This is a long post, so I've broken it into sections so make it easier to skip to bits that interest, or to remember how far you got when life interrupted reading... Hopefully it doesn't trigger a TL;DR ("Too Long; Didn't Read").
This is the last of the rides, why?
This year's ride was the last of the Ride to Conquer Cancer events benefitting Peter Mac. After four very successful years raising over $17m for Peter Mac, numbers have been gradually declining and Peter Mac have decided to stop while they are on top. At the start of next year they will be announcing new ways to support their cancer research efforts.This may seem surprising to those that have seen large numbers of cyclists and given the amount of money raised. There are many aspects that make this an understandable decision for Peter Mac. The event itself is organised by a global organisation (Causeforce) that runs these events for Cancer Research centres in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They run a good event, well organised, efficient in terms of costs and net returns to the cancer centres and (judging by their website) they have raised over $800m for charitable causes. Contracts are agreed between the research centres and Causeforce and these have performance targets. By signing over to Causeforce, the cancer centres can rely on a professional, dedicated, organisation to run the event for them. However, this does mean losing a degree of control. An example is media coverage, where local knowledge and contacts could enable better engagement but this is handled by the event organisers. From the perspective of a participant, Causeforce provides a workable platform to send emails and track progress, frequent participant support and advice for fundraising, and a high octane, 'show-biz', event at the weekend.
However the numbers speak for themselves, these are the key numbers from the last four years:
- 2012: 1609 riders, $6.2m
- 2013: 1223 riders, $4.3m
- 2014: 1093 riders, $4m
- 2015: 829 riders, $2.96m
You can see from this trend that numbers have been falling each year. I think the drop-off will be influenced by many factors, the first year will tap an unmet demand for participation, for doing something amongst the many touched directly or indirectly by cancer. Each year new people join this group and help to refresh the numbers. The previous year's riders tend to fall away however and the new arrivals don't make up the loss.
Given the brand recognition of Peter Mac and the esteem with which it is held in the public and professional world, they believe that they can look to new ways to raise the donations to the hospital. I am sure they are right.
What participating has meant for me
The decision to recommit each year has been difficult, not so much not for the physical challenge of the weekend itself, I've been lucky enough to be fit and healthy for each event, but for the sustained effort and commitment to asking for donations and to write something meaningful and hopefully readable at a monthly interval.In many ways though, I think I have benefitted personally from the challenge. It is not easy to write about things that are deeply personal. Its not easy to write about people we care about in ways that are respectful, true to their story, and true their role in our story. To share this with many others has made me think more deeply about the people that have meant most to me in my life. All too rarely do we actually tell each other how we really feel. Deciding to ride has given me the incentive to share some of my stories and those around me kind enough to lend me theirs.
For this, I will always be grateful.
Since 2015 is the last ride, this means that I have ridden in all of the Ride to Conquer Cancer events that Peter Mac will hold. I learnt over the weekend that I am one of only 20 people who have been able to do this, and I've only managed this with your support.
For this too, I will always be grateful.
What the ride was like in 2015?
A few days before the ride I saw a post on Strava (the cyclists facebook) from Grant stating that his leg seemed 'OK'. What? Surely he wouldn't miss the ride again this year...A rapid exchange of texts confirmed that on returning from a long-haul business trip, he'd had a prolapsed disc, been scanned, taken serious medical advice, had injections with anti-inflammatories and was on blood thinning agents. All this only days before the event. Thankfully, and probably as much a testament to his stubborn resolve as to the quality of advice and drugs he received, his back and leg didn't impact on his ride in the end.
For me, the build-up for the ride is signalled by two things: the arrival of the ride "pack" including name tags, wristbands and this year's shirt; and the depositing of my overnight bag at Grant's for our non-tenting team accommodation on the Saturday night.
