You’re a convert. E-bikes are fun after all; you put a teeny bit of oomph into the pedal and the bike gently kicks off like a trusty old horse. The staff at the bike hire place in Bright had run through how they work and after exactly three pedals, you wondered what you had been so worried about – this is fun.

You’ve got your copy of the Bright & Surrounds Cycle Guide and, having already ridden the Bright to Wandi Shared Path, decide to ride to Porepunkah on the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, and maybe even the Great Valley Trail if you’re feeling up to it.

“I can’t believe there’s over 150km of connecting bike path out here,” you shout over your shoulder to the others who are laughing along behind you.

“Did you hear the guy in the store say you can ride all the way from Harrietville to Wangaratta on this path, or even up to Beechworth and Yackandandah? And there are wineries along the way!”

“Unbelievable. This has to be the best place to ride a bike in the whole country!”

You pass the Bright Museum at the Old Railway Station and head up an avenue of trees adorned with candle-like purple flowers. You jump off briefly to cross the Great Alpine Road (one of the few road crossings along the trail) and then cruise down the back way past the golf course and over a long bridge high above the Ovens River, where stopping to stare at the running water is mandatory. A group of kayakers float by underneath you.

You’re in Porepunkah before you know it, and oh, how convenient, there’s the Rail Trail Cafe. You’re feeling very ‘cyclist’ as your group sits in the cafe garden sipping your Cappuccinos and Lattes.

"I wonder if that was a kayaking tour we saw before," you say to the others. "That would be a cool thing to do."

A local at the next table overhears you and confirms that kayaking tours run on the river. You get to chatting. His name is Pete.

“You can also go paddle boarding or canoeing on the lakes,” he says. "Or the same tour guides will take you rock climbing, abseiling and caving."

You chat for a while about things to do in Bright and soon you realise the day is escaping and you won’t have time to keep riding toward Myrtleford.

“Ahhh, that’s a shame,” says Pete. “A bunch of us are heading up to a great Italian woodfired pizza place in Myrtleford tonight. You’re all welcome to join us – the more the merrier.”

That has set your mouth watering. Should you kick-on with the locals? Or should you head home to prepare for a kayaking adventure on the Ovens River?

Decisions, decisions. What will you choose?