Newsletter No 80 - 10 January 2026
Posted 09 January 2026
In this edition:
- Team Registrations NOW Open.
- Dates for the 39th M2M - 2026.
- Get Your Team Organised. How to Register !
- HILAC Accommodation in Hamilton.
- Have you Booked your Accommodation !
- M2M Ride Options. Night, Day and Hamilton to Port Fairy.
- On Route Catering Options: Preliminary.
- Nominate a member of your Team for the Graham Woodrup Awards.
- Winners Instant Energy Gels for Cyclists - Super Promotion.
- Participant Prizes for 2026.
Dates for 2026:
- M2M - Saturday 28 March & Sunday 29 March 2026
- Easter - Good Friday: 3 April, 2026.
- Easter - Easter Sunday: 5 April, 2026.
- Easter - Easter Monday: 6 April, 2026.
- Victorian School Holidays Start - Tuesday 7 April and end - Sunday 19 April, 2026.
We always avoid the Easter Break and next year Daylight Savings ends on the same date as Easter Sunday - Sun 5 April. This is why the M2M will be on the last weekend of March.
Team Captains: How to Register:
Team Registration Portal is NOW Open. Team Managers will need to Register the Team and then yourself as Team Manager. You will also create a Team Registration Password that you send around (email) to your other team members, so they can Register and Join your Team. As Team Manager - You will also receive a Team Manager Password (So you can login in and check to see how the other members of the team are registering).
Do I have to register if I am a Team Volunteer or Support Crew?
Yes, it is important that we know who all of our volunteers are, for several reasons:
To make sure we have all of your contact details correct so we can get in touch with you and update you on news and safety issues leading up to the event.
Most importantly - our insurer and the Police & Emergency Services require we have the necessary information in the case of an emergency.
Finally, it assists the M2M organsiation to ensure we have the safest possible environment for our Teams and Support Crews.
Team Captains - Book Your Accommodation:
Its important Team Captains get organised and start to book accommodation on the river. The 2026 M2M will be conducted the week before Easter and the school holidays. NOTE: Daylight Savings commences on Easter Sunday Morning.
Hamilton Accommodation:
We will be offering accommodation in Hamilton at the HILAC Centre (Opposite the Hamilton Showgrounds). If Teams wish to stay at HILAC - you will be asked to indicate this when you Register your Team. Team Captains will need to pay the $2:00 per team member when they arrive at the HILAC Center !
The Hamilton Lions Club will be offering Egg & Bacon Rolls for breakfast at the entrance to HILAC and Barista Coffee will be available from 5:30 am.
If you have your own accommodation in Hamilton, you will indicate — “We Have our Own Accommodation” when you register your Team.
Participants:How to Register as a Member of a Team.
(Riders & Team Support Crews)
To register as a member of a team, (Riders - Support Crew) you will need to use the Team Password provided to you by your Team Captain, using the “Participant” Tag at the top of the M2M Website - Welcome Page.
You will need to enter your details and nominate a person to contact in the event of an emergency. We do ask for any particular medical issues as a precaution and all your details are kept strictly private and destroyed following the event. To complete your registration, you need to use a Credit Card to pay for the registration.
Under 17 years of Age:
If you are aged between 15 years and 17 years on 27 March 2026, you can only register if your parents have also registered to participate in the event. This is required to meet our obligations under to “Child Safe Protocol”
M2M Start Locations:
We are continuing with the 2 Start points at Mildura and Echuca. We would encourage teams to consider starting in Mildura next year if you have not been there before. Mildura offers a great variety of accommodation options, its a vibrant city and offers great hospitality and tourist options along the Mighty Murray ! One team always stays at the Mildura Grand Hotel for a couple of nights and another team always rents a houseboat for a night and have a meal of pasta and pizza - while getting ready for the ride. So why not have a mini-break for a few days in Mildura before the M2M event.
Ride Options:
Night Ride: 520kms - The traditional event, as it has been for the last 39 years. Relay, riding Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Registration Fee: $120 per person (including support crew)
Day Timers: 250 - 300kms - Relay Saturday until dusk, Mildura Route (near Horsham) or Echuca Route (near Stawell) and then you transport your team to Hamilton for the night. Some teams use this option to enable them to get a longer sleep in preparation for the 90 kilometers to Port Fairy on Sunday morning. This is a great option if you wish to avoid having to ride into Hamilton at night. Some teams prefer an earlier evening or a counter meal in Hamilton after a long day in the saddle.
Registration Fee: $120 per person (including support crew).
Sunday Striders: 90kms - Relay from Hamilton to Port Fairy on Sunday.
Registration Fee: $60 per person (including support crew).
On Route Catering Options:
Some of these Details and Menus will be confirmed in the February Edition.
Mildura to Hamilton Route:
Mildura - Irymple IGA (Start) - Coffee & Bakery Breakfast Options.
Compulsory Stop - Warracknabeal - BP Road House - 20 to 30 minute Stop.
Hamilton Lions Club - Breakfast (Eggs & Bacon Rolls) - Barista Coffee - Available at the HILAC Center - near front entrance - Available from 5:30am.
Echuca to Hamilton Route:
Echuca Port Discovery Center (Start) - Rapid Relief Organisation - Breakfast Options - donation appreciated.
Compulsory Stop - Stawell - Woolworths Supermarket Carpark - 20 to 30 minute Stop. The Rural Aussies for Refugees (RAR), Grampians/Gariwerd are providing a BBQ Plus Drinks and Coffee.
