The riders awoke to the serenity of the Belyando birds and
the wonderful road crew cranking up the BBQ for a hardy breakfast cook up.
It wasn’t long before the riders were ready to roll out and
I took a knee in the dusty corner of the caravan park to say a little pray for
the day on the road. Yes the dusty club was open early for members today.
After the rider brief for the day the awesome Mandy bid us
farewell, by the ringing of Kevi’s 2 million year old cow bell - thankfully the
banner was still rolled up in the bar. It was another cracking morning to be
out on the road and after a gentle roll out it wasn’t long until the peloton
was in full swing again powering to the first comfort and water stop.
During the first morning session Habbo was reporting
mechanical issues with his drive train which turned out to be a cracked link in
his chain. It is said that it was a result of the 15,000 watts he snapped out
the yesterday afternoon in his last ditched effort to steal victory off Joel
and take the Hog Cup victory.
During the early rest stop we were also greeted by Geoff
Ney, a fellow Smiddy rider from last year, who gave up his sleep (after night
shift) and added to the road kill count just to come out and see us.
After a brief refresher the peloton powered on south to
morning tea were they were greeted by a mysterious road crew in the shape of
wonder woman, myrtle the turtle, pink unicorn, yellow ducky’s, goofy and a couple other unknown characters. However
the riders weren’t a bit fazed as there was shade and an awesome array of
treats to be had.
Upon rollout of morning tea we were joined by another fellow
Smiddy rider Aram Drake who came prepared with his bike and strong legs to ride
with us to Clermont. Aram handed over his keys to Killer which gave much relief
to Kevi’s left ear.
Once the road crew had everything packed away myrtle the
turtle gloved up proceeded to put the road crew through their first yoga session of the trip.
The stretch between morning tea was fairly uneventful with
the peloton cruising along to a wide variety of music from myself and Tony. I
know my playlist has surprised a few and I have been taking rests and will be
doing my best over the few days when I have reception to download some Johnny
Cash, ABBA, Celine Dion and Nicki Webster strawberry kisses for Rambo.
After the dull mid-morning period for the riders lunch sure
did turn things up with Joe and John joining the dusty club on entry and Leon
contemplating going under the cattle grid. Once settle we all enjoyed our lunch and well
deserved rest. Some partook in a massage and Cheryl discovered that the further
up the professor’s legs you go the hairier it gets…. Apparently some man
scaping would go astray.
After lunch the peloton rolled out singing we love road crew
and set their focus on the last 380km to Clermont. With the rolling
undulations, weary legs and heads, average road conditions the bunch was
getting a little unsettled so it was up to the young and the old gun to take
control of the peloton and guide us safely to the outskirts of Clermont.
On the edge of town we were greeted by the Clermont Crew and
some spectacular vintage muscle cars that escorted the Smiddy Peloton through
town to the RSL. Once dismounted the riders, road crew and locals joined the
huddle led by fruit bat and yak ….aka Robyn and Shawn Leaver. After the huddle
the entire gang enjoyed a sensational selection of treats put on by Barbara and
Clare.
Oh I nearly forgot, then there is our poor young medic James
sitting out the back away from all the fun….thankfully bored senseless.
Lance
No comments:
Post a Comment