The Tailem Bend resident made a promise several years ago to ride from Adelaide to Melbourne when he turned 80.

Little did he know his family was keen to see him keep the promise as they presented him with a new 21-speed bicycle for his birthday in March.

Mr Woolcock warmed up for the trip with a few short rides, covering the Adelaide to Mount Barker, Mount Barker to Callington and Callington to Coomandook legs of his trip in the months leading up to his major trek.

He set out for Melbourne from Coomandook on September 22 and rode about 600 kilometres over the next 12 days.

“It wasn’t really hard work because I’ve never had a bike this good before,” he said.

“It’s so easy to ride with 21 speeds.”

With wife Elsie following with the couple’s camper van, Mr Woodcock wound his way through freeways and country roads, at one stage covering 81km in a single day.

Despite the arduous odyssey, he said his body held up well with only the odd twinge in his knee and hip to remind him of the scale of his journey.

“I didn’t ride the whole way though, I did a bit of walking - some of the hills got the better of me,” he said.

The only setbacks he suffered were a flat tyre near Ararat and some wasted miles when he hit Melbourne and had difficulty finding a caravan park.

Even though the trip was a success, Mrs Woolcock said her husband would need to find a new offsider if he planned any more trips.

“He’ll be doing it by himself if he wants to go again,” she joked.