Written by: Kean Fennell
and Tegan Holcroft
Daily Stats
By David “Stinky Dave” Colahan
Distance: 206.3
kilometres
Ride Time: 9:13 hours total, 7:15 hours riding
Ave Speed: 28.5 km/hr
Elevation: 861 m
climbed
Min Temperature: 5C
degrees
Max Temperature: 39C
degrees
We woke from
warm beds and friendly smiles from our billets who had welcomed us into their
homes for the night in Blackwater. They were so generous and went above and
beyond for us once again.
Breakfast was
at Village at Blain where the riders and road crew were in awe of the breakfast
buffet (including the ice-cream for brekkie tradition) which fuelled them for
their massive 206km day ahead on the road.
Road crew,
physios and mechanics were busy before rollout. Some mechanics were seen taking
a hacksaw to bikes for last minute adjustments. Physios were strapping and
patching, catering crew were stocking the vehicles of snacks and lead drivers
were spotted playing basketball in the hall. They were not quite shooting hoops
though, they accidently knocked down an innocent bicycle with their missed
shots (sorry to break the news Pagey, but It was your bike).
Lynlea was
given the honour of ringing the cowbell to send the riders off on their way (11
minutes late). It was unsure if Kevvy was red in the face with anger or red
from sunburn from the day before (he claims he was born that way—our little red
faced gnome!). Once the riders were out of sight, the catering crew had a quick
stop in at maccers to see off Lynlea catering crew then had a quick much needed
stretch session held by the honourable Sharky in the Macca’s carpark. We then a
received a generous donation of pre-made sangas and cakes from the Village on
Blain which fed the riders for lunch later on.
Meanwhile,
The peleton AKA the drought breakers were blessed by the Smiddy gods with
favourable winds throughout the morning.
The mood was high with everyone getting their dancing pants on during water
breaks. They encountered their first cattle grids unscathed with cheers roaring
through the peloeton for Thomas and his achievement.
At this time,
the catering crew were on the road and had a once in a lifetime encounter with
nature. Michelle and Tegan couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw a full
grown wedge-tailed eagle emerge from the grass to begin to take flight. It
would be been 40 metres from the side of the road. This beautiful creature had
a wingspan of almost 3 metres. It took off from the ground and flew directly at
the truck to eyeball the driver as it past over the roof. It was a really cool
moment and something they will never forget.
It was to Tieri
for morning tea where the riders were greeted by Berty beetle’s zinced-up bare
belly followed by the cheers of the Tieri State School who made the peleton
feel like heroes.
In addition
to the usual set up for morning tea, the Highlander Café provided coffees and
scones with Cream and Jam which was a nice surprise for all. Kevvy was also
presented with his doppelganger who was then promoted to be his co-pilot for
the remainder of the day.
The Riders
were then off for another quick 40K stint to lunch where they were once again
presented with kind winds. The Mood was high, knowing there would be another
food stop so soon. Another great spread was put on by the road crew including
freshly made sandwiches.
With only
60KMS to go, the peleton was pushing hard to get into the final destination as
quickly as possible. Once again cheers roared through out every time Thomas
made his way over the tracks. Scott the Proffessor was so excited with only
18KM to go that he joined the Dusty Club at the last water stop. Some were
pushing hard for those legendary Commercial Hotel Cold ones, while some were
pushing hard and hoping for the day to be over as soon as possible. Anthea was
also so overwhelmed to arrive at the Commerial Hotel that she also joined the
dusty club.. The Bottlemart Commercial Hote put on hot food and beers which
topped off a great day.
The Smiddy
huddle was led by Ken Woods And Scott Baum who both shared touching personal
stories for what Smiddy meant to them. Dinner was at the Civic Centre put on by
the wonderful Clermont Community.
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