Apologies for the lateness of the last days blog, it seems I have a case of DOT - delayed onset tiredness! Not sure if it was the huge week of being at the beck and call of 9 riders or the celebratory drinks on Sunday night????? Anyways, here it is, enjoy :)
Our last night together as just the cc's (the next night we would be joined by family and friends)was spent in Seymour around a gorgeous fire, talking about the week that was and talking about what we as indivuals have gotten out of the past week. Everyone had a story to tell and very personal feelings about their experience, as Trish's husband Luke had spent the past few days with us he to shared what he had gotten out of the ride. Now I can't speak for everyone but I personally was blown away to discover that he was so proud of Trish for going out of her comfort zone and getting out there and selling raffle tickets, chocolates etc, apparently not something she is comfortable with, a bit shy our Trish? Really???? Well maybe we are bad influences or just a great bunch that she felt comfortable with, cause that's certainly NOT the Trish we all became very fond of, had us in stitches regularly with her quick witted humour, I giggle just thinking about some of the things that came out of her mouth! The other very special moment came when we got to Paul (or teddy bear as I have fondly named him), he brought us all back to reality when he spoke about why we were there, how meeting Kai was such a special thing, and that he was so grateful for having happy healthy kids, I tell ya there weren't too many dry eyes around the camp fire as the big fella got choked up, that moment really put things into perspective and gave a timely reminder as to WHY we were doing this in the first place! We are all here for the kids, and that shouldn't be forgotten.
It wasn't a late night as everyone prepared for the very last day, and a big uncertain day at that, I think everyone was a little nervous about going into the big smoke!
A 7am roll out was in order as to not get into St Kilda too late, and that was looking like the go until Matt went to clip in and uh oh............... The day before Matt had to take my spare cleets as his weren't clipping into his pedals, he had look keo pedals and I had a spare set of look keo cleets, all good except he didn't think to try them once he had fitted them to his shoes! His pedals are a tad smaller to everyone else's and the cleets didn't fit, not a good thing to discover as everyone is about to ride out. Thankfully his old ones were still in the bin and the boys quickly changed them back over, this made for a 45 min late rollout, not a huge deal, only I could've stayed in bed longer Matt!!!!! Lol. Now the other funny thing about this day was that mother duck had dealt out some punishment to her rogue ducklings! Pete was a double offender so he had to wear a bra backwards with green tassels hanging off it until morning tea, all the others (as well as Pete, double punishment) had to ride in their smallest gear until mother duck felt they had enough or deemed it to be unsafe, we all had a chuckle and then Nearly pee'd ourselves laughing when it was brought to our attention that Trish had an extra gear (touring cranks) and she therefore would be spinning like crazy to even get her bike to move! It was hilarious watching them all pedal like crazy out the caravan park, hahahahahahaha luuuurve your work mother duck!
Morning tea was at a truck stop which just happened to have a maccas, "ahhh real coffee!" and yes as soon as they pulled in mother duck quickly took coffee orders, they didn't go without! Pete and James had to go 'rattle the tin' bra and all, every stop was about rattling that tin and getting more money for the kids, they did a great job, came back with quite a full tin! And only one person asked about the bra!
Lunch was to be at princes park Carlton, Carlton FC's training ground, from here all support vehicles would leave the riders as getting through the city would be too tricky. As Jen and I headed in, crapping ourselves the whole way mind you, I made the call that mother duck would have to leave her ducklings earlier than expected, there was no way she could block traffic coming into Carlton, oh boy do the melbourne folk drive like lunatics! I was so very very nervous for the riders and internally praying that they would make it to lunch safely. And that they did!!!! Jen and I had pre made a heap of rolls for this lunch stop to make it as quick as possible so that we could get going ahead of the riders as we were very worried that they would beat us to the finish line, and to miss that was just NOT COOL! It was my job to drive, Jen on navigation duties, one bum steer, but she got me back on the straight and narrow in no time! Now never in my wildest dreams have I ever thought I'd love to drive a Winnebago down parramatta Rd or George st, and that's pretty much exactly what I was doing!!!! I was hunched over that steering wheel like the bloody hump back of Notre dame! Jen was manning 2 phones and an iPad and me asking for directions, ahhhh took me back to day 1 when Winnie was playing up lol. As we were making our way to Brighton Jen gets a call from Paul, as the phone rings Jen and I look at each other with the look of ' oh no they've beaten us and we've missed them arriving' as I hear Jen say we r about 10 mins away and I'll call you when we get there, a feeling of relief comes over me. They were at the beach but would wait up the road until we had all family there then ride down. We try to locate Luke whom we had not seen since morning tea, Jen says where r u, the riders are waiting for us, he responds with "I don't know!!!" lol, apparently Jess was crying saying daddy we're lost aren't we, poor Luke :( the riders however were not coming in until he was there, which was lovely. So once everyone was together, Elissa's family, barbs family, Janet , drew, cloe and kye and yes Luke Jess and Sam we gave the riders the green light! As the time ticks on and there arrival imminent I look over to see Luke dashing off to take Jess to the toilet!!!! Talk about kids and timing, lol. As Jen bellows out "here they come" Luke abandons Jess in the toilet and races up the hill to see them all ride in. We all cheered and clapped them in, I don't know what the locals thought of us, but we made as much noise as we could! The look of relief came over all the riders faces, it was however also very surreal to be at this moment, a moment we had dreamed of and planned for so many months, And in a blink of an eye it was all over. Jen and I snapped away at the cuddles and tears between riders and family, it was just the nicest moment to capture and be a part of. Some of the things I heard exchange between team mates will stay with me for life, as will some things that were said to me, it really was a special thing to be a part of. Life long friendships have been made I am certain of that.
After the cuddles and pics it was time to get in the water, shoes came off and the riders raced down to the beach to paddle in the water. And true to form poppy smithy comes in and proceeds to wet everyone with the icy cold water, they scattered like cockroaches, lol. After some more pics in the water, it was on, E ran at poppy smithy and crash tackled him into the water, ah payback is sweet! I have some great pics of that one, god I love sports mode!
Some more pics over at the beach huts, wow those tiny little buildings are amazing! So colourful and expensive just quietly! It was hot and the riders were ready to finish this ride off, it was another 8km's to the Urban hotel! So we wrapped it up and made our way to the hotel.
