Wagga's famous Gears 'n Beers festival set to return to our streets this weekend

The iconic riding and craft beer festival returned in March after two years of cancellations, and organisers Wollundry Rotary are making final preparations for the event to return to it's annual October weekend slot.

Set to run this Saturday and Sunday, the event is expected to draw in many visitors with more than 1,500 riders already registered and more expected in the coming days.

The weekend will kick off with a 40km ride along the Wiradjuri Trail around Wagga on the Saturday, followed by a beer festival at Victory Memorial Gardens by the lagoon.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Sunday features several rides with the biggest, the 'Dirty 130' taking off at 7am, but riders are reminded daylight savings also starts Sunday, making it effectively an hour earlier.

"This is the marquee ride," organiser Phil McIntosh said.

"As the name suggests, it is predominantly on dirt laneways to the north of Wagga and Coolamon."

There is also a more family friendly 10km ride which kicks off at 10am and travels through the Wiraduri wetlands and Bidgee Strawberries where children can receive a free ice-cream.

The main craft beer festival will run from 11am on Sunday at the Victory Memorial Gardens with about 14 food vendors and brewers on site along with live music.

The event features many off-road rides and Mr McIntosh said it attracts gravel riders from across southeastern Australia.

"We attract people from Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and all points in between," Mr McIntosh.

"There's a really strong gravel cycling fraternity in Wagga, but it's also seen a massive growth across Australia and it's these people we're attracting for this festival."

Mr McIntosh said in the past this influx of visiting riders saw $1.9 million flow into the Wagga economy over the October long weekend.

He said the purpose of the event is to give riders time to take in the scenery and enjoy the experience.

"The cyclists will ride through many farms with canola and wheat fields and this is an experience in itself," he said.

"It's pretty spectacular out there right now."

With blue skies and minimal rain forecast for the weekend, Mr McIntosh hoping for great riding conditions.

"We're expecting the weather to be reasonably clear between now and the weekend," he said.

"But we will be watching some of the creeks and crossings very carefully and hope that the levels will fall before Sunday."

Run by Wollundry Rotary in conjunction with the other Wagga Rotary groups and Coolamon Rotary, rider registrations are donated to a range of local charities.

"All the registration money is donated to multiple charities in and around Wagga," Mr McIntosh said.

"It's important that it's a community event giving back to the town on a number of levels, not just economically, but also for the charitable benefit."

For more information or to register, go to: www.gearsandbeers.org.au

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: