then travels along the Great Ocean Road to the Grampians and back. Peter organised the GSR first in 1998, then again in 2001, 2004 and 2008.

In 1998 a small field of about 15 finished the 1,200, 1,000 and 600 km distances. One of Peter’s innovations was that all the rides were co-ordinated to finish together, so each distance started at a different time. There was a rather high DNF rate though due to it snowing on Lavers Hill! But it was the start of something big.

By the 4th edition of the GSR in 2008, the number of finishers had swelled to over 50, including7 internationals. At the time, this ride set the gold standard for 1,200 km rides in Australia due to the scenic route and excellent support (and for once, good weather!). Peter is held in such high esteem that the ride attracted the best available support volunteers that Audax Victoria had to offer, and was showcased to the world via the humorous live blog run by Simon Watt from Port Campbell. The 2008 GSR presented Audax Australia in a favourable light on the world randonneuring stage. There are many excellent ride reports on the 4th GSR and it received rave reviews from the internationals, ensuring a large contingent from the Northern Hemisphere for the 2012 edition.

Peter is renowned throughout the club as a six time ancien of Paris-Brest-Paris: since 1991 he’s been at every running of the randonneuring world’s oldest and best known 1200 kilometre event. In 2011, twenty years on from his first PBP, Peter finished within 40 minutes of his time in 1991.

Among his long-distance achievements, Peter has completed 1,000 km (or longer) brevets including Perth-Albany- Perth (inaugural ride in 1992), Sydney-Melbourne 1,000 km, London-Edinburgh- London and Vancouver Island 1,000. In 1992, he was a finisher in the first Australian 1,200 km ride.

Other riding achievements include 10 completions of the 200 km Audax Alpine Classic, numerous Fleche Oppeman All Day Trials and all those superseries needed to qualify for PBP.

Peter is proprietor of the iconic Abbotsford Cycles shop in Richmond. His knowledge of cycling is immense, and he is always willing to share. He is a frequent contributor to Checkpoint and his talks at Victorian Club Nights are a highlight – if you want to finish PBP, listen to Peter. Peter provides his shop free of charge for after hours Audax purposes, and for the last 8 years it has been home to every Alpine Classic and Checkpoint mailout and available for numerous Audax meetings. In addition, Abbotsford Cycles offers a discount to Audax members, and the shop supports the Alpine Classic with a presence in Bright every year. Abbotsford Cycles has always advertised in Audax publications, as a quick glance at copies of Checkpoint and the Rides Calendar will confirm.

Peter’s role as a mentor in Audax should not be under underestimated, whether it be advice on lighting systems, ride organisation or even club history.
For example, every PBP year he gives a talk at the Victorian PBP Club Night, passing on his knowledge and experience to newcomers. 
In 1995, Peter organised a pre-PBP training camp in Normandy, booking the accommodation and obtaining information about permanent 200 km routes that were available via Audax UK. All 16 who attended this pre-PBP training camp successfully completed PBP, and one of those who attended first met his wife there.

Peter has “Moore” than fulfilled the stringent requirements required of a Life Member. Please join us in congratulating him.