Congratulations Brad on 10,000km in 2011

Today Brad "Spartacus" Scriven achieved a huge milestone when he clocked up 10,000km for 2011.

It's an amazing achievement particularly as the last 6 months have thrown up many challenges for Brad and Fleur who is in all our thoughts as she nears the end of her Chemo treatment.

New Team POWERADE kit has arrived!!!

The new Team POWERADE kit arrived yesterday and a few of the boys got the chance to test it out this morning with a quick trip up Mt Cootha followed by a riverloop.

The boys got lots of looks as they rode around in the very attractive kit.

A big thank you goes to Brad for designing and organising the kit which is first class....how good does it look!!!

Here's a pic of Gav and Brad modelling the new kit after this mornings ride.

GreenEdge team announced for Tour Down Under

GreenEdge have announced a strong team for the 2012 Tour Down Under Team. Looks like they are keen to chalk up their first World Tour victory on home soil.

You can vote on how you think GreenEdge will perform with our online poll (see poll on top right). 

The team is:

1. Cameron Meyers
2. Matt Goss
3. Simon Gerrans
4. Stuart O'Grady
5. Robby McEwan
6. Leigh Howard
7. Jack Borbridge

Smiling for Smiddy raises $710,000 for cancer research

Last week Mark "Sharky" Smoothy announced that the 2011 fund raising total was $710,000. This makes the total money raised since 2006 to over $2 million!!

The $710,000 is the net fundraising result for the year which will directly benefit world-class medical research.

It is a fantastic result and a significant contribution to researchers like those at Mater Medical Research Institute. The funds will allow researchers to continue their work to understand and treat this devastating disease.  Other beneficiaries of funds include PA Research Foundation, Melanoma Patients Australia and Flinders Medical Centre Foundation.

Team POWERADE through the efforts of Gav, Brad, Dammo and Kent contributed over $60,000 towards this total and with Lucy, Craig and Rowan now well entrenched members of the team that total is over $75,000!!!

A number of Team POWERADE members will be taking on the 2012 Smiddy Challenge and we look forward to supporting them in their fund raising efforts and training.

Sunday ride - Riding with Legends

Last Sunday's ride was to be the last Sunday ride for the group for 2011 and we were joined by World Record Holder for cycling around Australia Dave Alley along with another Australian legend Michael Groom.

Its not every day that you have a world record holder and the first Australian to climb the world's 5 tallest mountains ride with your riding group but that's exactly what we had last Sunday.

To top it off we had the largest turn out for the year with 21 riders joining in for the 80k Scarborough ride.

Everyone enjoyed riding in the large group and the ANZAC Av section was simply awesome with the group reaching speeds nearing 50kph with an average speed for the 3.5km section being almost 47kph.....how much fun was that!!!

With about a kilometre to go to the sprint finish Rowan turned up the heat and dragged the peleton along at 50kph but soon the sprinters let rip with first Craig then Gav and Jase giving chase. Rowan had cranked it up so much that the sprinters almost didn't catch the leaders with Shane almost upsetting the sprinters plans. In the end Craig had just too much and took what was an awesome sprint.

Things settled down a bit after that as we hit the headwind as we turned south.

As we headed through Woody Point we were reminded that this was the starting and finishing point for Dave's unbelievable race around Australia. It was great chatting with Dave as we rode along and got to hear about his amazing 37 days.

The Ted Smout or new Hornibrook bridge is always a great chance to get the paceline going and go we did with a solid 36kph average for the 2.6km trip across the bridge.

With such a big group full of contenders the Sandgate sprint was highly anticipated and it didn't disappoint. Tactics soon came into play and Jase unhappy with the slow pace took the lead with the Smiddy boys getting organised for the sprint. Rowan led the charge with Craig and others right with him. Jase Gav and Brad couldn't respond and the Smiddy boys led it home.

At the finish the biggest ever group assembled for coffee at Conti Cafe who did well to pack us all in.

It was a great way to finish the last ride for 2011. Made extra special by Dave and Michael's presence.

Yo can check out the ride data here... http://app.strava.com/rides/2747076

Here's Dave and Michael enjoying a coffee with Team POWERADE.....