This year the pack pick-up was a narrow window of 3 hours on Friday afternoon or first thing on the ride morning. For many of us this was problematic/impossible. Thankfully Lizzy (another of the magnificent 20) collected the packs for the riders in a typical act of selfless generosity, and got them back to Peter Mac. Grant delivered my pack on Friday night. That meant an hour or two in the evening checking my bike and attaching the two labels for the bike in a way to minimise flapping in the wind (and the risk of leg chaffing from the cross bar mounted label flapping onto your leg a few thousand times). No need to pack extra food and drink with rest stops every 20km along the ride, nevertheless I put a few energy gels in my new ShadeSeeker jersey and some in my overnight bag 'just in case'.
Day 1 - Eurostyle
Grant and I planned to rendezvous at 6am on the Saturday morning, and then ride to the start. This meant a 5am start for me, straight into the cycling gear, a quick bowl of muesli, cup of tea, start the Garmin (GPS computer), and then on the bike.This is what the dawn was like that morning near where Grant and I met:
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| Dawn on Saturday 24 October |
We arrived super early - but that was good as we had to work out how to attach Grant's Cancer Survivor flag to his bike, without damaging the paintwork on his Cannondale Super-Six Evo. All of those riding who are in remission or still fighting cancer, can ride with a yellow flag on their bike. It was 1 year and 6 weeks since Grant was diagnosed with prostate cancer. With the help of his colleagues at Peter Mac, he went through the surgical procedure and made a remarkable recovery and remains in remission. He was registered to ride last year, but had to have the operation (he should make it a magnificent 21 IMO). For very personal reasons Grant was keen to fly the flag from his bike. With the help of the bike maintenance guys, we chopped off the end of pole that was meant to be bolted to the frame, and attached it to the saddle back, seat and seat post. Flag fixing 1.0 was ready for the road.
Once we'd completed the flag attachment, we rode to the pavilion to meet the others.
Here's the 2015 team of riders and a couple of the support team members.
This year we would start from the back of the pack. This would be good, as it gave us a chance to ride along with and chat to the rest of the participants, it was bad as you get cold waiting and shuffling forward, and some ('MH') get a bit frustrated with the delay.
It also means you cross the line and start to ride nearly an hour after the first wave. Still this was never meant to be a race, and I think we had the better experience for being able to be with more of the riders. This was the route for day 1, the elevation profile looks dramatic, but in reality the ride is pretty flat:
Once we'd completed the flag attachment, we rode to the pavilion to meet the others.
Here's the 2015 team of riders and a couple of the support team members.
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| ShadeSeekers and some of the fantastic support crew - 2015 Left to Right: Damien, Mark, Ben, Stephen, Miklos, Me, Michael, Angela, Lizzy, Grant, Donna, Benny |
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| View from the back of the pack |
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| Day 1 Route |
After rolling through the stop-start traffic lights and cones that make up the first few kilometres of these events, we arrived on Beach Road and could start to ride a little more consistently. A group of 4 shade seekers formed a mini-peleton and we rode to the first stop with only the one adventure (flag fixing 1.0 was dressing to the left and at one point, Grant had to stop to pick up the fallen flag). The flag was re-affixed at the next stop, this time with extra tape and a slightly lower pole insertion, and flag fixing 2.0 was good to go (and good for the rest of the ride as it turned out).
We were now settling into a rhythm, we would ride up to groups of fellow participants, encourage them by name (we all had our names on the back of our bike), and if they were a flag bearer, Grant would have a chat. We reached the second stop in good form, here's a picture of my bike and name tag.
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| Come in 1322, your time is up. Notice that only the rear end of the label might flap. You don't want a flapping front end, that can get sore. |
Here we had the only incident of the weekend, Grant had a low (0kmh) speed tumble when clipping in to his pedal on the grass. However the anti-inflammatory and blood thinning agents meant spectacular bruises within minutes. I think it hurt his pride more than his body though.
