F2-Day 7: Meningie to (R)Adelaide

We are DONE!! 

As I write, I'm sitting here at one of our favourite little cafes in Adelaide - Hey Jupiter. They do a smashing baked eggs with mushrooms and pancetta...and great coffee. I'm solo.

It's kinda weird when you are suddenly alone after living in VERY close proximity to 3 other blokes for a week. I'm really happy with what we've achieved, I'm stoked at the week we've had, the laughs, the extraordinary camaraderie that riding over 1,000kms builds, no...reinforces, and I'd do it all again in a heart beat. I'm a little sad that it's at least 12 months until the gang reunites. I'm super excited to see my awesome family later tonight.

Yesterday, our final leg, started out like the last 3 days: headwinds; straight flat roads, and the entire group formation rolling out. The winds soon turned to a nasty cross wind (coming from the right) so the more experienced riders fanned out on the right and hugged the centre line of the road in order to protect the other riders from the wind. 

At kilometre 45 we hit the Murray River and the necessary river barge across. This was a quick opportunity to fuel up, fill water bottles and consider the next 50k to Strathalbyn. It had been a fairly slow old trip so far and when you are going too slow, it's hard to get the weight distribution right on the bike. Frankly, I was getting sore in the saddle region.

So with about 25k until Strathalbyn and 9k from Langhorne Creek, I made a move off the front. 5 guys followed including all of Team Bravien, Thomas and Bindy Pete. BINDY PETE...BOOM!! 

We pretty quickly hit it up to 45kmh and then  settled in. We were beautifully echeloned across the road, each taking a 1,000m turn on the front at about 40kmh. It was so good to get the pressure off the seat and onto the pedals - even though it was a lot harder on the legs and lungs - especially as we were finally starting to experience some lumps in the road! We eased off through Langhorne Creek "Neutral Zone" and then with 18k to our lunch spot at Strathalbyn we followed the same routine, fanned out pulling nice strong turns...until...at 7k to go GT and AZ popped. 

So we were down to 4 and in order to keep the pace high we reduced the turns to 500m each. Heading just over a little rise, with a gust of cross-headwind, Mitch and Bindy Pete (who, to his absolute credit, was flying and never missed a turn until he blew) popped. This left me and Thomas to charge home the final 3.5k - Thomas was deep in the red zone but he stayed the course into town - chapeau!

After a coke and a banana (my last of the Tour), and with the whole group back together, we headed off for the last real part of the ride - 35k to Sterling in the Adelaide hills.

It was finally a chance to gain some vert and it wasn't long before the road went up, gradually at first with 3-4% inclines, then sections of 6.5%. I love this sort of climbing and within one kilometre a lead group of 8 formed, again including all of Team Bravien, Ray, Thomas, Steve Fort and Dice (our only international star all the way from Japan to ride the full Wheel Classic for Future2)!!

Dice had been struggling a little with the pace on the flats and his bunch riding had been a little choppy - but oh boy - he came ALIVE in the hills.

Mitch (the powerhouse of the flat lands and multi-Ironman - as in like NINE full and EIGHTEEN 70.3s) is a lover...full stop. He is not a lover of the hills... and dropped the wheel early. AZed stayed behind to keep him company (so he says). Steve managed another 2k as Ray and I took turns setting tempo on the front and then that was him out. That left 5 to take on the remaining 25-odd kilometres to Sterling.

Dice was in his element but never pulled a turn; Thomas was steady anything under 400 watts but as soon as I gave it a little squirt he was dangling like yo-yo; Ray was in the hurt box but kept tempo; and GT was riding smart on the back and climbing like an angel. With 4k till the KOM (King of the Mountains) at Sterling, and me on the front keeping the pace solid, GT sensed the weakness of our companions and launched a beautifully timed surge on a 6% gradient. I immediately followed his wheel and he put in a very solid 300m. This created an unassailable gap that was never again challenged. GT flicked the elbow for me to come through and I took us to the KOM some 3.5k later.

Massive ups to GT who rode that last stretch with panache whilst redlining all the way. Totally maxxxxed 'em and victory for Team Bravien. (OK OK, maybe a little excited about the only hill we rode in 1,100k but still, you should have seen it!).