I am a cyclist - too funny!!!

If you have ever had one of those conversations with a non-cyclist about what the difference is between a bike rider and a cyclist then I'm sure you will relate to this video.

Not entirely politically correct at times but just so funny!!!

World Record cyclist Dave Alley to ride with Team POWERADE

This Sunday Team POWERADE will be joined by world record cyclist Dave Alley for its regular Sunday ride.

During the period 12 September to 19 October David road a total of 14,251km around Australia in 37 days 20 hours and 45 minutes and in doing smashed the World Record by over 3 days!!! Dave was riding not only to break the world record he was raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service here in Australia.

Dave averaged an incredible 377km per day and his last 7 days looked like this....

• 396km
• 375km
• 395km
• 369km
• 365km
• 437km
• 415km (last day)

You can watch and listen to Dave talking about this remarkable feat here:

You can find out more about Dave's record breaking ride by clicking here

This Sunday's ride is only going to be about 80kms so we're hoping its not too short for Dave!!

It will be great to ride with the world record holder for cycling around Australia.

Now this is how you raise money for cancer research!!

Last Saturday Chris "Jimmy" Acomb the legendary Smiling for Smiddy bike mechanic took fund raising to a whole new level when he rode the Brisbane riverloop wearing his partner's underwear. 

Jimmy really got into it and raised over $1,000 for cancer research.

You can see how he did it here.....

Ride report Sunday 11 Dec - The return of Spartacus

With a few of the lads away today it was great to see 7 committed riders turn up for a Junker Track/Sandgate loop.

It appeared that everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit with a few tired bodies and sore heads pushing the peddles but we soon settled into a good pace.

The Jinker Track sprint lacked a little bit of zip but the pace line was fun as always.

Brocky gave the T MAC its head and off he went but Craig always had his measure and comfortably took it out.

The Sandgate sprint was a similar affair with no one really looking to dish out the pain although Granty did take off with a solo effort which while brave was always destined to fail.

It was at about this time that Brad "Spartacus" Scriven was heard to say "I'm out of the sprint today lads if I did have a go I'd be going home in an ambulance!!"

So you can imagine our surprise when Spartacus made a late run for the line catching everyone by surprise and beating Craig across the line.....Spartacus was back and how!!!!

When it came to coffee Conti cafe, seeing that the boys had worked hard, shouted us all coffees which made for a great finish to the day. Thanks Conti!!!

With only one Sunday ride before Christmas we're hoping for a good turnout next week.

To check out some data for the ride check out the link here....

http://app.strava.com/rides/2651983

Wiggle sold for $275,000,000

Here's some news for all you riders out there who have ever purchased something from wiggle.co.uk.

Cycling Tribe has reported that Wiggle, the privately owned online cycling and sports goods retailer, has been sold to private equity group Bridgepoint in a deal valuing the company chaired by former Asda chief executive Andy Bond at £180m ($275m AUS).

Read the full article here: http://www.cyclingtribe.com/blog/post/show/id/422-Online-retailer-Wiggle-purchased-for-180-million

Sunday 4 December ride data

For those of you who did the Team POWERADE ride last Sunday here is a link to the ride data using STRAVA.

Sunday 4 Dec 2011

2012 Ipswich 100 mile ride

Registration has now opened for the 2012 Ipswich 100 ride. This 160km ride has been a favourite for a few of Team POWERADE members over the past few years and will be held on Sunday 1 APRIL 2012. Let's see if we can get a good turn out from Team POWERADE in 2012.

You can check out all the information at http://www.ipswich100.com.au/

This is a terrific ride which is well organised and challenging particularly the infamous 'Dirty Dozen' a series of yes you guessed it 12 ridge lines which need to be crossed after leaving Boonah.

To see what the ride looks like you can check out my Garmin data from this year's ride here:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76831254

Here is my favourite photo from the 2011 event. That's Gav, Brad, Jase (obscured) and me giving Bruzzer a hand up one of the hills!! Doesn't the big boy look like he is hurting!!

Kylie's Date and Cranberry Energy Bars

Last Sunday Shane (see recent rider profile) amazed us all when he pulled out some home made energy bars as we enjoyed our post ride coffee at Conti Cafe.