Dinner was at 6:30, kindly organised by Jen, at a pizza pasta bar a couple doors down from the hotel. It was absolutely perfect, everyone together with their families, it was just the perfect ending to what was a wonderful week. We still did the rider debrief and Paul dukes story time (or memorable moments) so our families could see what we had been doing all week. I think all the riders concurred that the one memorable moment was doing 55 on the Hume, what a rush! And coming into the city and seeing that city skyline and knowing that they'd done it! Mine was definately driving twinnie in the middle of the city and surviving!!!!!! Paul and Glenn (captains for the day) were stoked they managed to herd the flock through the city without any dramas or accidents, they were very relieved to get to that hotel I can tell you that! What a huge responsibility, and without mother duck! ;) mother ducks memorable moment had something to do with cuddling Paul, ahem not sure what was going on there?????? We were a very friendly bunch! ;)
Dinner was over and so brought the conclusion of a very big, fun eventful week! Well for some, some of us kicked on, but I'm sorry what goes on on tour stays on tour, thems the rules! Unless of course you happened to see or read some of it on FB! Lol, but feel free to ask me sometime, there was a dodgy bottle shop, hula hoops, bar dancing notes shoved down pants and kebabs, and it was ALL for the kids!!!!!!!!!! Oh and lots and lots of laughs :)
Well that ends my blog, I hope you enjoyed the read. On a personal level from myself and Glenn I can say how honored we were to be a part of this whole thing. We never in our wildest dreams ever imagined to have been a part of something so big, we have helped raise an absolute bucket load of money and are stoked! We have met some great people, made new friends and become closer to old ones, which has made this trip so so special.
The cycling Cerebellums were doing it for the kids and they DID IT for the kids!!! when that final cheque gets written and we hand it over, those kids and nursing staff are going to be in shock, as what we were hoping for is over double the amount!!!! Oh yes, we rock :D
My final words are thankyou, thankyou for allowing me to be apart of this experience, Thankyou for enriching my life, thankyou for the friendships, the laughs, the inspiration and thankyou for most of all, the memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Done it for the kids
Clair :)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Day 6 Wangaratta-Seymour
Surprise surprise, another chilly 7am start, keeping the averages up in more ways than one this week ;) 143km's to Seymour today, only 1 more day left, wow how that time has flown!
The caravan park in Wang was lovely, highly recommended and a lovely little town should anyone be passing through, just b careful of the awful smelling plants in the main street, had me gagging and the boys in stitches (I'd tell you what the smell is compared to but not sure if it's suitable for this blog, ask me sometime and I'll try and tell you without gagging again!)lol
The riders are getting slower and slower everyday to get ready and on their bikes, can u blame them? (just quietly im struggling a bit too, late nights and early mornings arent my thing!) Mother duck starts to quack and round them up once we are about 10 mins over schedule, and the ducklings tend to get in formation pretty quickly, still haven't worked whether they are scared of mother duck or just very obedient ducklings??? They are still smiling, joking and having light hearted digs at each other so I'm guessing that's positive!
They roll out and Jen and I aren't far behinnd, I got some great snaps of them from twinnie :)
Now one thing you need to know about our mother duck is that she luuurves her 'real' coffee, so everyday she asks that we try and stop at a service centre that has a maccas, sure thing we can do that,we haven't been very successful to date but we try this morning however after about 10-12km's when low and behold there's a maccas and a service centre! Jen and I had a laugh wondering if it was too early for our morning tea stop, upon telling the riders we were greated with "oh god no we were commenting how good a hash brown would've gone down as we rode past", I tell ya we just can't win!! ;)
We found a truck stop at the 51km mark, that'll do me, so we pull up and swing into action, freshly made pikelets with jam and cream, oh yes sir we did! My apologies to any spouses out there starting to worry that we r spoiling these guys too much, but let me tell u now they are in for a rude shock tomorrow afternoon, when Jen and I shut up shop! Lol
The ducklings had a great ride in, 7 flats and some very annoying speed humps in the break down lane, why they were there we have no idea, but they concurred that victoria can shove them up their proverbial! There was of course like every other day, plenty of road kill, nice hot stenchy road kill at that! Going back a couple of days now Pete was changing a flat one afternoon, he found the culprit piece of steel and proceeded to pull it out with his teeth. Trish quite politely reminded him of the road kill that this wheel has quite possibly ridden over,nom nom nom, ahhhh we laughed :) oh and of course we can't forget the ridiculous amount of times these naughty male ducklings have had to stop to pee! So much so mother duck knows exactly how each of the boys pee! They all have a unique style apparently, hehehehehe, I told you she was very vigilant!
Onwards we ride (or in my case, drive), lunch stop another 47km's along at another truck stop, rolls cold meats and salad were on the menu here. Jen was busy doing something in twinnie and I was writing the start of this very blog when I hear this almighty scream, I jump up to see what's happening, thinking Ivan Malat was around somewhere, to see a sea of green racing my way, and trish with head down legs pumping Paul on one side, poppy smithy and pete (or the grumpy old men as i have ever so affectionately named them)on the other side, of course I immediately start shouting " go trish!!!!" oh yeh she got em, well done chick :) back to the scream, that had come from barb, apparently her sequel of laughter scarily resembles that of a woman being attacked! Lol. It was great to see them having some fun, however mother duck failed to give us the 5km warning call and jen and I weren't ready!!!! Ahhhhhhh, rolls are not cut or buttered! We got over that pretty quickly, " ah they can do it themselves" was our reaction, lol. During the course of lunch, which by the way was thoroughly enjoyed by all, poppy smithy says " ah Elissa, you've got a flat" , " shit I've got no more spares!" hehehehehe look who has to change some flats before the end of lunch! No pressure E but Trish has given a 5 minute call! Hahahahahaha she's taking this captain role very seriously ;)
Flats sorted, bellies full, and the ducklings are off!
Seymour is the end of today's line, and the end of our second last day. We navigate quite well to our caravan park, and then decide that we will have to escort them in as the directions were a bit tricky to explain. I check us in whilst Jen calls mother duck, we suss out the cabins and then head back to the hwy to pick up the tribe. We sit for a while and then I see the green in the side mirror, ahhhhhh now the pressure is on! Jen I can't see them, they are tucked in behind me and I can't see them in the side mirrors! No worries says Jen i'll go to the back and sit on the toilet and peer out the window! Great thinking! So we get the ducklings safely to the caravan park, no problems, oh except for Jen who proudly declares " I have the strongest inner thigh muscles now from hanging on for dear life backwards on the toilet!" bahahahahaha that's my co pilot :)
So after cleaning bikes, freezing legs off in the goulburn river and then hot showers we are now sitting together by the fire waiting for dinner. This is what it's about, mateship comraderie and THE KIDS :) oh and of course wine and beer!