Within minutes we were lying on the grass, sipping beer and waiting for the enormously strung out peleton. Good times indeed!! See the ride here.

And that, as they say, was that. A gentle downhill roll to our final destination in Adelaide's CBD and we were done.

Thank you all so very much for being interested, reading, watching the vids and showing your generous support by donating to this great cause - Future2 Foundation's Make a Difference Program. We've raised over $125,000 so far and still counting. 

Come back to watch the video of the last day [click here] in a couple of days. My editing brain is puffed!! 

A couple of footnotes:

1. We arrived at the Adelaide Convention Centre to the wild applause of over 500 delegates attending the opening function of the FPA National Congress. Team Bravien was awarded the highest team fundraising - so again, thank you and especially to the generosity and kindness shown by friends, family, AMP staff and the clients of Bravien Financial...you have all made a BIG difference.

2. On a separate note, I was this morning named ACT Certified Financial Planner of the year in the FPA's Best Practice awards - a real credit to our whole team and great recognition of our hard work we do for our clients and in the community at large.

3. I will always, if given the chance, do the exploding chocolate pudding for dessert!!

F2-Day 6: Kingston S.E. to Meningie

Possibly THE most boring day on the bike EVA! I don't think there was one intersection, turn, change in direction, hill or descent between leaving Kingston SE and getting to within 2 streets of the caravan park at Meningie. Basically we broke into groups from the get go and our mob rode 10km turns on the front in 2 by 2 formation for 145kms.

So what I can tell you is this:

1. There's a freakin' MASSIVE lobster at Kingston SE...

2. Salt Creek has a servo with German back-packers serving OK coffee and toasted sambos, and contains some "interesting" hunting and fishing photos, magazines and signage.

3. AZed looks awesome in a pair of antlers. (BTW: who wouldn't mix Jim Beam, cross bows, rifles, fishing rods and People magazine?)

4. When you type Meningie into your phone it tries to auto-correct to: Meningitis - you be the judge.

5. I had 2 views today:
a. Ray's butt...

b. ...and the long, straight, flat, boring road ahead...

6. Mitchie and I are so strong on the front and if you watch the video below - you'll see us in the wind, dragging the front group the last 22k into town and then Mitch leading me out for a 60km/h sprint kick for me to take the town limit. No biggie.

7. Meningie Hotel does a magnificent American Chicken Schnitie.

See the ride here and the video here!
Last day tomorrow...Adelaide here we come.

F2-Day 5: Mount Gambier to Kingston S.E.

One of the things that's so very nice about this sort of tour is the camaraderie, silly stories and giggling like school girls until all hours. To be frank, most of the content is not repeatable - boys telling tall tales and egging one another on to get the biggest laugh. So it was a latish (lad-ish) night but once I was out - I was out like a light. Over 600kms in a week will do that to you!

Mout Gambier: Blue Lake Tourist Park 

The first wake up was about 5.50am, which is almost exactly half an hour before I've been waking up this tour...I blame the cross border 1/2 hour time difference. Mitchie was up and at 'em and made everyone a lovely cup of tea. Then we smashed the hedgehogs and finger buns he picked up at the bakery the night before...and then it was off to actual breakfast for muesli, and THE WORST yeast extract spread ever on bread with cheese. Basically, this spread tastes like you've coated your tongue with a beef stock cube straight out of the foil wrapper. But, we are hungry and there's 180k in front of us so beef it up boys - and beef it we did!

After the standard briefing it was a day to form back into groups and roll this 180k to Kingston S.E. (we've never found out what the S.E. actually is). Quite frankly the ride was uneventful - long, straight, flat roads with nothing to see along the way due to the coastal scrub. It was smooth and fluid turns up front though with me, Mitch and Ray pulling turns for about the first 70k and then Thomas finally deciding to join in. Big kudos to AZed, GT, Rog and Bindy Pete who hung on well in the cross winds as speeds often hit 38-40kmh.