Once out of the suburbs, the cycling groups petered out and we started to amp up the effort. The headwinds had me pushing hard at front and I was happy enough to have the training session with the Damien and Grant on my wheel (MH had rolled on at the first stop while flag fixing 2.0 was being released). When you're riding at the front into a headwind, it's hard to know how hard the guys behind you are working. You can't hear much except the rush of wind, any gear changes and heavy breathing can only be heard on slower, steeper sections, so I pushed on. After a while, I get locked into an effort level, and pride got in the way of backing off. For some 30 mins I was working hard, with a heart rate around 160bpm and "shut up legs" (Jens Voigt) in my mind. Judging our overtaking manoeuvres on the narrow roads (worse part of the ride), we passed several groups and had at least one rider join us at the back and thank us for the tow at the lunch stop around the 75km mark.
We met up with MH again at lunch - he had nearly finished his selection of the lunchtime goodies and, convincing himself that he wouldn't manage our pace, he decided to ride ahead again. We three refilled our water bottles with sour tasting but good for thirst electrolyte, and refilled our stomachs with our choice of wraps, sandwiches, fruit and nuts.
A few minutes later, we were rolling again, this time on some of the most pleasant roads on the ride. The back way into Mornington is quiet and besides an odd section of rough coated tarmac ('dead' in cycling terms), with completely unnecessary painted rumble strips, the ride to the next stop was pleasant and I managed more self control and rode at a less frantic pace. We decided to roll past the last stop as we intended to ride to the finish and then return to the stop and wait for the other ShadeSeekers.
Here are a few shots from the finish area.
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| Finish area selfie |
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| The names of all who rode in 2015 |
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| My name middle right-hand side |
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| Tent city 2015 |
Having refilled bottles again, we set off back against the flow of finishing riders, retracing our path to the last stop. This caused some confusion amongst the ride volunteers marshalling traffic and a few of the riders. Mostly we heard people suggest that we didn't need to ride back until tomorrow...
Arriving at the last stop, we realised we had nearly missing the best stop of the day. The stop was centred at a winery, the Bluestone Lane Vineyard, and if their wine is as good as their hospitality, it would be very good indeed. A few minutes after Damien, Grant and I arrived, we were joined by Lizzy and Miklos. Both were feeling a bit drained and were keen for a real coffee, so we five had a very civilised coffee in the courtyard. I gave Lizzy one of my gels to give her a boost, and the second gel to Mike. In a lasting gift for the comedians in the group, Lizzy described the gel as the worst thing she'd ever had in her mouth. Once gels were washed down with a coffee, we all headed off for a group photo before riding on to Mornington. Within a few hundred metres of leaving the stop, the route split at a T-junction, with the extra 70km "after-burner" heading off left to do a lap of the peninsula tip, and the shorter "classic" turning right, to head up the hill into Mornington. The hill from the junction was probably the steepest of the day and saw many riders get off and walk their bikes. Lizzy and Mike had already told us to ride on, so we three rode past the Peter Mac support crew at the top of the hill for the third time and onto Mornington.
As we rode into Mornington, we decided to go straight to the house as Grant had to give a talk later at the campsite. We had some interesting diversions when I decided we should follow the Google maps suggestions for cyclists to get to our night's accommodation and got the start 180 degrees wrong. I never knew Mornington had so many cycle paths... Some time later we rolled up to the rented house. Approaching we saw the support crew and some riders on the balcony already enjoying the evening, including the traditional tureen provided by Jennifer Doubell, the Executive Director of the Peter Mac Cancer Foundation.
A shower, a beer, some dips, chips and more than one helping of tureen later, Grant and I were driven back to the campsite by Sarah for the speeches. I had never attended the speeches before, and hearing that this was to be the last of the rides, I wanted to be a part of as much as I could.
As we arrived, Grant met up with Anna - one of his patients from years ago and someone who Grant was very impressed to see so well and riding in the event. Three years ago as a young mother of two, she had melanoma on her bones and had been given one month to live. The innovative steps taken by Grant and his team gave her a remarkable new lease of life, and also led to new discoveries in immunology treatments in cancer therapy. Grant was absolutely delighted to see her again and asked if he could tell her story during his speech.