Tomorrow is our last day, no doubt will be marked with some great times and no doubt tears as the cc's finally finish their dream :) we are all looking forward to seeing our families (those that are coming) at the finish line :)
Good luck guys and stay safe, u have (we have) done an amazing job and our efforts will bring so many smiles to the faces of many sick children.
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
The caravan park in Wang was lovely, highly recommended and a lovely little town should anyone be passing through, just b careful of the awful smelling plants in the main street, had me gagging and the boys in stitches (I'd tell you what the smell is compared to but not sure if it's suitable for this blog, ask me sometime and I'll try and tell you without gagging again!)lol
The riders are getting slower and slower everyday to get ready and on their bikes, can u blame them? (just quietly im struggling a bit too, late nights and early mornings arent my thing!) Mother duck starts to quack and round them up once we are about 10 mins over schedule, and the ducklings tend to get in formation pretty quickly, still haven't worked whether they are scared of mother duck or just very obedient ducklings??? They are still smiling, joking and having light hearted digs at each other so I'm guessing that's positive!
They roll out and Jen and I aren't far behinnd, I got some great snaps of them from twinnie :)
Now one thing you need to know about our mother duck is that she luuurves her 'real' coffee, so everyday she asks that we try and stop at a service centre that has a maccas, sure thing we can do that,we haven't been very successful to date but we try this morning however after about 10-12km's when low and behold there's a maccas and a service centre! Jen and I had a laugh wondering if it was too early for our morning tea stop, upon telling the riders we were greated with "oh god no we were commenting how good a hash brown would've gone down as we rode past", I tell ya we just can't win!! ;)
We found a truck stop at the 51km mark, that'll do me, so we pull up and swing into action, freshly made pikelets with jam and cream, oh yes sir we did! My apologies to any spouses out there starting to worry that we r spoiling these guys too much, but let me tell u now they are in for a rude shock tomorrow afternoon, when Jen and I shut up shop! Lol
The ducklings had a great ride in, 7 flats and some very annoying speed humps in the break down lane, why they were there we have no idea, but they concurred that victoria can shove them up their proverbial! There was of course like every other day, plenty of road kill, nice hot stenchy road kill at that! Going back a couple of days now Pete was changing a flat one afternoon, he found the culprit piece of steel and proceeded to pull it out with his teeth. Trish quite politely reminded him of the road kill that this wheel has quite possibly ridden over,nom nom nom, ahhhh we laughed :) oh and of course we can't forget the ridiculous amount of times these naughty male ducklings have had to stop to pee! So much so mother duck knows exactly how each of the boys pee! They all have a unique style apparently, hehehehehe, I told you she was very vigilant!
Onwards we ride (or in my case, drive), lunch stop another 47km's along at another truck stop, rolls cold meats and salad were on the menu here. Jen was busy doing something in twinnie and I was writing the start of this very blog when I hear this almighty scream, I jump up to see what's happening, thinking Ivan Malat was around somewhere, to see a sea of green racing my way, and trish with head down legs pumping Paul on one side, poppy smithy and pete (or the grumpy old men as i have ever so affectionately named them)on the other side, of course I immediately start shouting " go trish!!!!" oh yeh she got em, well done chick :) back to the scream, that had come from barb, apparently her sequel of laughter scarily resembles that of a woman being attacked! Lol. It was great to see them having some fun, however mother duck failed to give us the 5km warning call and jen and I weren't ready!!!! Ahhhhhhh, rolls are not cut or buttered! We got over that pretty quickly, " ah they can do it themselves" was our reaction, lol. During the course of lunch, which by the way was thoroughly enjoyed by all, poppy smithy says " ah Elissa, you've got a flat" , " shit I've got no more spares!" hehehehehe look who has to change some flats before the end of lunch! No pressure E but Trish has given a 5 minute call! Hahahahahaha she's taking this captain role very seriously ;)
Flats sorted, bellies full, and the ducklings are off!
Seymour is the end of today's line, and the end of our second last day. We navigate quite well to our caravan park, and then decide that we will have to escort them in as the directions were a bit tricky to explain. I check us in whilst Jen calls mother duck, we suss out the cabins and then head back to the hwy to pick up the tribe. We sit for a while and then I see the green in the side mirror, ahhhhhh now the pressure is on! Jen I can't see them, they are tucked in behind me and I can't see them in the side mirrors! No worries says Jen i'll go to the back and sit on the toilet and peer out the window! Great thinking! So we get the ducklings safely to the caravan park, no problems, oh except for Jen who proudly declares " I have the strongest inner thigh muscles now from hanging on for dear life backwards on the toilet!" bahahahahaha that's my co pilot :)
So after cleaning bikes, freezing legs off in the goulburn river and then hot showers we are now sitting together by the fire waiting for dinner. This is what it's about, mateship comraderie and THE KIDS :) oh and of course wine and beer!
Tomorrow is our last day, no doubt will be marked with some great times and no doubt tears as the cc's finally finish their dream :) we are all looking forward to seeing our families (those that are coming) at the finish line :)
Good luck guys and stay safe, u have (we have) done an amazing job and our efforts will bring so many smiles to the faces of many sick children.
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Day 5 Holbrook - Wangaratta
Another early and crisp start to the morning today! 135km ride to Wangaratta (or Wang as the locals call it) 7am rollout and all the riders were rugged up looking more like they were heading for the snow then going for a ride! Lol. Mother duck rounded them up and they were off
First stop was a lovely visit to Thurgoona, the hometown of a lovely young man called Kai. He was one of the patients at the children's hospital Westmead when the cc's went to visit! Kai has brittle bone disease, and the day we saw him he had just come out of an 18hr operation. He was delighted at the thought of what we were embarking on and very keen to catch up with us on the ride. So Barb contacted him and conveniently he lives right where we were ready to stop! They met us at a truck stop during our morning tea break and all the riders and crew were happy to see him happy and healthy :) noodles were a hit again as well as lollies and Easter eggs! Which im sure hit the spot after another long steady climb today! Happy riders = happy support
crew ;)
From Thurgoona it was onto chilton rest stop for lunch, here we discovered the fruit and veg dump point, really!??? We only just bought some, like in Thurgoona!!! Neither Jen nor myself even thought of that, so at this point we waved goodbye to all the fresh fruit and veg we had just purchased :( (after we made the riders eat as much of it as they could !) we set up cold meats and wraps and rolls for lunch followed by fruit and yummy slices and rocky road (thanks Elissa and Sharon, James' better half) the riders turned up all chirpy and hungry as usual! The funny story of this leg was the call of "snake!!!" hehehehehe it was dead but Glenn found it humorous as Paul was in the middle of having a gel and nearly ran over it, and a wobble of wheels went through the pack as they all prepared for another snake encounter! Lol, this was a red belly this time!
