February 07, 2018 0 Comments
Sydney to Brisbane 2018 1000KM Cycle Challenge for suicide prevention charity RUOK?
Today's ride was in the slick black kit of our sponsor Senex. So if there was going to be a cloudy and wet day then probably just as well it was today.
After yesterday's exertions, we were a little groggy first thing and were slow getting on the road. Our luxurious accommodation afforded us all mod cons, including a microwave to ensure we were once again powered by porridge. We reloaded the truck and finally hit the road about 08:00.
The early KM's were easy cruising along. Our best mate the tailwind had our back once again following his brief desertion yesterday. We were flying along the long flat sections at 30kmph with just 120W of power.
The main event of the morning occurred as we were riding along the shoulder of the highway just south of Kempsey, when the shoulder suddenly disappeared without warning. We were forced onto the gravel where one of us instantly punctured. A hole big enough to put your finger through was found in the tyre. Thankfully our support vehicle was on the scene in no time and we were able to swap the tyre and tube and get on the road again.
After 40KM or so we stopped for 2nd breakfast at the "servo" (highway services). We spent a little too much time here enjoying the fine dining options. By the time we headed out the weather had caught up with us. Grey clouds were overhead and the first few raindrops of the week started to fall.
As we headed off again we soon found our rhythm and were making steady progress. However, this was interrupted by the sight of a huge gorilla at the side of the road, which was a photo opportunity we could not turn down.
We were soon moving again, but this time the heavens opened and we got a proper soaking. We had an idea to take the tourist drive route and tag on a few extra KM's of the sceneic countryside. In the event though, with soaking wet chamois, we decide to head to our hotel via the quickest route possible so we could change out of our wet gear.
The only thing that stood between us and a relatively uneventful day was a bollard. With under 1km to go, we had hopped on to the cycleway that brought us into Nambucca Heads. A perfectly usable cycleway is ruined by the addition of a series of seemingly pointless concrete bollards. Sadly one of us decided to play chicken with one of the bollards, and not surprisingly the bollard held its nerve. All good though, the bike has a scrape but should make a full recovery.
Our full ride details are here on Strava.
So we are past halfway now and over the humpday. Technically, it's all downhill from here. Tomorrow's planned route is only 90KM so we will try and smash that early in the day and take advantage of a decent recovery period in the afternoon, to set us up for the final stages of our push towards the Gold Coast. For now though we will just have to make do with this view....
Please help us reach our fundraising target of $10,000 by donating at our Everyday Hero page. Thank you.
In loving memory of our lost friend Ed Skuza.
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