2017 Townsville to Brisbane Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge – Day 4

Written by: Booba and Ritcho

Distance:  237 kilometres 

Ride Time: 7 hours 34 minutesAve Speed:  31.1km/h (Fast)
Max Speed:  55.4km/h (Bloody fast)
Elevation: 733 m

Min Temperature: 6C degrees

Max Temperature: 29C degrees

Last night the community of Clermont hosted the riders and road crew for an awesome dinner and another night featuring many laughs.

Many thanks must go to the Commercial Hotel, who along with Bottlemart, have been long term supporters of Smiling for Smiddy, and Glencore, who generously sponsored the evening. Also thanks to another long time supporter, Danny who entertained us with his band whilst we got to know our billets.

We must also take a moment to thank Chrystal from Clermont State School for all her hard work in organising accommodation for the weary riders. Many of us were lucky enough to spend a night with local families, which is an absolute treat. These guys give up their time to collect us, take us to their homes, provide a cool drink and a quick snack, wash our clothes, take us to dinner, tuck us in and then only hours later, have us up and ready at the Hall to take on another day.

One of the highlights of the evening was the awarding of the inaugural Priscilla Award for the 2017 Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge. This is a recent Smiddy tradition, which involves a rider or road crew member found guilty of a misdemeanor of the not so intelligent kind getting bestowed with a pink tutu which they are required to wear the following day.  

Eric, the youngest member of our peloton had worked hard to win the prize, having had a day he would rather forget.  However just as Brooke was about to award the prized trophy to Eric, she spotted Michael, our photographer, asleep in the middle of the function and bestowed it on him instead.  An audible sigh of relief was heard to come from Eric.

Yak (aka Sean Lever) and Fruit Bat (aka Robyn Lever) were awarded Spirit jerseys for their efforts not only on this ride but the others they have participated in. These guys have really embraced the Smiddy Spirit since their first ride and are well and truly part of this great family.

The Smiddy peloton rolled out of Clermont at 6.15 am with a long day of 236 km ahead of them. Danny had the honour of ringing Kevvy’s cowbell in recognition of his long term support. 

The morning tea wasn’t scheduled until 90 km into the day but in consideration of Sharky’s infamously small bladder, a pit stop was planned after only 30 km.  As it turned out Sharky wasn’t the only one looking like he was riding with crossed legs in the lead up to this break.  A number of the female riders in the group had over-indulged on coffee at the local coffee shop and were noticeably relieved when the lead vehicle finally pulled over.

Not long after this the peloton was joined by Derek, an Emerald resident and former Smiddy rider. 

The early morning conditions were favourable, with the gradient being gently downhill, and the winds very mild. With a long day ahead, Killer decided to make use of the favourable conditions to bank some time. This was achieved by moving eight of the stronger riders in the bunch to sit on the front and maintain a solid pace.  

The riders are constantly impressed with the incredible food dished up by the road crew, but today it went to a whole new level. As the exhausted peloton pulled up they were greeted by the delicious smell of a sizzling BBQ as the amazing road crew served up 'Comet burgers' and 'Leichardt sausages' to our famished riders. The names were drawn from the significant historical events that had taken place in this region of Queensland.

The solid pace continued all the way to Blackwater. This small town has been an overnight stop for the Challenge for many years but with this year's change of direction, it instead hosted the peloton for afternoon tea.  Once again Linley stepped up to the plate and ensured the riders were treated to a delicious array of snacks.

Refreshed after the stop, the peloton maintained a solid pace throughout the final 50 km for the day.  During a final pit stop at Bluff, Stinky Dave stepped up and delivered a pep talk to ensure the group stayed focused and arrived at their destination safely. 

The instructions were heeded and the peleton rolled into Dingo safely and ahead of schedule. For a number of the riders this was their longest ever ride.  This feat is even more impressive
when you consider the solid 31.1km/h average speed for the day. In a Smiddy first, this is the fastest average speed ever achieved on the ride from Clermont to Dingo.

Tonight’s huddle was led by Bruce and Jenny Fraser.  Bruce was part of the 2016 challenge, but due to illness struggled on a few days.  He has come back this year healthy, and stronger than ever and will cover the distance to Brisbane easily.  

Jenny supports Bruce every step of the way and is a tireless member of our incredible road crew.  Jenny, the better speaker of the two according to Bruce, spoke about her grandmother’s battle with breast cancer, and the loss of two close friends to cancer since. Bruce and Jenny are popular members of the peloton and we love having them on board.

Dinner tonight is at the Dingo Hotel and it will probably be a quiet night for most of the peloton 
after a big day in the saddle although there will of course be the traditional stayers and players who carry the torch late into the night.

We would like to acknowledge our sponsors for this event which would not be able to happen without their generous support.  

They include:
o Bottlemart
o Professional Cleaning Services (Garath, a member of their Executive team, is part of the peloton)
o Russells Law
o All Sports Physiotherapy (Helen and Nikki are very popular members of our team)
o Coca-Cola Amatil
o Torque Toyota (Big Jeff is part of the peleton)
o Mega Burn
o Tinelli; and
o Red Roo Australia