After tummies were full captain poopy smithy and Pete (captains for the day) called "rollout" and they were off!
Wangaratta here we come!!!!! Jen and I arrive and get all the room keys and start working on the afternoon nibble platter, I told you we were spoiling them! They all arrive with huge smiles on their faces, it seems they had a bit fun coming in, time trialling and other shenanigans! Barb and Paul had fun grooving up their hand signals, hehehehehe glad they are having fun :)
Some of the riders jumped in the pool to ice the legs, trish and barb did their best meercat impressions, I have photo evidence! Lol, funny ladies. Showers for riders and bikes followed before an interview with the Wangaratta paper, everyone looked all spiffy for that one :)
Pasta for dinner tonight, prepared by me and cooked by Glenn and Kathleen with help from Matt and poppy smithy, thanks guys :)
Debrief after dinner and then the infamous 'Paul dukes memorable moments' , with most being about meeting Kai today. Mother duck seems happy with her ducklings, thank goodness, shes getting quite attached to these guys, we have even joked that when she gets home she might start stalking riders out on a training ride! Lol, so guys if you're out on saturday morning and a lady in a car starts driving really slowly behind you, don't worry it's just our mother duck Kathleen :) <3 in saying that she is doing a wonderful job and taking it very seriously (as she should be) and as one of those riders is my husband, another my father in law and all the others good friends, then from the bottom of my heart Kathleen, THANKYOU xxx
Another early start tomorrow so that's it from me, Seymour here we come!
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
First stop was a lovely visit to Thurgoona, the hometown of a lovely young man called Kai. He was one of the patients at the children's hospital Westmead when the cc's went to visit! Kai has brittle bone disease, and the day we saw him he had just come out of an 18hr operation. He was delighted at the thought of what we were embarking on and very keen to catch up with us on the ride. So Barb contacted him and conveniently he lives right where we were ready to stop! They met us at a truck stop during our morning tea break and all the riders and crew were happy to see him happy and healthy :) noodles were a hit again as well as lollies and Easter eggs! Which im sure hit the spot after another long steady climb today! Happy riders = happy support
crew ;)
From Thurgoona it was onto chilton rest stop for lunch, here we discovered the fruit and veg dump point, really!??? We only just bought some, like in Thurgoona!!! Neither Jen nor myself even thought of that, so at this point we waved goodbye to all the fresh fruit and veg we had just purchased :( (after we made the riders eat as much of it as they could !) we set up cold meats and wraps and rolls for lunch followed by fruit and yummy slices and rocky road (thanks Elissa and Sharon, James' better half) the riders turned up all chirpy and hungry as usual! The funny story of this leg was the call of "snake!!!" hehehehehe it was dead but Glenn found it humorous as Paul was in the middle of having a gel and nearly ran over it, and a wobble of wheels went through the pack as they all prepared for another snake encounter! Lol, this was a red belly this time!
After tummies were full captain poopy smithy and Pete (captains for the day) called "rollout" and they were off!
Wangaratta here we come!!!!! Jen and I arrive and get all the room keys and start working on the afternoon nibble platter, I told you we were spoiling them! They all arrive with huge smiles on their faces, it seems they had a bit fun coming in, time trialling and other shenanigans! Barb and Paul had fun grooving up their hand signals, hehehehehe glad they are having fun :)
Some of the riders jumped in the pool to ice the legs, trish and barb did their best meercat impressions, I have photo evidence! Lol, funny ladies. Showers for riders and bikes followed before an interview with the Wangaratta paper, everyone looked all spiffy for that one :)
Pasta for dinner tonight, prepared by me and cooked by Glenn and Kathleen with help from Matt and poppy smithy, thanks guys :)
Debrief after dinner and then the infamous 'Paul dukes memorable moments' , with most being about meeting Kai today. Mother duck seems happy with her ducklings, thank goodness, shes getting quite attached to these guys, we have even joked that when she gets home she might start stalking riders out on a training ride! Lol, so guys if you're out on saturday morning and a lady in a car starts driving really slowly behind you, don't worry it's just our mother duck Kathleen :) <3 in saying that she is doing a wonderful job and taking it very seriously (as she should be) and as one of those riders is my husband, another my father in law and all the others good friends, then from the bottom of my heart Kathleen, THANKYOU xxx
Another early start tomorrow so that's it from me, Seymour here we come!
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Day 4 tarcutta-Holbrook
Day 4 sees us leaving Tarcutta at 9am, as this is only a 70km day we don't need to leave to early. So today I leave twinnie in the capable hands of Jen (thanks for letting me ride today Jen) as I swap jeans and jiggers for Lycra and bike shoes! I wake at 6am wi butterflies, excitement and nerves I think, riding the Hume hwy with this great bunch is a bid deal to me! Once we r all brekky'd upand bikes are good to go we have our morning debrief from the days captains, Barb and Jamie :) not much to be said to the group, mainly me as I need to be familiar with the hand signals and what not, a quick welcome to the group and we were off!
A nice comfortable pace was established, these guys are out for fun not to kill themselves which I welcomed wih open arms. A lot of road kill, some stinky some not, some covering the whole break down lane even!!!! Eeewwwwww, and the. We hit our first climb, guess who was at the front of the pack, ME! There was a quick "Clair u move back when we hit the base" from Glenn (always watching out for me) and a huuuuuge "phew" from me! Lol, we all got up that baby very well stayed in close, any closer and I as kissing butt I tell ya, but I wasnt dropping that wheel (can't even remember who's it was) , then some nice downhill b4 the next climb. Our last climb before morning tea was a doozy, an ouchy 2km climb, thank god for the cakes, chocolate and coke waiting at the top! Sounds healthy doesn't it! Lol.it was this climb that Glenn won the kind of sand wedge mountain (called this as at the truck stop jamie found a sand wedge moulds into the bitumen), poppy smithy and Pete took off and Glenn took chase, and got em!