The boys thought they tasted a treat so Shane agreed to share Kylie's recipe.

Kylie's Date and Cranberry Energy Bars

 

 (makes 15 bars)

 

• 1 cup of chopped dates (stones removed)
• 1 cup of walnuts
• 1 cups of plain almonds 
• 3 tablespoons of golden syrup (or natural honey) 
• 1 cup of desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
• 1 cup of mixed fruit (can be replaced with raisins)
• 1 cup of dried cranberries (can be replaced with sultanas to keep the cost down)  
• A little extra coconut for dusting on top the energy bars if you feel creative. 

1. Pour the almonds and walnuts into food processor and grind into a rough powder. 

 

2. Add all the other ingredients and process into a sticky dough like consistency. 

 

3. Press the dough into a rectangular shallow baking dish and sprinkle the top any remaining coconut. 

 

4. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before cutting into bars.

 

5. Wrap in grease proof paper or alfoil.

 

6. Enjoy!!

 

 

Australia to get first UCI World Tour team

Great news today that the UCI has awarded the Australian GreenEDGE cycling team a World Tour licence.

Its going to be great to see the Aussie boys riding together on the World Tour in 2012.

Check out GreenEDGE by clicking on their logo:

Want to keep update with what is happening at GreenEDGE then click here to register for updates

Rider profile - Shane Asnicar

The first of our new rider profiles is Shane Asnicar.

Age: 27


Family: Married for two years to Kylie 


Live: Albany creek 


Occupation: Sparky 


Company/Employer: BDF Electrical, based in Stafford 




How long have you been cycling: I have been cycling for five years before that I did a lot of competitive athletics mainly sprinting but the ankles and knees were becoming worse for wear. I started cycling because of a life long passion for the sport watching a number of my friends rise through the ranks of competitive cycling.    


Bike type:  Current bike: Avanti Quantum 2.0, full shimano ultegra 6600, Carbon shimano RS80  


Dream bike: Bianchi Sempre "celeste, is there any other colour", Campagnolo super record, Campagnolo Bora ultra two. 


Weekly kms: 150 - 250km


Favourite ride: Scarborough loop, plenty of sprints. 

A couple of GIANTS

I took this photo at Conti cafe of a couple of GIANTS looking the goods after last Sunday's ride.

New Specialized Tarmac tears it up!!

There's always an air of excitement when a rider turns up with a new bike and today it was Brocky's turn to show off the new machine a Specialized Tarmac or the big T MAC as it was referred to.

Brocky was just a little bit proud of the bike and after the formlities were taken care of eg. where did you get it, what running gear has it got, what wheel set did you go for etc etc we got on with the ride.

As it turned out it was a great course to test the new Tarmac out and Brocky showed that the bike had a good turn of speed along the Jinker Track but it was in the hills that the Tarmac really showed its strength as Brocky, probably the first to admit that he is no Andy Schlek when it comes to climbing, tore it up as we took on the Eaton's Crossing Road hills. I even saw him ride up to and pass Jase a noted climber.

The new bike passed every test thrown at it and we were all starting to wonder if it was all to do with the bike or if Brocky has been secretly training. Either way he rode the house down all day and certainly did justice to the new bike.

The way Brocky rode we thought this pic taken at Conti Cafe was a little bit ironic.....

Team POWERADE rider survey - the results are in!!

To find out a bit more about our team the first ever survey of riders was conducted and the results are in.

• 39% are under 40 which leaves 61% being 40 or older
• The group is 90% male and 10% female although this can often be 100% male as we know
• 54% have been riding for 5 or more years (3 riders can't even remember a time that they didn't ride!)
• We ride 13 different brands of bike with the most popular being GIANT (35%) followed by TREK (19%)
• 23% ride just once a week while 36% ride at least 4 times per week
• 26% ride less than 100km per week with the same number riding over 200km per week
• 50% use Shimano Ultegra but a surprisingly high number 36% use Dura Ace
• 92% use Shimano with SRAM and Campagnola making up just 4% each
• The most favourite ride is Mt Nebo (20%) followed by the Jinker Track and Dayboro/Mt Mee
• Conti Cafe is our most popular coffee shop followed by Spoon but hey lets face we just all love our coffee!!