Grant gave a passionate, personal speech as someone touched by cancer and as a professional cancer researcher. He spoke of Anna and how stories like hers were made possible by the individual's determination and the discoveries of cancer research. He was followed by another inspirational speaker who had overcome several instances of cancer in his life and was fighting another and was riding all four cancer rides this year. This was that kind of event, the stories are real, personal and passionate.
As we arrived, Grant met up with Anna - one of his patients from years ago and someone who Grant was very impressed to see so well and riding in the event. Three years ago as a young mother of two, she had melanoma on her bones and had been given one month to live. The innovative steps taken by Grant and his team gave her a remarkable new lease of life, and also led to new discoveries in immunology treatments in cancer therapy. Grant was absolutely delighted to see her again and asked if he could tell her story during his speech.
Grant gave a passionate, personal speech as someone touched by cancer and as a professional cancer researcher. He spoke of Anna and how stories like hers were made possible by the individual's determination and the discoveries of cancer research. He was followed by another inspirational speaker who had overcome several instances of cancer in his life and was fighting another and was riding all four cancer rides this year. This was that kind of event, the stories are real, personal and passionate.
The organisers praised the teams and individuals who had raised extraordinary amounts of money for the charity this year. One individual had raised over $40k, the Vision Crusaders, who participate in every Australian event (there are four) raise hundreds of thousands every year. Very impressive people.
It was during these speeches that I was surprised to hear that only twenty people had participated in every event for Peter Mac. When I realised one of them was me, I felt humbled and somewhat embarrassed by the attention. It still surprises me that so few have done all four events. My dad suggests I should seek out the other 19 and that we should have a ride every October. I already know 4 of them... :)
Heading back to the house, we had a fantastic meal provided by the Shadeseeker support crew. In the talk over wine and food, the group recognised how important the ride had become to them. David Speakman, Chief Medical Officer for Peter Mac, said that the Melanoma unit was held up by the hospital as an example of how a great team can work together and their sustained participation in the ride was just one example. Earlier in his career at Peter Mac, David had been head of the unit. He still misses it. As the evening progressed, talk shifted to possible rides next year, perhaps a ride just for the group along the Yea to Mansfield disused railway track, with family members too.
Tired and full of good fine and great wine, I crashed out with most of the riders some time after 10. A hardy few (not me!) carried on till later...
That night I rediscovered the perils of shared rooms. I had forgotten just how loud and varied snoring can be... After a light and somewhat broken sleep, we got up at 0530 and started to get ready for day 2.
Here's my Strava date from day 1. Click to to see the details
Here's my Strava date from day 1. Click to to see the details
Day 2 - Bringing it back home
We had a quick and good breakfast with our bleary-eyed team-mates and supporters. Some surprise was expressed at just how many Weetabix I could get in a bowl, and then just how much breakfast I could get in myself. Chains were lubricated, tyres pumped, and at 6:15 with full bottles and stomachs, Grant and I headed back to the campsite so we could start with the rest of the riders. The air was damp and cold at dawn, but we were warned to expect 30+C and strong northerly headwinds as the day progressed.
As we waited at the exit from the camp-site, we saw Anna roll off, so we joined her to ride together through Mornington to the coast road. At Anna's request/suggestion, Grant and I picked up the pace when we hit the coast road as we wanted to catch up the other Shadeseekers who had planned to do Arthurs Seat as well as the rest of the ride. We left Anna with a plan to rendezvous at the stop before lunch or the lunch stop.
The coast road from Mornington to Safety Beach is a beautiful road, rolling along the coast line it offers great views of the coast and Port Philip Bay. However it is narrow road and cyclists and cars can form a bad tempered mix during weekends. Today the road was closed to cars for the morning and we cyclists had a spectacular and safe start to the day with mist rolling across the bay and the sun beginning to break through.