Jen was all set up and weren't we happy to see her :) Zoe from top notch joined us here (she is along to massage, and is currently working away massaging the riders) , and thankfully the second leg was pretty much flat or downhill, yippeeeeeee. The comfortable pace and constant change of leaders enabled us all to chat and have a laugh, mostly at Smithys infamous stories, they're getting that bad that when someone tells a truthful one we don't know whether to believe them or not! Lol, ahhhh poppy Smithy and his stories (yep that's the name I've fondly given him). The constant beeps from truckies and cars was great, if only i was like the other riders and had the confidence to let go and wave, lol. We headed into Holbrook to a very warm welcome from Luke, Jess and Sam Carter, as well as the mackinley family, louises brother Gordon and 2 kids Hannah and Charlie , thanks for cheering us on guys!
A photo in front of the famous Holbrook submarine was in order as well as passing the money tin around the crowd that was at the park, a huge thanks to all that donated :)
We jumped back on our bikes and rode down to our caravan park, showers lunch and bike washing was the order of the Arvo for most, and then massages from Zoe, thanks Zoe, only hearing great reports from those who have had one so far!
Dinner tonight is at the Holbrook RSL then an early night as the riders prepare for a 7am rollout and a 160km day to wangaratta
On a personal note I had a great day, those 3 hill climbs were an accomplishment for me, and personal bests (so far as hill climbs go) . All the riders made me feel very welcome and looked out for me at all times, thanks guys you are all wonderful people. Stay safe and tomorrow I'll feed you up real good!;)
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
A nice comfortable pace was established, these guys are out for fun not to kill themselves which I welcomed wih open arms. A lot of road kill, some stinky some not, some covering the whole break down lane even!!!! Eeewwwwww, and the. We hit our first climb, guess who was at the front of the pack, ME! There was a quick "Clair u move back when we hit the base" from Glenn (always watching out for me) and a huuuuuge "phew" from me! Lol, we all got up that baby very well stayed in close, any closer and I as kissing butt I tell ya, but I wasnt dropping that wheel (can't even remember who's it was) , then some nice downhill b4 the next climb. Our last climb before morning tea was a doozy, an ouchy 2km climb, thank god for the cakes, chocolate and coke waiting at the top! Sounds healthy doesn't it! Lol.it was this climb that Glenn won the kind of sand wedge mountain (called this as at the truck stop jamie found a sand wedge moulds into the bitumen), poppy smithy and Pete took off and Glenn took chase, and got em!
Jen was all set up and weren't we happy to see her :) Zoe from top notch joined us here (she is along to massage, and is currently working away massaging the riders) , and thankfully the second leg was pretty much flat or downhill, yippeeeeeee. The comfortable pace and constant change of leaders enabled us all to chat and have a laugh, mostly at Smithys infamous stories, they're getting that bad that when someone tells a truthful one we don't know whether to believe them or not! Lol, ahhhh poppy Smithy and his stories (yep that's the name I've fondly given him). The constant beeps from truckies and cars was great, if only i was like the other riders and had the confidence to let go and wave, lol. We headed into Holbrook to a very warm welcome from Luke, Jess and Sam Carter, as well as the mackinley family, louises brother Gordon and 2 kids Hannah and Charlie , thanks for cheering us on guys!
A photo in front of the famous Holbrook submarine was in order as well as passing the money tin around the crowd that was at the park, a huge thanks to all that donated :)
We jumped back on our bikes and rode down to our caravan park, showers lunch and bike washing was the order of the Arvo for most, and then massages from Zoe, thanks Zoe, only hearing great reports from those who have had one so far!
Dinner tonight is at the Holbrook RSL then an early night as the riders prepare for a 7am rollout and a 160km day to wangaratta
On a personal note I had a great day, those 3 hill climbs were an accomplishment for me, and personal bests (so far as hill climbs go) . All the riders made me feel very welcome and looked out for me at all times, thanks guys you are all wonderful people. Stay safe and tomorrow I'll feed you up real good!;)
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
Day 2 & 3 Goulburn - Tarcuta
Sorry about the lack of blogging but I had no reception back in Yass, well actually Good Hope, was a looooong hilly way from Yass! So hilly in fact that we drove them out, but i'll come back to that.
So day 2 for me as a support crew was kinda uneventful as Jen and I waited in Goulburn for our replacement vehicle. Thankfully , and I mean this with the greatest sincerity, Drew Matt and Danielle came to our rescue driving down our new Winnie, whom we have affectionately named twinnie (second Winnie) ;) so this being the case meant that Matt joined the ride 2 days earlier! Not much point in driving down then coming back again a day later, so welcome Matt :)
Jen and I shopped (walked into Goulburn then carried groceries back, good chicks or what???) then started unpacking Winnie, twinnie arrived at 12:30 and we were on the road by 1:40. Eventually joining the crew in Good Hope at around 3:30, after a shopping stop in Yass which included some alcoholic beverages! Again, good chicks or what???! Didn't they love us for that!
Nibbles and grog around the fire was a hit, as well as debrief and what we have affectionately come to name 'Paul dukes story time' :) thanks Paul. So from story time ( this is when each rider shares their highlight from the day) I can conclude that they all loved the beautiful views, the hilarious smithy flying down the middle of the Hume hwy, Trish was stunned for a moment when she got a darl over the 2 way from Kathleen and thought that Kathleen was getting a tad friendly, turned out it was for her co captain and Kathleen's partner Smithy! Ah we all laughed at that one. They all agreed that the team is gelling and riding really well together and then Kathleen topped it off with an emotional moment of when as she was following them through a roundabout they were 2 abreast and all their legs were in the same position, the colors looked amazing as they cruised through the roundabout and she thought "they're mine!", she felt like a proud mum! <3 they are such a great bunch, the sledging is coming thick and fast, good times :) tomorrow is an early and frosty start, we are expecting 2 degrees, lucky I'm in twinnie should b toasty in there! ;)
Day 3 - Yass - Tarcuta
Well what a brisk start to the day! Brrrrrr, when we woke up glenn yelled out to one of our room mates "can u come brush the snow off our doona!" bahahaha it was cold!!!!!!!
A quick brekky and layered up with snow gear (well just about!) we all piled into the 2 vehicles and made our way back to Yass. In Yass we met a gentlemen whom is on his way back to Sydney from Perth on bike! He left on march 16th, doing a great job! A quick pic and then team debrief and they were off! Jen n I had a quick stop at woolies to re stock the coke supply and then we were off ! Twinnie is great, doesn't let us down (touch wood!!)