At the halfway point we hit Beachport and managed to find a great little cafe. SCONE TIME!!! Coffee, coke and general refuelling. GT was a bit busted so he missed the jetty shots. : (

The Raptor at Beachport

After about a 40 minute refuel and photo sesison we got rolling again as poor Ray was getting anxious. He HATES stopping and so we've been encouraging him to relax, enjoy the cycle-tourism style of this charity ride (did I mention you can still donate here!) and generally smell the roses. Apparently stopping makes his chest get cold...so we put him in the sun!

Pretty quickly the pace was back up to 35kmh and despite the lack of scenery on the road - the riding was smooth and really enjoyable as the front four took turns rolling over so cohesively.

Two things had to happen sooner or later:

1. Someone at the back was going to pop, and
2. The attack for the Kingston S.E. town limit was going to erupt.

The former happened at 150k when GT's little engine said no more. We eased up to get him  within 7k of home, protected from the wind. This set the tone for the finish and Ray made the first move at 6.5k to go. The attack was non-violent but only Thomas and I had the legs to go with him. At the left hand corner I was in front and got a gap, I pushed on and Ray made a big effort to jump back across the gap and onto my back wheel as we headed up an incline into a block headwind.

We gapped Thomas and took fast racing turns as we entered the last 3k...then a hiccup - we had no idea where we were going! So we stopped while I loaded up the Garmin map which allowed Thomas to rejoin - and so as soon as the map loaded, we attacked him again straight away. He made a great effort to get back on but then some race cunning from me forced him into a rookie error and he went to the front. (As T-Bird always taught me - never put your nose into the wind until you see the finish line!)

As soon as Thomas got that lactate build up in the legs, he flicked the elbow (indicating he wanted someone to come through and work) I gave him 50 more metres, saw the falter and then I attacked with Ray on my wheel. Down to 2 again with about 1.8k to go and it was clear our back way into town meant no sign to sprint for. So with a tail wind for the first time in days, I called a silver coloured car (about 200m up the road) the finish - Ray agreed - as you do at 45+kmh - and it was GO! Ray didn't have the legs so another pay day for Team Bravien and we carried home the chocolates!!

Great times...and a brilliant ride by all. See the ride here...

Once we were all in, the teamwork began immediately - Mitch got food, I washed all the bikes and water bottles, AZ washed the clothes/kit, and Tiffy...ummm...Tiffy did ummmm, OK he did stuff all as usual!

I went down to cool the legs off in the water - it was surprising mild - and no Great Whites!! YAY!! Here's the vid on Vimeo...

P.S: Shari and Mitch had a snuggle!!

F2-Day 4: Portland to Mount Gambier

Last night it blew a gale and at 5am it absolutely bucketed down. Wet roads normally means no roll for me - but on this tour, there is no choice! It was not looking good for a sunny day and it was abundantly clear that it was going to be another big headwind all day! Cold, windy and intermittent showers were on the menu. Oh well, 1 out of 7 ain't too bad...and it was only 108k so by this week's standards, short.

Now before we left, Mitchie had to right a small indiscretion from Geelong - so being brought up a good boy, he sent a card...

As we set off, it was actually sunny patches peeking through the clouds, but I was very glad of the rain vest, neck warmer, fleecy arm warmers and knee warmers. Oh, and you NEVER wear white socks on a day like this...unless you want grey ones afterwards.

I decided it was not a day for video but some arty (?) photos instead.

At the 45km mark, after only copping one 5-minute rain episode (but enough to make the bike filthy), we hit the halfway point from Melbourne to Adelaide, so it was appropriate to stop and take a photo to mark the occasion. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, among thousands of acres of pine plantations and a few small groups of emus.

The Official Half Way Point between Melbourne and Adelaide

Now the next stop was Nelson and it looked like the only thing there was a very bog ordinary servo. GT, Mitchie, AZed and I thought "C'MON - THERE MUST BE MORE" so we ducked down the only side street in town and managed to find a local who pointed us towards the Nelson Kiosk whereby we were assured that "they have the best coffee in town". 

To our absolute amazement, he was true to his word and the coffee was good. As an added bonus we scored the most delightful and delicious waffles nearly EVER! They were old school round ones and plump with fillings of a) ham, cheese and pineapple and b) roast beef and cheese. WINNING! And, we backed it up with a perfectly tasty bert & ernie (bacon and egg roll). 

