Hi all,

The ride in Oz was absolutely awesome! We rode the 780k from Cairns to
Karumba in 6 days. On Sunday we were transported back to Cairns in a
bus. There were about 140 riders: 40 mountain bikers (‘the dirty crew’)
and 100 road riders, divided in 6 groups for different abilities. Every
pack had a support car behind and one in front. Apart from the rare road
train, there was hardly any traffic on the road. Our support went ahead
of us: several big trucks transporting our tents, backpacks, food,
drinks and fantastic organisers.

Every night some fun-activities were organised. The catering was superb.
We stayed mostly in tents and sometimes in hotels. The people from the
small villages that we passed welcomed us with morning tea, songs and
other treats. I was wondering how they would react to 140 lycra-ed
people passing their places, but it appeared that they are the main
beneficiaries of this charity ride and they were happy to see us. And
they are used to the event after more than 10 years.

The riding was also great. I learned a lot in terms of bunch riding.
Rotating for hours and hours day after day made me do things I never
imagined I would dare: e.g. going downhill in a tight bunch at 40k/hr!

But most of all we had so much fun. There were two other people from NZ,
both from Timaru. Most riders were from Queensland, a few from other
states. All ages, 50/50 male/female. A great bunch; I recommend this
ride to anyone!

Gerry

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