Morning tea was at a truck stop in the middle of no mans land (48k from Yass) we set up and then I set up a circuit and we started working out on the side of the Hume hwy!!! Hehehe had a couple of truckers look at us a bit weird and then waved, we waved back and they high tailed it outta there, clearly didn't wanna mess with us! ;)
The riders enjoyed their 2 min noodles (oh yes we r spoiling them) and then off we went, the dog on the tucker box was our next stop. A quick piccy and then 10k down the road was lunch! Hot dogs!!!!!! Weren't we popular then :) a nice long lunch break was enjoyed by all. Onto Tarcuta and the lovely local ladies had put on a wonderful spread at the rsl along with a nicely decorated room and welcoming committee. It was lovely to get the old school hospitality along with some very generous donations!!!!!
We had dinner at the motor inn (our only choice for accommodation and dinner) and we had a great chat lots of laughs, this trip is leaving some long lasting memories & friendships :)
'Paul dukes story time' was very memorable again, the views were popular again, Trish's encounter with the faunicating snakes (everyone's encounter actually), she is petrified and this was her worst nightmare. I must say Trish Carter is a funny funny lady, very quick witted and can give as good as she gets! Kathleen, whom shall now be called 'mother duck' as she ushers her chicks along the Hume everyday, was very proud again today to see her chicks in a reverse V formation, beaming with pride she was, smithy has affectionately named the snake sight 'double snake gap'! Matt was very thankful to everyone for their encouragement and support on his first day today whilst captains Paul and Peter thought the group are gelling very well and today was fun! Mine was the circuit Jen and I had set up in the truck stop, I still chuckle now at what the passing motorists must of been thinking, lol
All in all today was a great day, twinnie kept moving (always a bonus) the riders had fun, had beautiful weather and scenery and stayed safe!!!! Stay tuned for tomorrows blog because tomorrow the blog comes from a riders point of view, nope I'm not handing over the reigns, I'm swapping my runners for bike shoes, oh yes I am! Looking forward to it, they've been having so much fun, I want to experience it, even if only for a day, I can say I was a part of the riding team :) until tomorrow
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
So day 2 for me as a support crew was kinda uneventful as Jen and I waited in Goulburn for our replacement vehicle. Thankfully , and I mean this with the greatest sincerity, Drew Matt and Danielle came to our rescue driving down our new Winnie, whom we have affectionately named twinnie (second Winnie) ;) so this being the case meant that Matt joined the ride 2 days earlier! Not much point in driving down then coming back again a day later, so welcome Matt :)
Jen and I shopped (walked into Goulburn then carried groceries back, good chicks or what???) then started unpacking Winnie, twinnie arrived at 12:30 and we were on the road by 1:40. Eventually joining the crew in Good Hope at around 3:30, after a shopping stop in Yass which included some alcoholic beverages! Again, good chicks or what???! Didn't they love us for that!
Nibbles and grog around the fire was a hit, as well as debrief and what we have affectionately come to name 'Paul dukes story time' :) thanks Paul. So from story time ( this is when each rider shares their highlight from the day) I can conclude that they all loved the beautiful views, the hilarious smithy flying down the middle of the Hume hwy, Trish was stunned for a moment when she got a darl over the 2 way from Kathleen and thought that Kathleen was getting a tad friendly, turned out it was for her co captain and Kathleen's partner Smithy! Ah we all laughed at that one. They all agreed that the team is gelling and riding really well together and then Kathleen topped it off with an emotional moment of when as she was following them through a roundabout they were 2 abreast and all their legs were in the same position, the colors looked amazing as they cruised through the roundabout and she thought "they're mine!", she felt like a proud mum! <3 they are such a great bunch, the sledging is coming thick and fast, good times :) tomorrow is an early and frosty start, we are expecting 2 degrees, lucky I'm in twinnie should b toasty in there! ;)
Day 3 - Yass - Tarcuta
Well what a brisk start to the day! Brrrrrr, when we woke up glenn yelled out to one of our room mates "can u come brush the snow off our doona!" bahahaha it was cold!!!!!!!
A quick brekky and layered up with snow gear (well just about!) we all piled into the 2 vehicles and made our way back to Yass. In Yass we met a gentlemen whom is on his way back to Sydney from Perth on bike! He left on march 16th, doing a great job! A quick pic and then team debrief and they were off! Jen n I had a quick stop at woolies to re stock the coke supply and then we were off ! Twinnie is great, doesn't let us down (touch wood!!)
Morning tea was at a truck stop in the middle of no mans land (48k from Yass) we set up and then I set up a circuit and we started working out on the side of the Hume hwy!!! Hehehe had a couple of truckers look at us a bit weird and then waved, we waved back and they high tailed it outta there, clearly didn't wanna mess with us! ;)
The riders enjoyed their 2 min noodles (oh yes we r spoiling them) and then off we went, the dog on the tucker box was our next stop. A quick piccy and then 10k down the road was lunch! Hot dogs!!!!!! Weren't we popular then :) a nice long lunch break was enjoyed by all. Onto Tarcuta and the lovely local ladies had put on a wonderful spread at the rsl along with a nicely decorated room and welcoming committee. It was lovely to get the old school hospitality along with some very generous donations!!!!!
We had dinner at the motor inn (our only choice for accommodation and dinner) and we had a great chat lots of laughs, this trip is leaving some long lasting memories & friendships :)
'Paul dukes story time' was very memorable again, the views were popular again, Trish's encounter with the faunicating snakes (everyone's encounter actually), she is petrified and this was her worst nightmare. I must say Trish Carter is a funny funny lady, very quick witted and can give as good as she gets! Kathleen, whom shall now be called 'mother duck' as she ushers her chicks along the Hume everyday, was very proud again today to see her chicks in a reverse V formation, beaming with pride she was, smithy has affectionately named the snake sight 'double snake gap'! Matt was very thankful to everyone for their encouragement and support on his first day today whilst captains Paul and Peter thought the group are gelling very well and today was fun! Mine was the circuit Jen and I had set up in the truck stop, I still chuckle now at what the passing motorists must of been thinking, lol
All in all today was a great day, twinnie kept moving (always a bonus) the riders had fun, had beautiful weather and scenery and stayed safe!!!! Stay tuned for tomorrows blog because tomorrow the blog comes from a riders point of view, nope I'm not handing over the reigns, I'm swapping my runners for bike shoes, oh yes I am! Looking forward to it, they've been having so much fun, I want to experience it, even if only for a day, I can say I was a part of the riding team :) until tomorrow
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Day 1 - and we're off!
