Dedicated
to Susie Whyborn, Rest in Peace. ’It is
what it is’.
Almost
a year ago to this day, I sat in Townsville at the finish of the 2018
Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge. A Smiddy
tradition each year is that we hand out a special cycling cap to the riders in honour
of someone who we’d lost to this horrible disease—cancer. In 2018, we had the great pleasure to not
hand out a cap. But on return to Brisbane, we received news of the passing of
Susie Whyborn, wife and soulmate of 2012 Smiddy Challenge rider, Alan. Reflecting on their final months together,
Alan told us how Susie would often say “’it is what it is’” when discussing the
many things around her disease and the future.
So in honour of Susie, Alan allowed us to create a special Smiddy
cycling cap in her honour, with the words “it is what it is”. Susie, may you rest in eternal peace.
Well, it’s Sunday
morning – Father’s Day, and the day after the final leg of the 2019 Bottlemart
Smiddy Challenge. For me, it’s a chance
to sit quietly on my back deck with sun streaming in, and reflect on the past
nine days on the road, with 42 amazing riders and 18 dedicated road crew
members.
Despite this being my
10th Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge, it is only the second time ’ve
actually written a blog post, with my last being Day 1 of the 2012 Smiddy
Challenge. I have obviously been good at ducking and weaving this task. But this year, I’m looking forward to getting
my thoughts down – in the absence of our traditional Day 9 writer, Mark
‘Sharky’ Smoothy (Founder of Smiling for Smiddy). Sharky is busy attending the
wedding of a great mate and fellow Smiddy rider, John Leyshon, so I hope I can
pen words just as well as Sharky, and do him and the Challenge justice.
When I think back
across my 10 years of participation in this event, so much has changed.–Notably,
in 2008 (the third ever Smiddy ride) I was one of the riders embarking on a
wild adventure without a care in the world, other than getting myself to the
end. However, over the past eight years,
my role has evolved from Ride Leader, helping the organisers and support
drivers, to becoming an employee and ultimately the Ride Director. My appreciation of this event and all that
goes with it has changed significantly over that time.
In 2008, I was
seeking an adventure – I didn’t do the ride because cancer had impacted heavily
on my life, I just wanted to ride my bike and thought it’d be pretty neat if I
could raise a few bucks on the way. It
just sounded like a pretty cool ride! Sharky often reflects on his ‘call’ to
start Smiling for Smiddy – it was Adam calling him to an adventure, which
spurned a movement. For me, that call of adventure ignited a passion inside of
me that has taken me the length and breadth of Australia and overseas on
amazing adventures with some of the most interesting and generous people you
could ever hope to meet – and for that I will be forever thankful.
So, back to the 2019
Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge Day 9. It
was with a slightly heavy heart that I knew on my 10th ride I wouldn’t
actually get to roll-in with the crew. I
had been fighting a lurgy all week, and was hoping I could manage it through to
Saturday by reducing my riding load, but alas, it wasn’t to be. However, I got the chance to be in the second
best place; following the peloton in the rear vehicle alongside my mate and all
time Smiddy Legend Kevin ‘Kevvy’ Enchelmaier watching over the riders and
helping to keep them safe. In front of
us was fellow Smiddy Ambassador and legend Brenton Cope (who I had the great
pleasure of first meeting on that 2008 ride), working the police car ahead and
assisting traffic around the peloton.
Copey has volunteered
his services for every ride he hasn’t been able to ride in, sometimes for a few
hours leaving Brisbane, sometimes for a few days at a time. It’s amazing to
watch him work alongside fellow retired QPS escort driver Kevin Stemm in the
lead, with Kevvy out back, and the ride leaders as they move the group safely
along busy highways and into Brisbane.
It’s full-on work,
but I was also very pleased that I could contribute to the final day’s
operation as we made our approach from Yarraman down the Blackbutt Range, and
into the Mater Hospital at South Brisbane.