Well I hope you have a better idea about our group. In the coming weeks we will be doing some rider profiles so you can get to know the riders a little bit better.

New name - Team POWERADE

Today we are changing the name of the blog to reflect the new name of the riding group.

That new name is TEAM POWERADE

Why the change? Over the past 2 years our Sunday riding group has associated itself with a number of brands and organisations from Peroni, Cyc'd for Bikes, Smiling for Smiddy and KRAC Racing so it was felt that it was time to bring everyone together under a single name and brand. With the help of Brad we have been able to design our own cycling kit branded POWERADE.

Team Powerade unites all of our other brands and associated organisations, sponsors and supporters and will continue to support the Smiling for Smiddy organisation.

The blog has been updated to reflect the new name as well as a few others things including:

Our Charity - Smiling for Smiddy

Our coffee shop - Conti Cafe

Our bike shop - Cyc'd for Bikes

The blog will continue to discuss topics of interest on all things to do with TEAM POWERADE, our sponsors and supporters.

I hope you enjoy the new blog.

Kent

Two years and 20,000km

Over the weekend I stumbled upon an interesting statistic from my riding.

Last year I rode just over 10,000km in the calendar year and when I went to check my progress this year I realised that since 1 January 2010 I have ridden just over 20,000km!!

Its taken 886 hours of peddle turning over some 408 individual rides and I'd say close to 500 coffee stops to reach this milestone but its been time well spent with great mates and new friends.

While the riding has been awesome being involved in the Smiling for Smiddy events over the past two years has added a whole different dimension to the riding. I'm pleased to say that in those two years I have managed to raise over $50,000 for cancer research through my involvement with Smiling for Smiddy.

I just need to do another 300km before the end of December to make it back-to-back 10,000km years with many more to come hopefully!!

You have to watch this!!!

Everyone should watch this and show your children...

Check out the NEW Smiling for Smiddy website

Smiling for Smiddy has launched its new website. Check it out at:
http://www.smiddy.org.au/

Great images and heaps of information about Smiling for Smiddy and the fantastic work it does for cancer research.

Cyc'd for Smiddy to do it again in 2012

Well the Cyc'd boys will once again be active in 2012 with Brad signing up for the 2012 Smiddy Challenge.....good stuff mate.

Here's a piece on why the 2012 Smiddy Challenge will be extra special for Brad.....

In late 2010 Brad and Fleur Scriven were motivated to do their bit to fight cancer. Close family friends had tragically lost their son aged only 17 and it was at this that point that Brad and Fleur decided they needed to act.

“There were just so many good families and people around me who have been affected by cancer,” said Brad.

“When a close lost his battle with cancer Fleur and I decided that we wanted to do something positive, we needed to help, particularly because we were healthy and our family hadn’t been affected by cancer we felt that it was even more important that we contribute.”

Brad registered for the 2011 Bottlemart Smiddy challenge—an inspired cycling challenge where participants cover 1600 kilometers in eight days from Brisbane to Townsville to raise money for cancer research at Mater Medical Research Institute. Brad, who had heard about the event from friend (who participated in the Midi-Smiddy Challenge), was determined to not only complete the physically arduous task, he committed to a fundraising campaign to benefit cancer sufferers.

“I got together with three of my mates and started to plan some fundraising activities,” said Brad.

“Our local bike store Cyc’d for Bikes in Norman Park came on board right away supporting us with the donation of a bike—that’s when we decided to call ourselves the Cyc’d boys.”

And Cyc’d they were. The group hosted BBQs and fundraising nights, coordinated a raffle and asked friends and colleagues to support their cause. Together they raised a staggering amount of more than $65 000 for Smiling for Smiddy.

But just weeks before the event with 8000 kilometres of training under their belt the couple’s life changed—Fleur was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Fleur’s diagnosis with breast cancer was ironic because there was no history of cancer in our direct family and that was why we had got involved in the Smiddy Challenge,” said Brad.

“Although Fleur’s surgery was scheduled for during the ride and our focus was 100% on her wellbeing she still wanted me to do at least cycle a couple of days but it was a very stressful time.”

