Recreational cyclists can bring a huge tourism and economic boost to regional towns, but road infrastructure must be made safer.
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That's what the Amy Gillett Foundation is pushing for in the wake of big public events like Ballarat's RoadNats, held this weekend, or the Ballarat Cycle Classic later in the month.
Following their successful A Metre Matters campaign, which has led to Victoria becoming the final state to begin enforcing a metre gap between cyclists and other vehicles on the road - the laws will come into effect from April - chief executive Dan Kneipp said the challenge is now changing attitudes towards cyclists.
READ OUR THREE-PART SERIES ON THE AMY GILLETT FOUNDATION'S CAMPAIGN:
One way to help with that is immersive experiences, like getting truck drivers to take a bike ride and see for themselves what cyclists deal with.
The other way is encouraging councils to look at safer road designs, which will attract tourist dollars, he said.
"For us to be able to really promote these events and cycling safety and what it can do for bringing tourism dollars into the area, it helps people who might not be cyclists or who might not understand the safety, they're starting to understand the commercial value of it," Mr Kneipp explained.
"If that's going to help us get more support around the safety, great.
"In Ballarat there's some amazing leadership being shown, but we'd love to see councils doing more - how can they look at their roads to make them safer?
"We want to get it so if a driver or cyclist makes a small mistake, it doesn't lead to a death."
READ MORE: RoadNats boosts Ballarat's economic recovery
The Amy Gillett Foundation was formed in honour of professional cyclist Amy Gillett, who was killed in a road accident while training.
The organisation has strong roots in the area, as Ms Gillett lived in Ballarat and her husband Simon is still in Buninyong.
Mr Kneipp said the foundation had recently completed studies in the Alpine Shire, during Bright's Alpine Classic Cycling Festival, around humanising cyclists, which is key to changing attitudes.
"It was understanding the perceptions of drivers when they're seeing a cyclists, and how we help them understand that person's a mum or dad, or a member of the community, the local pharmacist, the local doctor - seeing them as more than just a person on a bike," he explained.
"There's this us versus them conversation going on, but when I get behind the wheel as a driver and I'm driving along roads that are really badly designed, it makes me nervous.
"You have cyclists who are on-edge, drivers with this culture that not only is it my road but it's badly-designed so they feel nervous and on-edge as well - it's no surprise you have this clash, this tension, and there are ways we can fix that."
That nervous feeling is particularly dangerous, he said.
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"At the moment, the overwhelming majority of our roads are designed with cycling as an afterthought - "let's chuck a line of paint in"," he said.
"A line of paint offers no protection, and it means if a driver isn't paying attention, or if a cyclist has to swerve around a pothole or an open door, you could have a serious injury or a fatality.
"If we can start making better facilities for drivers and cyclists, that's better for both groups."
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