Barefoot with helmets strapped tight, speeding past ageing houses and along dusty red tracks, dodging stray dogs and potholes, the kids revel in cheers from the sidelines.

It is race day in Yarralin, and almost everyone in town has come to watch.

Parents yell encouragement from their fences, one of the local police officers acts as the unofficial timekeeper and the Mayor is there to rally the cyclists across the finish line.

It is a handicap race for all ages and abilities, on donated bikes that are wearing out quickly from overuse.