Brad developed a severe case of bronchitis in the lead up to the event. Despite this he managed to complete one day of the challenge before having to withdraw but he hasn’t let this bring him down.

Fleur is now recovering well from her surgery and Brad is back on the bike and ready for the 2012 Bottlemart Smiddy challenge.

What started out as a commitment to help has now become a personal quest. Brad draws his inspiration from Smiling for Smiddy founder Mark ‘Sharky’ Smoothy who started the event in honour of his friend Adam Smiddy who died from an aggressive cancer aged 26.

“Mark’s ability to stay passionate and positive is inspirational,” said Brad.

“Helping people with cancer has become a personal quest—it’s something that in some way, shape or form has to continue.”

Brad

You can support Brad on his journey at his fund raising page at http://www.smiddyfundraising.com.au/brad_scriven_2

Cyc'd for Smiddy blog reaches 5,000 page views

Wow who would have thought that the Cyc'd for Smiddy blog would have reached 5,000 page views in just 6 months!!!

Six months ago I started the blog to let people know about our involvement in the Smiling for Smiddy Challenge to raise money for cancer research and to raise awareness of this fantastic cause.

In those six months a lot has happened. The four members of Cyc'd for Smiddy, Gav, Brad, Dammo and myself have raised over $60,000 for the Mater Foundation, have ridden around 35,000 km (this year) including the Smiddy Challenge and received the most unbelievable support from family, friends and businesses. Also in that time we have been rocked by the news that Brad's wife Fleur had been diagnosed with breast cancer......who would have thought any of this would have happened in just a short six months.

I'm planning on sticking with the blog and hope that its following continues to grow. I hope in the coming months to announce a new project for raising money for cancer research so stay tuned for an exciting announcement (hopefully!!)

I am amazed by the following that the blog has had and for those of you who are interested in some stats here are where most of the visitors have come from.....

Australia 3,655

United Kingdom 603

United States 292

Malaysia 76

Poland 28

Canada 26

Netherlands  25

Russia 24

Germany 22

India 14

New Zealand 4 Indonesia 3 UAE 2 Germany 2

Smiddy triathletes fight cancer at Noosa Tri

A team of 50 triathletes have added a fourth leg to this year’s Noosa Triathlon – fundraising for cancer research.

Participants, including six-time Paralympian and cancer survivor Michael Milton, tackled the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run course as part of Smiling for Smiddy’s ‘Tri to Fight Cancer’ supporting research at Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI).

The team has raised more than $78,000 for research into a disease which sees more than 100,000 Australians diagnosed each year.

Smiling for Smiddy founder Mark Smoothy said, “Many of our Tri to Fight Cancer participants have personal stories and connections to cancer so it’s inspiring to see them combine their participation with raising funds for research”.

“The Noosa Tri is is a challenging event and competing in memory of loved ones lost to cancer will make crossing that finish line all the more rewarding”.

Since 2006, Smiling for Smiddy has raised more than $2 million with funds supporting MMRI and the team is on track to raise $700 000 this year through its program of challenge events.

Smiling for Smiddy supports three world-class research projects at Mater: melanoma, prostate cancer and a study into complementary therapies to improve quality of life for cancer patients.

Mater Foundation Executive Director, Nigel Harris said, “Too many Australians are touched by cancer. Thanks to vital funds raised by Smiling for Smiddy, scientists at MMRI are one step closer to developing new therapies for prostate cancer which could harness a person’s own immune system to fight the disease.”

Other beneficiaries of Smiling for Smiddy funds include Melanoma Patients Australia, Flinders Medical Centre Foundation and the PA Research Foundation.

Smiling for Smiddy honours the memory of Adam Smiddy, a 26-year-old Brisbane physiotherapist and keen triathlete, who passed away to an aggressive melanoma in August 2006

Great ride with Kate of 7 in 7 fame

Today's ride was a little special as one of the Smiddy riders from the challenge who we got to know really well joined us for our Wednesday ride. Kate was on her way to Tassie for a wedding but still found room for the bike!!