Riding quite hard we caught and overtook several cyclists. One man in a tutu took some time to catch however. That man was Chris, another cancer survivor turned committed cyclist (his target is 500 km per week, he only started riding 11 months ago...). We invited Chris to join us on our Arthurs seat extension and so we three rode to the base of the hill. As we started the ascent, I noticed Ben and Damien ahead of us. Raising my effort level, I pushed on to try and get to the top early enough to photograph them all as they crested the summit.
At one hairpin bend I heard the sound of hard plastic slidding against the tarmac at high speed above me, looking up I saw a leather clad, full helmet wearing, skateboarder flick his board 90 degrees sidewise into a 50kmh skid to lose speed before leaning down and using his gloved hand to balance on the road as he took the hairpin. Another two followed him before their support van (presumably acting as a blocker for other road users) came at the rear. I can only imagine how much adrenaline they would have in them by the time they reached the bottom. I know how much adrenaline they caused me to produce!
Perhaps as a side-effect of the extra adrenaline, but more likely because this was only the second time I'd gone up the front of Arthurs seat, the last one being at 36C after 90km of riding, I set a personal record on the climb and got to the top in time to photograph the others. Here they are as they climb up...
This was the view from the top
And this is the happy group:
A fast (for bikes) descent proved that Chris is a confident descender and that tutus don't slow you down that much and after a short distance we were with the rest of the group again.
We rode on to the stop before lunch at the bottom of the Two Bays Road climb. Checking phones and messages, we decided to ride on to lunch and meet the rest of the team and Anna there. The climb up Two Bays Road is quite steep, and is a favourite training route for a number of the tougher Melbourne cycling groups, but it was the descent that got more riders. As we rode down Overport Road, we saw many cyclists stopping for punctures. It turns out that someone had laid tacks on the road. Its hard to imagine what is in the mind of people who do this. It has become a common occurrence on popular cycle routes, probably a side-effect of social media and copy-cat behaviour. Whatever their mentality (or lack of it), I think we should tag the people laying them "#littlepricks". Thankfully we heard of no injuries on what is a fast descent amongst traffic with frequent roundabouts.
Once down in Frankston we hit the head-wind for real. Adopting a lead swap rhythm with Ben, our group of Shadeseekers plus followers kept a 30kmh+ rate into the lunch break near Mordialloc.
At lunch I finally got in touch with Anna. Her rear derailleur had failed climbing up Two Bays and she was in the sag wagon heading towards the lunch stop. She wasn't certain she would be able to continue. Meantime we heard that Lizzy and Miklos had avoided the loop in the ride and headed straight from breakfast back to Melbourne, they were already at the next (and last) rest stop. Torn, we decided to have lunch and then ride to meet up with Lizzy at the final stop where we would check with Anna again.
Arriving at the stop we met not only with Lizzy but with all bar two of the rest of the ShadeSeekers still riding. Unfortunately I couldn't raise Anna and there was no text message update. However, the Shadeseekers (+ Chris) were now back near full strength, and with instructions from Ben to keep the speed at 24kmh, we rode off in stately fashion.
The last few kms of the second day are tough for most riders, made doubly so on Sunday by hot strong winds blowing pollen and debris from trees and grass. Coughing like smokers, we limped our way through the city to the final climb up St Kilda road before descending to Albert Park where we regrouped (we had been split by lights in the traffic). Under the shade of the next tree, we saw Steve and Miklos waiting. Now at full ShadeSeeker strength, we rode our victory lap around Albert Park heading to the finish.
Every year that we've ridden the event, we've managed to regroup before the end and ride in as a team. This year we adopted a 5 x 2 formation, with our two flag bearers Chris and Grant riding at the front as we crossed the line. A magnificent effort by all.