The day began under
clear and cool skies, with riders chomping at the bit to set-off for home. Copey
got the honour of ringing the famous cow bell to set us under way, and the
riders clicked into formation and set a cracking pace (thanks largely to a few
fast downhills out of Yarraman).
Today the honour of the red ‘Teamwork, Spirit,
Mateship’ jersey went to first-time rider, Joel Staite. I have had the pleasure of knowing Joel for
over 15 years, back to our Vipers Tri Club days when he was only 18 or 19. Joel
hasn’t changed a bit since then–he’s still that unassuming guy who would do
absolutely anything to help a mate (or complete stranger), never says a bad
word about anyone, and just gets on with things with the most amazing attitude
and positivity.
I never had the
opportunity to meet Adam Smiddy, but from the many stories I’ve heard about him,
I could picture him clearly–and the image that I get is a guy like Joel. Aside
from being a talented athlete in his own right, Joel is always positive, always
thinking about and helping others despite his own needs–the embodiment of ‘Teamwork,
Spirit and Mateship’. But like Adam, Joel also had a brush with cancer that in
all probability could have, and nearly did, end similarly to Adam. However, Joel
is one of the lucky people who had opportunities that Adam didn’t – trial drugs
and treatments thanks to cancer research, as a result of the support of
programs like ours in honour of Adam Smiddy.
Adam’s legacy is that
people who never knew him will benefit from his name; people like Joel benefit
with a second chance that was not afforded to Adam. It was a great pleasure to
see Joel proudly wearing the red jersey today–a truly fitting recipient.
As the riders powered
down the Blackbutt Range and onto the little hamlet of Moore, along the busy
D’Aguilar Highway and finally onto the quiet backroads past Kilcoy, the group
remained strong despite the continuous lumps this challenging course
affords. The township of Woodford was a
welcome sight for all, after a long 95 kilometre stretch to morning tea, but
meant we had broken the back of the day.
The infectious spirit of the riders must have rubbed off, as when we
parked in front of the local Elders Real Estate, they promptly and
spontaneously handed over a cheque for $250 to support the cause. (Then again, maybe
he was bribing us to get out of his car parks?) The rider’s bellies once again
were filled thanks to our dedicated Road Crew. After the fuel, we set-off again,
joined by additional QPS resources to guide us along the final stretch of the
busy D’Aguilar Highway and south into the suburbs of Brisbane.
A long-ish stretch of
54 kilometres saw us reach our final stop of the tour. The Murrumba Downs Tavern is part of the
Bottlemart family, and the riders and road crew were warmly welcomed and
treated to burgers, chips and a few ice cold drinks to fuel them for the final
push home.
Bottlemart have supported
Smiling for Smiddy for more than 10 years, and coincidentally first came on
board as our naming rights sponsor in 2008—my first year. They’ve been with us since, and the alignment
of values couldn’t be more important. Bottlemart believes strongly in community.
Often, and traditionally, the local pub is then centre-point of community news
and support, particularly in regional and rural Australia. It’s a place where
people can meet up, chat, engage and enjoy a good time, which in a time of
digital connectivity is more critical than ever. As humans we crave personal
connection, and like Smiling for Smiddy, Bottlemart have always valued the
importance of community. Therefore it was a fitting location for our final stop-off
on the 2019 Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge.
So, 32 kilometres left
to go, all through Brisbane on a Saturday afternoon. For us in the support
vehicles and the ride leaders, it’sgame on! We got them this far—1570-odd kilometres—but
the last 32 is where you need to be on your A-game.
The course through
town isn’t easy—lots of traffic lights and plenty of traffic. But after 9 days together,
the group are solid–no rider is allowed to drop-off the group, and any who do are
caught and paced back up to the wheel. Everyone looks out for each other, the
QPS guys are working the intersections like the professionals they are, and we
get a VIP run through town.