Kate is a dead set legend not only did she ride to Townsville with us she then went onto ride with Sharky in the next leg of his 7 in 7 epic down the West Australian coast. So on top of the 1600km she had already ridden after just a four day break and trans Australian flight she was back on the bike for another 2,800km!!!

Unlike the Townsville ride where we were blessed with tailwinds for much of the 8 days Kate and the Sharky had headwinds almost all the way to Esperance.

Today's ride started at Adam Smiddy Park (named of course after Adam for whom the Smiddy Challenge is named after). As it was a late start by Cyc'd standards Brad and I used the time wisely and did two repeats up Mt Cootha just to get the legs working before joining the other 9 riders for a riverloop.

It was great to ride with Kate and hear first hand about the epic ride in WA and just how hard it was.

Coffee at the Garage was our reward and sadly it was all over too quickly and we bid Kate farewell. We hope to see her in Brisbane again soon.

Smiddy Challenge reunion ride tomorrow

Tomorrow is the monthly Smiddy Challenge reunion ride. Its a chance for all the riders to come together and remember the awesome time we had riding to Townsville.

This will be the second such reunion ride and leaves the Regatta Hotel at 5.30am before we finish up with mandatory coffee.

Hoping to see a good turn out from the Smiddy Crew for what should be a great ride around the river.

Team Peroni goes PINK!!!

Yesterday the Peroni boys and a number of the Smiddy crew wore pink ribbons in support of Pink Ribbon Day (24 October). While we were supporting the bigger cause of helping to find a cure for breast cancer we were wearing them in support of one of own, Brad, and his wife Fleur who is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

It was great to see 17 riders turn up for the regular Sunday ride wearing their pink ribbons proudly.

Gav had suggested a southside ride which was met a small degree of cynicism by some from the northside it proved to be a great route which had a bit of everything including a trip up Mt Gravatt to get the climbing legs working. The rest of the route was a real joy with most of it spent between 30 and 35kph. Even the northside guys couldn't bag the beautiful ride along the water front at Manly.

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable parts was the long straight neading back to Manly where we cranked it up to about 45kph for some way and Sharky was heard to let a massive "Whaooooo".

The 80k ride finished up at Spoon East Brisbane for a coffee and chat. 17 riders all chillin out wearing their pink ribbons after a great ride.......what a way to start a Sunday!!!

Smiddy crew and Peroni boys go head to head

When I finished the Smiddy Challenge back in September one of the things I knew I would miss would be the great guys and girls who I shared the road with to Townsville. I thought we would all just go back to our regular cycling routines and groups and that would be it but no that's not what has happened at all.

We've kept in touch and Facebook and Twitter have been put to good effect and we have caught up with a quite a few of the Smiddy crew for some great rides but none better than last Sunday when 8 Smiddy riders including the legendary founder of the Smiddy challenge Mark "Sharky" Smoothy joined the Peroni boys for their regular Sunday ride from Velo.

It was a cracking Brisbane day and we decided that some hills were in order so the route was over Settlement Road, Samford and Eatons Crossing Road before we headed out to Sandgate for the traditional Sandgate Sprint.

With a peleton of 15 it was always going to be fun particularly with numbers pretty even between Peroni and Smiddy riders.

As the pace picked up the Smiddy crew sacrificed Boof and sent him on a solo breakaway. This made it game on and the pace increased even more. Rowan made the call and the Smiddy crew went to the front having left the hard work to the Peroni lads up until that point. Unfortunately the peroni train was down to only two riders when realy three were required to hold off the fast finishing Smiddy riders. As the lead out pulled over the final sprint was fought out by Craig and Jase with Craig holding Jase out to take the win for the Smiddy crew. It was good to see Craig was returning to some of his Smiddy Challenge form.

It was a great day to be on the bike and Sharky even got in some recruiting for the 2012 Smiddy events.

Coffee at Conti cafe with 15 riders was a opportunity for everyone to relax after 80ks and we're looking forward to our next ride.

Smiling for Smiddy reaches $600,000 for cancer research

This week the Smiling for Smiddy organisation has reached $600,000 raised for cancer research in 2011.

This is a fantastic effort by all involved the organising commitee, the riders, the support crews, supporters and sponsors.