All the preparation and hard work has brought us to today, to this moment right now. As I sit here writing this post, waiting for the riders to pull in for their morning tea break, i think about what amazing things our efforts are going to bring to so many children, and their families :)
First of all can I express our sincerest thanks to our families for putting up with us for the last 6 months, we love you! and to all who came to the coffee club this morning to farewell us, It was a great turnout and greatly appreciated by all.
5:30am arrival to pack the riders gear into 'winnie' and the trailer, then breaky and some chit chat, photos and toilet stops and before we knew it we were saying our goodbyes!
Kalahni and Charli proudly held the green ribbon (so wonderfully made by Elissa) across the road to mark the start of the ride. The ribbon was cut by one of Elissa's students,amy, as she was the very first person to make a donation to our charity (out of her pocket money I might add!). Jen and I had positioned ourselves in front of the riders so we could see them start and take pics out the back window, I had to be mindful of Jen running up and down the aisle whenever I accelerated, I could just imagine her flying backwards down the aisle and going butt first into the windscreen! Needless to say we got some great pics (thanks Jen for taking one for the team!)
Along the Northern rd we headed , and were gob smacked at the signs along the road for the cc's, left Jen and I both with goosebumps! Then Jen jumped onto fb to check out all the photos that had been uploaded already and came across a lovely MSG left on the cc's Facebook page from Barbs brother. It took her a couple of attempts to read it to me, and left us both in tears (a little heads up for you all, jen and I are known for our emotionalness). That out of our system, we headed to the first mini stop at Narellen where the riders had a quick breather, some lollies and twinkle time ;) then off to pheasants nest servo for morning tea! Now that part of the journey was not without hiccups! Poor Winnie is having engine issues and as I pulled into our stop I lost all acceleration, well not all my heart was going ten to the dozen, but poor old Winnie had nothing :( bit of a rest and she was good as new. At this stop we farewelled Matt, he will be back on day 4 to finish the ride. Hot cross buns and Easter eggs were on the menu at this stop, no complaints, however if there was, being a public holiday my complaints department is closed!
So now I sit at Mackey truck stop and continue writing , Kathleen has given us the 5km warning call, lunch is all good to go, rolls salad and cold meat, again complaints department is closed so like it or lump it, hehehehehe
Now I believe I reported that earlier on Winnie was not behaving very well? Well unfortunately she got worse! From Mackey truck stop we were to head to Marulan truck stop so that we could escort the riders through some roadworks this side of Goulburn. Well that was fine Jen and I made it there with only one stop , and sat at Marulan for quite some time. They all arrived in chirpy spirits and after a few jokes about us struggling to keep Winnie going it was time to head off. The riders and Kathleen go, Jen and I had plenty of time to overtake them b4 the roadworks right? Well yes if Winnie would start!!!!!!! Correction, she started she just wouldn't move, like a stubborn mule I tell you. After many attempts we were pretty sure we weren't going anywhere! A call to Kathleen, who tells us they r through the roadworks!, gee we did our job well ;) she was to come back and get us if we were still stuck once they arrived at Goulburn, pfffft there's no way you'll beat us to Goulburn, well guess who's now eating her words! Yep that'd b me! Once winnie decided she'd move her fat ass (sorry she's not my favorite anymore) we thought right let's just get to Goulburn! By now the word had spread on fb that we were in trouble, and so many people pitched in to offer help and advice (thank you) , so we had phones ringing, dinging and vibrating whilst I'm trying to hold winnie in a straight line, watch the speedo, traffic and get off the road if my A turned into an F! Talk about a fiasco! Jen was busy manning 2 phones trying to sort something out for us, and I was an absolute basket case , sweaty palms, clenched fists on the wheel, u get my picture???? We had trucks rushing up our butt then hurling abuse at us, cars refusing to move over as I was trying to merge back onto the hwy, ahhhhhhh my worse nightmare really! Well we finally turn up to our hotel, all the cc's sitting out the front ushering us into our parking spot. We pull up look at each other without words, but knowing exactly what the other was thinking (and quite possibly not appropriate for this blog) the boys open jens door to see how we are, I bolt to the toilet a complete wreck to take a few deep breaths and calm the farm (so to speak) .
Turns out F stands for fuel (who knew? And not f*^+ed) and this particular model has a dodgy water separator (or something like that) anyways after showers and dinner, a debrief and story time (a lovely idea put forward by Paul dukes, where everyone shares their highlight of the day) , NRMA turn up! Yep she's gotta go, so tomorrow we will farewell Winnie and welcome, well I haven't named her yet, got to meet her first ;) the riders may leave us, we will make sure they have MT and lunch with them, and Jen and I will catch up when we can :( what a disappointment.
All in all though I have to say, the riders did an amazing job in tough conditions, they never complained (even Elissa, even though she's battered and bruised after her fall), used their manners and were just a pleasure to look after. I am Honored to be a part of this journey, and just quietly very happy that I'm in the comfort of a heated vehicle (even if she did let me down) tomorrow is a new day and will bring with it new adventures. Heres hoping they are happy and positive ones for everyone!!!!!!
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
First of all can I express our sincerest thanks to our families for putting up with us for the last 6 months, we love you! and to all who came to the coffee club this morning to farewell us, It was a great turnout and greatly appreciated by all.
5:30am arrival to pack the riders gear into 'winnie' and the trailer, then breaky and some chit chat, photos and toilet stops and before we knew it we were saying our goodbyes!
Kalahni and Charli proudly held the green ribbon (so wonderfully made by Elissa) across the road to mark the start of the ride. The ribbon was cut by one of Elissa's students,amy, as she was the very first person to make a donation to our charity (out of her pocket money I might add!). Jen and I had positioned ourselves in front of the riders so we could see them start and take pics out the back window, I had to be mindful of Jen running up and down the aisle whenever I accelerated, I could just imagine her flying backwards down the aisle and going butt first into the windscreen! Needless to say we got some great pics (thanks Jen for taking one for the team!)