Hamilton Lions Club - Breakfast (Eggs & Bacon Rolls) - Barista Coffee - Available at the HILAC Center - near front entrance - Available from 5:30am.
Hamilton to Port Fairy: (1 Route via Penshurst & Hawkesdale)
Hawkesdale - Optional Morning Tea Stop at the Moyne Shire Service Centre. Home Made Country Style Cakes, Scones and Slices + Tea & Coffee / Toilets etc. Gold Coin Donation.
(Provided by Hawkesdale CERT - Critical Emergency Response Team - Volunteer Emergency Responders).
Port Fairy Railway Place Finish: Rotary BBQ plus Barista Coffee.
Please Note: Its important Team Captains get organised and start to book accommodation on the river as the Easter Holidays are looming and people are on the move at that time of year. In addition its also important to recruit your riders and encourage new riders to have a go at the M2M.
Your Teams Milestones:
If you have some special dates coming up for the 2026 M2M - Please email us and we can include it into our forthcoming Newsletters and or recognise the milestone at the M2M Presentation.
Sonic Animal Repeller - Sonic Shoo Whistle for Kangaroos:
Graham Woodrup Memorial Award:
Each year 'The Graham Woodrup Memorial Award' is made to recognised a special contributor to the ethos of Graham and the M2M Cycle Relay.
The award is presented to someone who has displayed 'exceptional effort and inspiration' to others in the course of his/her team's involvement with the Murray to Moyne, In memory of 'Woody'. In addition we present Award Certificates that recognise many other forms of contribution !
Why not nominate someone for the “Woody Award”!
Please check out the M2M Website: To see the exact Nomination Criteria.
Follow the Link: https://murraytomoyne.com.au/woodrupaward.php
Closing Date: Monday 2 March 2026. Send Nominations to admin@murraytomoyne.com.au
Sponsor of the M2M Team Prize:
Winners Instant Energy Bars & Gels for Cyclists - Buy online:
Look online for latest SPECIALS
Winners Gels with Proven Benefits:
- Buying sports nutrition can be confronting. Long words, new concepts, complex science and contradictory messages can confuse.
- Our starting point is to deliver products with proven benefits that will help you perform.
- Gels & Chews – to provide instant energy to top up your bodies’ limited carbohydrate stores.
- Bars – Whole grains such as oats and wheat provide slow release energy. This is why they form the basis of our sustained energy bars.
- Electrolytes – minerals such as sodium, potassium and magnesium replace what is lost when you sweat.
- Made in Australia.
Winners Links to posts are below:
We are currently running our Energy Bar Bonanza (48 Energy Bars for $70).
The promotion will end on 22 Jan 2026
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Winners.Cycling/posts/pfbid02Q3Z5DWUbwGanxZzS1K7amWy7m3xr6y8mTqxqdkMAdWzJkHauw2nT2bHetC4mdFiql
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTMnP8FDit_/
Participant Prizes:
These Participant Prizes will be selected by randomly selecting Participant Names using their M2M Registration No at the M2M Committee Meeting on the Tuesday before the 2026 M2M. You have to be Registered to win it !
- Hearns Port Fairy Accommodation Package:
- Langleys Port Fairy / Warrnambool Accommodation Package:
- Port Fairy Big 4 Holiday Park 1:
- Port Fairy Big 4 Holiday Park 2:
- Winners – Gels & Bars Team Pack:
The Murray to Moyne Cycle Relay is organised by a Committee of 12 volunteers, who for the last 38 years have put together this pioneering and unique event. Where else can you ride from one side of the State to the other in 24 hours in safety.
Where else can you ride from the Mighty Murray River, through a stunning landscape and arriving at Australia Felix and the Western Victorian Coastal Town of Port Fairy.
Over 100 Volunteers help us to conduct the M2M - These include our special Motor Cycle Marshall’s, Corner Marshall’s, First Aid Officers, Ride Officials, Ground Crews in Hamilton & Port Fairy. We could not run this event without these volunteers !
All funds raised by the M2M are donated to Health Related Charities in 3 States.
The event continues Graham Woodrup or Woody's dream of getting more people to realise the fabulous health and social benefits of riding a bike and using your talents to help people.
In the spirit of our founder - Cycling Marathon Man - Graham (Woody) Woodrup.
We wish to thank all of our 2026 event sponsors for their support and generosity.
Sponsors: Lane Transport - Killarney, Westvic Staffing Solutions, KFC - Bird Group, Big 4 Port Fairy Caravan Park, Rebecca's Cafe & Ice Creamery, Port Fairy Electrics, Langley's Accommodation, Hearn's Port Fairy Accommodation.
Inkind Sponsors: Winners Sports Nutrition Bars & Gels - Team Prize Pack, Warrnambool Toyota, Norton Motor Group, Callaghan Motors, Warrnambool Auto Group, Clinton Baulch Motor Group - Nissan, Kia, Isuzu UTE, Chery, JAC Motors, McLaren - Hunt Financial Group. Taits Legal, G & M Auto Electrics, Warrnambool Sheet Metal. Steve Gray - Sign Writing, Hamilton Indoor Leisure and Aquatic Centre (HILAC).
M2M Supporters: Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Moyne Shire, Moyne Health Service, TechInsight Web Services, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Victoria Police.