There are more (yes, even more) photos in my gallery from the ride here: https://goo.gl/photos/kDJrjxvJE7ygEYzQ8
Waiting at the finish, Grant and I start wondering where Anna had got to. I try to call but get voice mail and there are no text messages. Once the ShadeSeeker team had petered out, we rode back to the start of the park victory lap and waited under a tree, cheering on other finishing riders as they went past. Finally we saw the figure of Anna riding towards us. Back on our bikes we hear her tale... her derailleur was not repairable, so the mechanic removed it, shortened her chain and gave her one working gear. Now on a single speed, she had ridden the 30 km from lunch to the finish, into a strong head-wind on her own. The kind mechanic had even given her the derailleur to carry with her. Impressed again by Anna, we rode onto the finish, Grant crossing this time with Anna's hand held in the air, and me following sheepishly behind (they broadcast out your name on the PA system as you cross, even the second time!).
With Anna connected with her family again, Grant and I headed off home, away from the crowds and back to our homes and families. My plans were focused on a good shower, a cold beer and a snooze on the sofa.
I still smile when I think of the weekend.
Here is the Strava data from day two:
And these are the far rarer Shade Seeker jerseys, 2012 and 2014 editions. These can only be worn when two or more Shadeseekers ride together. There are rules you know...
As we waited at the exit from the camp-site, we saw Anna roll off, so we joined her to ride together through Mornington to the coast road. At Anna's request/suggestion, Grant and I picked up the pace when we hit the coast road as we wanted to catch up the other Shadeseekers who had planned to do Arthurs Seat as well as the rest of the ride. We left Anna with a plan to rendezvous at the stop before lunch or the lunch stop.
The coast road from Mornington to Safety Beach is a beautiful road, rolling along the coast line it offers great views of the coast and Port Philip Bay. However it is narrow road and cyclists and cars can form a bad tempered mix during weekends. Today the road was closed to cars for the morning and we cyclists had a spectacular and safe start to the day with mist rolling across the bay and the sun beginning to break through.
Riding quite hard we caught and overtook several cyclists. One man in a tutu took some time to catch however. That man was Chris, another cancer survivor turned committed cyclist (his target is 500 km per week, he only started riding 11 months ago...). We invited Chris to join us on our Arthurs seat extension and so we three rode to the base of the hill. As we started the ascent, I noticed Ben and Damien ahead of us. Raising my effort level, I pushed on to try and get to the top early enough to photograph them all as they crested the summit.
At one hairpin bend I heard the sound of hard plastic slidding against the tarmac at high speed above me, looking up I saw a leather clad, full helmet wearing, skateboarder flick his board 90 degrees sidewise into a 50kmh skid to lose speed before leaning down and using his gloved hand to balance on the road as he took the hairpin. Another two followed him before their support van (presumably acting as a blocker for other road users) came at the rear. I can only imagine how much adrenaline they would have in them by the time they reached the bottom. I know how much adrenaline they caused me to produce!
Perhaps as a side-effect of the extra adrenaline, but more likely because this was only the second time I'd gone up the front of Arthurs seat, the last one being at 36C after 90km of riding, I set a personal record on the climb and got to the top in time to photograph the others. Here they are as they climb up...
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| Ben |
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| Chris and Grant |
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| Damien |
This was the view from the top
And this is the happy group:
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| Left to right: Ben, Grant, Chris, John, Damien |
A fast (for bikes) descent proved that Chris is a confident descender and that tutus don't slow you down that much and after a short distance we were with the rest of the group again.
We rode on to the stop before lunch at the bottom of the Two Bays Road climb. Checking phones and messages, we decided to ride on to lunch and meet the rest of the team and Anna there. The climb up Two Bays Road is quite steep, and is a favourite training route for a number of the tougher Melbourne cycling groups, but it was the descent that got more riders. As we rode down Overport Road, we saw many cyclists stopping for punctures. It turns out that someone had laid tacks on the road. Its hard to imagine what is in the mind of people who do this. It has become a common occurrence on popular cycle routes, probably a side-effect of social media and copy-cat behaviour. Whatever their mentality (or lack of it), I think we should tag the people laying them "#littlepricks". Thankfully we heard of no injuries on what is a fast descent amongst traffic with frequent roundabouts.