This money goes directly to supporting research into cancer and eveyone associated with Smiling for Smiddy should feel very proud of themselves.

The passing of Steve Jobs this week from pancreatic cancer at just 56 has I'm sure reminded everyone that if we are to beat this disease much more needs to be done in the area of research and that can only be done if funds are available to support the researchers. As we all undoubtedly paused to think about the impact that Steve Jobs has had on the world we also pause to think about those closer to us who have passed away from cancer or are fighting their own battles.

This is particluarly close to the Cyc'd boys hearts as their good mate and one of the tight knit group, Brad, helps his wife as she undergoes chemo for breast cancer.

Here's a short video which shows how the funds raised by Smiling for Smiddy are used.....

Brad's wrap up - an emotional rollercoaster

I thought I'd share an email Brad has sent to his friends and supporters because I think it's a good read and talks about the challenges he and his family are currently facing and why being involved with Smiling for Smiddy and the fight against cancer has taking on a whole new meaning for them.

Hello friend,

You are receiving this email as you have directly assisted my campaign with the Smiddy Challenge either through a financial donation or through some valuable assistance and support.

It's important to take stock of our achievements and my experience this year is that I would be nowhere if it wasn't for your valuable contribution and support throughout my campaign to raise money for Cancer Research with the Smiddy Challenge. Some fundraising and riding stats are as follows: -

·         Total tally by all Smiddy events for 2011 $598,266 (So Far)

·         Total tally for 2011 Smiddy Challenge      $333,328

·         Total tally for the Cyc'd team                      $  60,753 (Four mates Kent, Gav, Dammo & Brad with one common goal)

·         My total fundraising                                       $  17,748 (Revised target of $15k smashed)

·         Total training Km's                                           7,500k's

·         Total vertical metres of climbing                78,000 mtrs

I apologise it has taken me some time to put pen to paper however as some of you are already aware there has been some challenging times for our family in the last few weeks. As you may already be aware my inspiration for contributing in this event was due to my frustration of seeing good people and families experiencing all different journeys with the battle of this terrible disease and we had been fortunate to not experience cancer in our famliy. That was until 2 weeks prior to the challenge commencing when my beautiful wife (Fleur) was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

This was the most difficult period we have encountered as a family at this point and I will admit the news knocked us around for a little while until we were able to piece together a plan to commence Fleurs recovery. By the time we had the plan mapped out and engaged a wonderful team of surgeons and doctors the Smiddy Challenge was about to start. With Fleurs surgery commencing during the challenge naturally our focus was 100% on Fleurs well-being and I had advised the organisers that I was unable to complete the challenge.

A testimonial of Fleurs courage and determination is evident with her request that I at least participate in the first two days of the ride however in the lead up to the first day I had contracted a bronchial infection which resulted in only having enough energy and lungs to participate in day 1. Frustrating times however this was only the start to what has been an emotional rollercoaster ride.

As for today our philosophy and outlook on life has given us the courage to work through the surgical procedures for which thankfully Fleur has responded well and we are now embarking on the remainder of the treatment program being Chemo and radium over a period of 6 months or so. We are positive that she will beat this and we will look back on this as one of those hurdles in life that

For some of you this news may be shocking

For some this will be a reminder, a chance to reflect

For me this is the continuation of my commitment to raise funds for cancer research

Some key sponsors / people I would like to thank: -

·         Cyc'd for Bikes - If you need a great bike and great service Jaaron is your man. Thanks for your support with the raffle mate.

·         McGuires Hotels - To the two Matt's for assisting with the Locker Room lunch. A fantastic opportunity to raise valuable funds

·         Broncos - To Marty and the team for your valuable contribution during the locker room lunch

·         The Coffee Club - Thanks for your contribution and JL thanks for some handy advice with fundraising

·         Skins - Those recovery tights helped us make it through some valuable training and assisted the other lads with the remainder of the challenge.

