F2-Day 0: Melbourne Town

Well here we are again! The 2014 Wheel Classic is ON and Team Bravien is rolling from Melbourne to Adelaide to raise funds for the Future2 Foundation. 7 days, 1,100km and aiming to raise $100,000. 

WAIT!...already smashed it...!! 

As I write, not a pedal has been turned in anger, and we've hit $112,000 and counting...great result for the foundation, which will use the funds to give grants of up to $10,000 to disadvantaged young people in order to help them establish a project, build a community and break the cycle of welfare...it's very cool.

I packed the steed up this morning, which is always a nerve wracking experience. All the foam, bubble wrap and love in the world won't save a few millimetres of rather expensive carbon frame from an angry baggage handler. It could be busted spokes, a broken rear derailleur or who knows what? Never-the-less, unlike my France experience last year, all arrived safe, on time and in one piece...phew!

My weapon of choice for this ride is the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 running 40mm carbon Roval rims and S-Works 700x24mm Turbos. Steered by 3T carbon Team Ergonova bars and powered with Dura-ace 9000. (Did I lose you?)

Veloci-Raptor (/vɨˈlɒsɨræptər/; meaning 'swift seizer' is his name. And when it comes to bike racing - that means seizer of opportunity and victory. Velo: French for bicycle.

The Raptor

As Lockheed Martin says: "The combination of stealth, speed, agility, precision and situational awareness, combined with unbelievable combat capabilities, makes The Raptor the best overall fighter in the world today". Can't argue with that!

Melbourne provided the perfect opportunity for a pre-ride caffeine tune up - check; a spot of retail therapy - check; and a catch up with old friends and new at the pre-ride briefing - check. About half the crew are back for more from previous years and half are brand new fresh meat...they are in for a treat.

I'm really looking forward to the ride tomorrow around Port Phillip Bay to Sorrento and then onto the ferry across the bay for the final 40kms to Geelong. It's a total of around 140km for Day 1 so a tasty little entree and no mucking around. Much like my dinner actually - a delicious home made pasta with lamb ragu, just sublime and the perfect pre-ride carbo load...

I'll introduce the Team Bravien crew as we go - suffice to say that me, Gerard, Mitch and AZed are raring to go and ride we will...like lions! 

I'll also provide a link to each day's ride - today's was an epic 650m in order to test the bike assembly - view the ride here!! (Gerard, true to his standard form, had me assemble his steed too, and test ride it! That's OK because we had awesome phone support from George at Bike Culture in Canberra).

And finally, I'll be posting links to video of our daily adventures - the night before is HERE.

If you haven't had the chance to donate a couple of dollars to this brilliant cause, please click here, because the more support we have, the better the opportunities will be to help out young Aussies.

Sleep tight y'all for tomorrow we roll!