THE fairies came out to play on the final day of the Great Victorian Bike Ride today.

The fairy weed, that is.

Riders were surprised to be greeted by the weed that appears to be the Australian version of America's famous tumble weed.

It carpeted the road northeast of Carisbrook as cyclists made their way from Maryborough to the rider's end at Castlemaine.

A brisk southerly greeted riders this morning, many of whom hit the road before the official 7am start, eager to finish the ride.

Nine days on the ride does make the heart grow for fonder for houses that don't need to be built each day and beds that don't deflate.

The wind turned from foe to friend today, pushing along riders at a brisk clip to the only rest stop of the day, at Loddon House Caravan Park on the banks of the Loddon River.

From there the ride rolled through gentle hills to what must be one of Australia's prettiest towns, Maldon.

But the with the finish just 18km away, most riders filed Maldon under "must come back one day" and powered on through.

The end of a 590km ride does that to you.

The streets of Castlemaine were organised chaos, with hundreds lining the barricades to greet their loved ones.

Then there where the thousands of bags unloaded from the six luggage semi trailers, cattle trucks to cart bikes back to centres all across Victoria, and bus upon bus to do the same to their riders.

(By the way, 40 semi trailers hit the road each day of the ride, carting everything from luggage, marquees, showers and toilets.)

Bicycle Network Victoria event manager Darren Allen said the event has been well received by riders.

"It has been fantastic and the people have absolutely loved it," he said.

Mr Allen paid tribute to the riders who were forced to endure some tough conditions at times.

"On the hot days, they have dug deep, on the wet days they have dug deep."

He said the most challenging stage was the 100km Barham to Echuca leg where riders endured temperatures over 40C.

"A lot of our volunteers suffered that day as well, which made it tough when many were working until 9pm."

Mr Allen promised next year's ride, which starts in Lakes Entrance and finishes on Phillip Island, would be even better.