The radio is running hot—shut the left lane down,
watch the right, lights up—no roll through them, QPS have shut them down, car
sneaking up the left—got them, got the lane secure! All the while the riders
are sailing along, virtually oblivious to the work being done— and that’s the
way it should be. These heroes get to
enjoy the VIP treatment as we roll across the William Jolly Bridge down Grey
Street through Southbank and straight up to Mater. I hadn’t even given the
riding-in on my 10th Smiddy Challenge a thought—I’d been so flat-out
working the radio and watching out for the riders that I hadn’t had the time.
My bike was on the
car and my riding kit was in the back seat, but it hadn’t crossed my mind to
jump on—not until we were 200 metres from the finish line, and an amazing roar
of celebration filled the cabin of our car.
The noise was astounding!! I looked up the road and saw a sea of ‘I love
Smiddy’ T-shirts, families, past riders and supporters waving—this was nuts! Three
weeks earlier we had planned and hoped to get a big reception, but to see an
ocean of people lining the road was amazing. For me, I could not park the car
quick enough, as I ran around the back of the hospital into the throng of
cheering people. I had one goal; to find my beautiful wife, Leonie who had
joined me on the bike for the second time riding. For over 10 years, Leonie has watched me ride
off from Brisbane and away into the ether, and pop out the other side in
Townsville. Today she was able to be one
of the heroes rolling into the cheers and adulation. Fighting my way through
the pack was almost impossible—not to miss the countless riders and road crew
who want to hug and thank you too, but I just wanted to find Leonie. It was a
tough 9 days for her on the road, but an adventure not to forget. We shared it
with some of our closest friends, met new people and heard amazing stories.
So back to the title—‘it
is what it is’. Sometimes we place great pressure on ourselves to do more, be
perfect, get everything right—in the eyes of others, at least. Over the past nine
days, Sharky, Pagey, Wendy, Jules and I have strived to deliver the best event
we possibly can. We all strive to do better—and sometimes it can be to our own
detriment; especially when you try to please the needs of so many. When the
team at Smiling for Smiddy reconvene, we will no doubt take a critical look at
ourselves as we continue the search for improvements—it’s not a bad thing to do—to
seek to better yourself. However, it is
an important lesson for all of us, with the knowledge that we have done the
best with what we have at our disposal, to simply say’it is what it is’.
And what is ‘it’,
really? Well, for the 2019 Bottlemart
Smiddy Challenge, it is one amazing adventure full of laughter, shared
experiences, close friends, new friends, old friends and everything in between.
Tough days, annoying headwinds, and hills that just won’t quit.
But it also brought
together 60 people from all walks of life, backgrounds and creeds (we even had
a couple of vegans!!), shapes and abilities;
who took on a challenge of riding 1600 kilometres and each raising
$5000. And through a lot of Teamwork, Spirit
and Mateship, we achieved our wonderful goal. Collectively, we raised over $275 000 to support cancer research, and
made new, lasting connections to this wonderful Smiling for Smiddy Community of
ours.
Finally, as I sign
off I’d like to take some time to pass on my heartfelt thanks to a few people
who have supported me over the past nine days (and more).
To our 42 riders and
18 road crew,a massive thank you to each and every one of you for believing in
this event and our ability to pull it off.
To Sharky, Mr Smiddy,
Wendy, Pagey and Jules—thank you for your hard work and dedication to support
me and the entire team of riders and road crew to make this happen.
However, I will
single out a small group including my Ride Leaders – David ’Stinky‘ Colahan,
Ken ’Hugo’” Woods, Ben Hola, Lance “Chambo” Chamberlain, Martin “Dutchy”
Holland and Tim “TBT (Two Breakfast Tim)” Dalton.And to the Peloton Road Crew—Kevvy
Enchelmaier, Kevin Stemm, Janet “’Damnit’' Curran, John Curran, Benton “’Bruce’”
Cope and James Barrett. Thank you for all that you have done to keep Team
Smiddy safe over those 1600 kilometres.
How much it means to
me to know that you guys have our backs is something I cannot express in words,
other than to say the deepest and most heartfelt thanks that I can. Thank you,
to each and every one of you.
By: Christian Killeen
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