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.
One year ago, working bicycles did not exist in Yarralin — a tiny Indigenous community in the Northern Territory, connected only by miles of treacherous dirt road in one of the most remote corners of Australia.
But now, the bike club that started with one teacher's love of cycling and a nationwide call-out for donations, has transformed an entire town and captured the hearts of nearly every resident.
"Everyone can't wait to ride the bikes," 10-year-old Olivia Rankin says.
Eager students race to school
For years, Wesley Campbell's job as the supervisor of the Remote School Attendance Strategy was a herculean task.
A traditional owner of Yarralin, he is tasked with getting up early and rallying students to school in a bid to buck a record of low school attendance in the Northern Territory's remotest schools.
Education Department figures show some remote schools' attendance rates were as low as 14 per cent in 2019.
"It was a bit hard before, some of the kids didn't want to come to school because they [wanted to stay home] for video games, YouTube, and TikTok," Mr Campbell said.
"Monday to Friday now, they are here before me.
Love of cycling transforms Yarralin
When Dennis Dean moved to Yarralin to take up a teaching position last year he brought a collection of bikes with him and let the kids have free rein.
"They rode them morning, recess, lunch and after school – but they soon fell into disrepair quite quickly from being used so much and I realised I needed a new cohort of bikes," he said.
"It was overwhelming to keep up with them."
An email was sent out across Australia asking for donations, and in December three crates full of bikes arrived from Queenscliff, Victoria.
In order to galvanise students into school, inspire culture and exercise, and keep the bikes in good condition, Mr Dean devised a plan and began regular races and Friday rides out bush to the billabong to catch turtles and collect crocodile eggs.
It is a town-wide effort with everyone from parents to the police joining in, and a Troopy or two trailing the pack to pick up any stragglers.
"Last week we did time trials and a 12-kilometre ride out into the country," he said.
"We're making time within the school curriculum for bikes, and the kids love it."
He said the tangible benefits were difficult to measure in the classroom, but he has found they have helped him build positive relationships.
"Community teaching can be pretty tough and this is one way of establishing and maintaining really good relationships," he said.
"They see you as somebody doing something for them as individuals and for the community."
At almost 70, Mr Dean picked up a bike for the first time just two years ago.
Previously a runner, he said he had worn out his body and after two hip replacements he needed a way to regain fitness.
Now he is the fittest he has been in 40 years and he has high hopes that regular physical activity will make a difference in a region where Indigenous people experience disproportionately high levels of health issues.
'A really good relationship'
Despite the challenging terrain and the searing Top End heat, local police officer Franco Pellerano Munoz is a regular on the outings.
He said seeing police in a different and positive setting was having widespread benefits in the community, where across the Territory officers can be met with reluctance and distrust.
"We have a really good relationship with the kids, they all know us by name and come to the car when we're driving around and ask us to put the lights on, but the bike rides have helped build even more trust," he said.
"Being able to go to someone's house for a job and the kids already know who you are takes the edge away, knowing that 'oh this is Franco who's coming in and I know him because he goes on the bike rides'."
School principal, Zoe Richardson, said Yarralin's transformation over the past few months had been profound.
"From the get go we linked behaviour and attendance to the use of the bikes, so if students had great attendance during the week and their behaviour was on par then we would have a big bike ride on a Friday," she said.
"Ever since we've started doing that our attendance here at the school has been absolutely fantastic because the enthusiasm and desire to use the bikes is so overwhelming in the kids.
"It's a chance for them to explore their country. We've been out on 10km, 12km rides, and they are getting to see places that are very special to them."