·         Coca-Cola Amatil - PD thanks for your support with the auction item which raised some valuable funds

·         Greenbank RSL & Aruze Gaming - To John and Tony, thanks for your support with the auction item and it will be a great day at the races

·         Canadian Club - Chappo I have some great photos to send you mate of some thirsty cyclists enjoying the sensational CC & Dry's

·         Pacific Beverages - Gloss same as above. The Peroni's went down a treat with the team

·         T&K - Thanks for your valuable contribution

·         MG - You are an inspiration mate.

Thank you once again for your support and watch out for next year as it only makes sense to finish what I have started.

Kind regards

Brad...

So what have the Cyc'd boys been up to since the Smiddy Challenge??

Well its been three weeks since we completed the Smiddy Challenge and I think we all agree that its been a bit of a come down from the exhilerating 8 days we had on the bike riding to Townsville.

We've all taken a little time to spend with our families and where possible get away for a few days. Dammo got away for some water skiing and I headed off to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands for a some sailing with the family hence my lack of posts of late but when you are sitting on the deck with a Peroni in hand looking at the sunset its a little hard to log on and do some blogging.....

We have all been back on the bike and even managed to join up with some fellow Smiddy riders for a few rides which has been great.

Dammo is back in training for the Noosa tri and the rest of us are still riding at least 4 times a week as we ponder our next challenge.

Of course Brad and Fleur are never too far away in our thoughts as Fleur commences further treatment for breast cancer this week.

I plan to keep the blog alive to let everyone know what we are up and to hopefully stay connected with all our new friends and supporters.

Kent

Day 7 of Sharky's adventure

22 Sep 2011

Sharky's Oz 7-in-7: Day 7 Journal, Galena Bridge to Geraldton

http://www.smiddy.org.au/cms/news/Default.aspx?NewsCode=372&NewsCategoryCode=32

It sounds like a short day at only 116km but you have to remember Sharky and Kate have now ridden 2725km since 3 September!!!

Sharky's 7 in 7 strike horrific headwinds

If the ride from Brisbane to Townsville was blessed with the most favourable of conditions then it would appear that Sharky and the team are experiencing exactly the opposite as they travel south down the West Australian coastline. Horrific headwinds have confronted them each day but still they push on.

Read the latest on their epic adventure here...

Day 2

http://www.smiddy.org.au/cms/news/Default.aspx?NewsCode=368&NewsCategoryCode=32

Day 3

http://www.smiddy.org.au/cms/news/Default.aspx?NewsCode=369&NewsCategoryCode=32

Day 4

http://www.smiddy.org.au/cms/news/Default.aspx?NewsCode=370&NewsCategoryCode=32

Day 5

http://www.smiddy.org.au/cms/news/Default.aspx?NewsCode=371&NewsCategoryCode=32

The Smiddy journey continues with Sharky's 7 in 7

With our Smiddy Challenge now over for the year I thought I might keep you updated on the progress of another Smiddy event which follows on immediately after the Smiddy Challenge known as Sharky's 7 in 7.

Firstly some background on the 7 in 7.....

Sharky's Oz 7 in 7

In 2008 Smiling for Smiddy founder Mark “Sharky” Smoothy began his seven year quest to cycle around Australia in seven stages. Each September, with the continuing support of our amazing sponsor Bottlemart, Sharky extends his 1600km “Smiddy Challenge” to include one of these stages. So far Sharky has knocked off:

• 2008 - A 3200 kilometre journey from Coolangatta on the NSW border to the tip of Queensland, Cape York, in 20 days.

• 2009 - Innisfail to Darwin in 24 days and the distance was just short of 2400 kilometres.

• 2010 – A 2400 kilometre journey from Katherine to Karratha in 24 days.

2011 is the fourth stage from Karratha in Western Australia to Esperance, which is 800 kilometres south of Perth. Total distance for the two rides combined will be 4400 kilometres over a 24 day period. The past 3 years included up to 600 kilometres of off road riding. For 2011 the dirt is gone and it is nothing but a road bike and endless kilometres of tarmac.
As you can see its an epic journey Sharky is on as he continues to raise funds for cancer research.

Over the coming weeks he will post updates on his journey and I'll post links here so that you follow his travels through WA.

You can read about day 1 of this year's 7 in 7 here:
http://www.smiddy.org.au/cms/news/Default.aspx?NewsCode=367&NewsCategoryCode=32