Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
Next time you don\u2019t feel like getting out of bed in the morning to exercise, think of Kelvin Chamier.<\/p>\n
On his 96th birthday on Friday, his friends threw him a party at a cafe in Mont Albert in Melbourne\u2019s east, and how did he get there?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The oldest Banyule Bicycle User Group member Kelvin Chamier on his 96th birthday with friends at Churchill cafe, Mont Albert.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Eddie Jim<\/cite><\/p>\n He cycled 15 kilometres from Heidelberg in Melbourne\u2019s north-east, and 15 kilometres home afterwards.<\/p>\n He said he felt well, and it was \u201cjust a starter\u201d distance for him: he cycles up to 100 kilometres a week with his group, the Banyule Bicycle User Group, or BUG, and has done days-long cycle trips with his family.<\/p>\n His 96th birthday party, at Churchill Cafe, was a splendid tour de fork.<\/p>\n There was a cake. A barbershop-style choir called Chordite sang the 1940 song Java Jive<\/em> by the Ink Spots <\/em> and led 25 cyclists (wearing their Banyule BUG jerseys with ladybugs on them) in singing Happy Birthday<\/em>.<\/p>\n Chamier joined Banyule BUG nine years ago at age 87. It was the first cycling group he had ever joined.<\/p>\n Banyule BUG president Peter Gurney said Chamier, who is the oldest member by about 10 years, inspires the group with his zest for life.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s terrific,\u201d Gurney said. \u201cMost people, as they age, they tend to retreat \u2013 men particularly \u2013 into their comfort zone, and don\u2019t take on things that are adventuresome and a little dangerous. But Kelvin does,\u201d Gurney said.<\/p>\n Chamier\u2019s son-in-law, retired emergency physician Robin Endersbee, said Chamier inspired him to join Banyule BUG a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n Kelvin Chamier (right) arrives at Churchill Cafe in Mont Albert after cycling for 15km from Heidelberg.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Eddie Jim<\/cite><\/p>\n Endersbee, 67, has previously been on many long family rides with Chamier, including a 300 kilometre ride from Adelaide to Quorn in South Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s massively fit,\u201d Endersbee says. \u201cHe can out-ride me, and my daughters, who are 26 and 27.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will go on a three-hour bike ride, and we will be flushed, I\u2019ll be needing a break, and he won\u2019t have taken his jacket off.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Chamier exemplified the saying \u201clive before you die\u201d and didn\u2019t wrap himself in cotton wool.<\/p>\n Chamier, a retired engineer, of Eaglemont, bounced back from setbacks that might have caused others to quit.<\/p>\n With help from his friends, Kelvin Chamier, holding his bicycle, at his 96th birthday party in Mont Albert.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Eddie Jim<\/cite><\/p>\n His wife, Gwen, died three years ago.<\/p>\n Soon after, when he rode a non-electric bike, he cracked his pelvis when he fell while getting on his bike in his driveway. But within a month, he was back in the saddle, albeit on an electric model, but he still pedals.<\/p>\n Last month, his bicycle was stolen from the Preston Bunnings store. \u201cIt annoyed me. It didn\u2019t deter me,\u201d Chamier says. \u201cCycling\u2019s so important that I went and bought another one.\u201d<\/p>\n Chamier said you\u2019re only as old as you feel. He feels fit and can\u2019t believe he\u2019s 96.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n