Along the Northern rd we headed , and were gob smacked at the signs along the road for the cc's, left Jen and I both with goosebumps! Then Jen jumped onto fb to check out all the photos that had been uploaded already and came across a lovely MSG left on the cc's Facebook page from Barbs brother. It took her a couple of attempts to read it to me, and left us both in tears (a little heads up for you all, jen and I are known for our emotionalness). That out of our system, we headed to the first mini stop at Narellen where the riders had a quick breather, some lollies and twinkle time ;) then off to pheasants nest servo for morning tea! Now that part of the journey was not without hiccups! Poor Winnie is having engine issues and as I pulled into our stop I lost all acceleration, well not all my heart was going ten to the dozen, but poor old Winnie had nothing :( bit of a rest and she was good as new. At this stop we farewelled Matt, he will be back on day 4 to finish the ride. Hot cross buns and Easter eggs were on the menu at this stop, no complaints, however if there was, being a public holiday my complaints department is closed!
So now I sit at Mackey truck stop and continue writing , Kathleen has given us the 5km warning call, lunch is all good to go, rolls salad and cold meat, again complaints department is closed so like it or lump it, hehehehehe
Now I believe I reported that earlier on Winnie was not behaving very well? Well unfortunately she got worse! From Mackey truck stop we were to head to Marulan truck stop so that we could escort the riders through some roadworks this side of Goulburn. Well that was fine Jen and I made it there with only one stop , and sat at Marulan for quite some time. They all arrived in chirpy spirits and after a few jokes about us struggling to keep Winnie going it was time to head off. The riders and Kathleen go, Jen and I had plenty of time to overtake them b4 the roadworks right? Well yes if Winnie would start!!!!!!! Correction, she started she just wouldn't move, like a stubborn mule I tell you. After many attempts we were pretty sure we weren't going anywhere! A call to Kathleen, who tells us they r through the roadworks!, gee we did our job well ;) she was to come back and get us if we were still stuck once they arrived at Goulburn, pfffft there's no way you'll beat us to Goulburn, well guess who's now eating her words! Yep that'd b me! Once winnie decided she'd move her fat ass (sorry she's not my favorite anymore) we thought right let's just get to Goulburn! By now the word had spread on fb that we were in trouble, and so many people pitched in to offer help and advice (thank you) , so we had phones ringing, dinging and vibrating whilst I'm trying to hold winnie in a straight line, watch the speedo, traffic and get off the road if my A turned into an F! Talk about a fiasco! Jen was busy manning 2 phones trying to sort something out for us, and I was an absolute basket case , sweaty palms, clenched fists on the wheel, u get my picture???? We had trucks rushing up our butt then hurling abuse at us, cars refusing to move over as I was trying to merge back onto the hwy, ahhhhhhh my worse nightmare really! Well we finally turn up to our hotel, all the cc's sitting out the front ushering us into our parking spot. We pull up look at each other without words, but knowing exactly what the other was thinking (and quite possibly not appropriate for this blog) the boys open jens door to see how we are, I bolt to the toilet a complete wreck to take a few deep breaths and calm the farm (so to speak) .
Turns out F stands for fuel (who knew? And not f*^+ed) and this particular model has a dodgy water separator (or something like that) anyways after showers and dinner, a debrief and story time (a lovely idea put forward by Paul dukes, where everyone shares their highlight of the day) , NRMA turn up! Yep she's gotta go, so tomorrow we will farewell Winnie and welcome, well I haven't named her yet, got to meet her first ;) the riders may leave us, we will make sure they have MT and lunch with them, and Jen and I will catch up when we can :( what a disappointment.
All in all though I have to say, the riders did an amazing job in tough conditions, they never complained (even Elissa, even though she's battered and bruised after her fall), used their manners and were just a pleasure to look after. I am Honored to be a part of this journey, and just quietly very happy that I'm in the comfort of a heated vehicle (even if she did let me down) tomorrow is a new day and will bring with it new adventures. Heres hoping they are happy and positive ones for everyone!!!!!!
Doin it for the kids
Clair :)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The preparation begins!!!!
Hello and welcome to the Cycling Cerebellums blog! this is the first of many blogs to come to keep you updated on where we are and how we are traveling.Your blogger for this expedition is me, Clair Williams. My husband, Glenn, and father-in-law Peter are riders along with many others who, luckily enough for me, have become great friends.
On Monday April 9th at 7am SHARP, the riders will mount their bikes at the Coffee Club, Nepean River, and begin their 900km+ journey to St Kilda, Melbourne Vic. Day 1 will see them finish at Golburn, after a gruelling 180-190km day. Jen (my co-pilot and wife of Paul wills, another rider) and I will keep the riders fuelled up with lots of sugary and carbohydrate goodness, whilst Kathleen (graham smiths, also another rider, better half) will drive ever so slowly behind the team keeping a safe distance between them and any traffic.
Tomorrow, Saturday April 7th, Jen and I will go and pick up our vehicle, a brand new winnebago generously donated by Sydney RV! That is causing some butterflies I can tell you now! So consider this your heads up, if u see a winnebago (or Winnie as I have affectionately named her) travelling at a snails pace, stay as far away as possible!!!!! Don't say you weren't warned ;)
Well stay tuned for regular updates come Monday :) this is such an exciting yet nerve wracking experience for all involved, also very humbling at the thought that what we have done so far and are about to do, is going to benefit so many children who are unwell or living with debilitating neurological disorders.
Wish us luck (and the riders too) :P
Doin it for the kids
Clair
p.s I am unable to upload pics onto my blog so we will be uploading them straight to FB, and will tag all the riders so that all family and friends can see them :)
On Monday April 9th at 7am SHARP, the riders will mount their bikes at the Coffee Club, Nepean River, and begin their 900km+ journey to St Kilda, Melbourne Vic. Day 1 will see them finish at Golburn, after a gruelling 180-190km day. Jen (my co-pilot and wife of Paul wills, another rider) and I will keep the riders fuelled up with lots of sugary and carbohydrate goodness, whilst Kathleen (graham smiths, also another rider, better half) will drive ever so slowly behind the team keeping a safe distance between them and any traffic.
Tomorrow, Saturday April 7th, Jen and I will go and pick up our vehicle, a brand new winnebago generously donated by Sydney RV! That is causing some butterflies I can tell you now! So consider this your heads up, if u see a winnebago (or Winnie as I have affectionately named her) travelling at a snails pace, stay as far away as possible!!!!! Don't say you weren't warned ;)
Well stay tuned for regular updates come Monday :) this is such an exciting yet nerve wracking experience for all involved, also very humbling at the thought that what we have done so far and are about to do, is going to benefit so many children who are unwell or living with debilitating neurological disorders.
Wish us luck (and the riders too) :P
Doin it for the kids
Clair
p.s I am unable to upload pics onto my blog so we will be uploading them straight to FB, and will tag all the riders so that all family and friends can see them :)
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