Team Bravien had a fairly lengthy stop and so the rest of the group had rolled on and was in front. We powered the next 5k to the South Australian border for the obligatory tourist shot. And not long after we bumped into a couple of Korean tourists riding from Adelaide to Brisbane self supported, which of course is a brilliant opportunity for a selfie! Kudos to them! (Note Mitchie's location in the shot dear reader!)

And from there it was only 32 to Mount Gambier, and since we had gained half an hour at the border, we had plenty of time to fight the last of the head wind and arrive into town by 12.30pm. I really wanted to get some extra training in and to see some actually vertical metres so I did a few extras in the form of hill reps up and down to Blue Lake until the elevation gain said 1,000m. See the ride here.

Shari was good enough to drive us into town after a clean up for coffee, banana and berry smoothies (which were AWESOME), and I had a rather scrummy lemon tea cake with vanilla ice-cream. Gotta love long rides for eating whatever the hell you want!!

Tomorrow is a big 180k so it's an early night for all. Dinner was at the local RSL.

Thanks for reading and BE AWESOME: make a tax deductible donation to Future2 here!!

F2-Day 3: Port Campbell to Portland

Day 3 served up another 165k and some great scenery around the Great Ocean Road. We were expecting crosswinds and rain, however it was actually (mostly) tailwinds and no rain - HOORAY for Victorian weather (well, in this case!!)

Due to the forecast and the accident yesterday Roger and Ray gave a *frowny face* safety briefing before we set off at 8.30am. It must have worked - there were no incidents today except delightful rolling along the coastline.

My job today was to concentrate on video footage of the whole group and take as many shots as possible.

Anyway...about 5k in - there was a "small" incident. In AZed's words: "Within about 5km, I got a flat rear tyre, and had to change the actual tyre as well as the tube. The rest of the group kept going to make the most of the day, so that left 4 of us to chase for about 15km to catch up. That got the heart rate going for the start of the day! With views like this and being out of metropolitan areas, this was perfect riding."

Now whilst it was "perfect riding", the facts are not quite correct dear reader. The truth of the matter is that all but 5 of the group rolled on - whilst yours truly and 4 others, ducked down a small lane road just ahead of the tyre changers, to a scenic 12 Apostles lookout, where I cracked out the GoPro and took some awesome shots!! So before the tyre changers (including 75% of Team Bravien) got going, I had to perform my own chase to the main group and dragged the 4 others with me. 

Needless to say that when, at the end of the day, Mitch, GT and AZed discovered said amazing shots, there was some commotion and consternation and calls about "team" etc etc!! Imagine how good it would have been if they were all there...but alas.

And then, Frank, the professional photographer travelling with us got another awesome shot of me chasing onto the group!! GOLD boys - GOLD!! Considering how blurry that background is, and how fast Frank's shutter speed was, damn I must have been moving!!!

After the regroup we stayed together for the entire day and averaged just over 30km/h. That's extremely good for a group like this. 64km down in the first 2 hours, and we rolled into Port Fairy around lunchtime after about 90km.

With only 70km to go from Port Fairy, we stayed together until the last 5k when the inevitable "reorganisation" happened for the town limit sprint into Portland. I tried to drag Dave Carney with me from Team Invest Blue to get him the win, but his legs could just not hold out.

Team Bravien on the front!

GT With his guns out...

There was a pinch of a hill about 1km from the finish so I gave it a good monstering and put another one in the bag for Team Bravien!! Gerard was there to provide some assistance to the back markers.

Compared to yesterday, we covered the same distance with all riders half an hour quicker – that’s the difference the wind can make. The legs are feeling good...but my butt was SORE! Riding at a slower pace puts a lot more pressure on your seated area because you are not pushing the pedals as hard. This is fine for short rides, but when it goes to 5 or so hours in the saddle, butt and shoulders get sore...See the ride here!

A little footnote from AZed: "we took [Gerard's brand new Trek Domane 6.9 with disc brakes] that was having a mechanical problem up the street to a shop with a big sign outside that said Bikes and Accessories. As we walked in, we realised we might be in the wrong place for what we needed. The guy running the shop asked what the problem was, took a brief look, then told us he knew more about fishing gear than bikes. We suggested he might want to change the sign out the front to Fishing Tackle."