Once down in Frankston we hit the head-wind for real. Adopting a lead swap rhythm with Ben, our group of Shadeseekers plus followers kept a 30kmh+ rate into the lunch break near Mordialloc.
At lunch I finally got in touch with Anna. Her rear derailleur had failed climbing up Two Bays and she was in the sag wagon heading towards the lunch stop. She wasn't certain she would be able to continue. Meantime we heard that Lizzy and Miklos had avoided the loop in the ride and headed straight from breakfast back to Melbourne, they were already at the next (and last) rest stop. Torn, we decided to have lunch and then ride to meet up with Lizzy at the final stop where we would check with Anna again.
Arriving at the stop we met not only with Lizzy but with all bar two of the rest of the ShadeSeekers still riding. Unfortunately I couldn't raise Anna and there was no text message update. However, the Shadeseekers (+ Chris) were now back near full strength, and with instructions from Ben to keep the speed at 24kmh, we rode off in stately fashion.
The last few kms of the second day are tough for most riders, made doubly so on Sunday by hot strong winds blowing pollen and debris from trees and grass. Coughing like smokers, we limped our way through the city to the final climb up St Kilda road before descending to Albert Park where we regrouped (we had been split by lights in the traffic). Under the shade of the next tree, we saw Steve and Miklos waiting. Now at full ShadeSeeker strength, we rode our victory lap around Albert Park heading to the finish.
Every year that we've ridden the event, we've managed to regroup before the end and ride in as a team. This year we adopted a 5 x 2 formation, with our two flag bearers Chris and Grant riding at the front as we crossed the line. A magnificent effort by all.
There are more (yes, even more) photos in my gallery from the ride here: https://goo.gl/photos/kDJrjxvJE7ygEYzQ8
Waiting at the finish, Grant and I start wondering where Anna had got to. I try to call but get voice mail and there are no text messages. Once the ShadeSeeker team had petered out, we rode back to the start of the park victory lap and waited under a tree, cheering on other finishing riders as they went past. Finally we saw the figure of Anna riding towards us. Back on our bikes we hear her tale... her derailleur was not repairable, so the mechanic removed it, shortened her chain and gave her one working gear. Now on a single speed, she had ridden the 30 km from lunch to the finish, into a strong head-wind on her own. The kind mechanic had even given her the derailleur to carry with her. Impressed again by Anna, we rode onto the finish, Grant crossing this time with Anna's hand held in the air, and me following sheepishly behind (they broadcast out your name on the PA system as you cross, even the second time!).
With Anna connected with her family again, Grant and I headed off home, away from the crowds and back to our homes and families. My plans were focused on a good shower, a cold beer and a snooze on the sofa.
I still smile when I think of the weekend.
Here is the Strava data from day two:
The Jersey Collection
These are the official ride jerseys from 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. |
| Ride to Conquer Cancer - One of 20 Complete Jersey Collections 2012-2015 |
And these are the far rarer Shade Seeker jerseys, 2012 and 2014 editions. These can only be worn when two or more Shadeseekers ride together. There are rules you know...
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| ShadeSeekers 2014 Design (B) Left, 2012 Design (B) Right |
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| Shade Seekers 2014 Design (F) Left, 2012 Design (F) Right |
What's next?
I don't honestly know. These rides and the passage of time that they have marked have been quite extraordinary for me. On the one hand I'm not sure if I want to challenge myself with something like this again next year, on the other hand I think I'll miss it if I don't. There is talk of the "Tour de Cure" but that's in another league of fundraising and time commitment.
Meantime I plan to keep up the riding, I have some big rides planned in November, and I'm doing the Three Peaks Falls Creek ride again next March. If nothing else, these four years have certainly got me hooked into cycling!
Thanks again for your support.
John.
