As we rode in to the university late yesterday afternoon it dawned on me that it was 35 hours since we had left. We had crammed so much into those 35 hours it just didn't seem possible.....surely we had been gone for a week!
I'm going to break the report into a few posts as there is lots to tell.
Perhaps if I start with some facts about the ride:
Total distance covered - 439km (217 Saturday and 222 Sunday)
Total time taken to cover the distance - 21 hours 50 mins
Total time turning the pedals - 16 hours 54 minutes
Total elevation gain - 3,876m
Total pedal rotations - almost 90,000
Av temp day 1 - 11 degrees (min 6 degrees)
Av temp day 2 - 18 degrees (min 10 degrees)
Hours of rain day 1 - 10 hours (almost all the way from Brisbane to Warwick)
Punctures - 7 (Gav 3, Brad 2 and Kent 2)
Check the stats here
Saturday
Sunday
Ok with the stats out of the way lets get on with the story.
The forecast for the Saturday was rain and they weren't wrong. We arrived at the uni ready to go and were putting the final pieces of wet weater gear on when Gav asked if we had our plastic bags on. What the f%#k we thought is he talking about was he serious or taking the piss? Well apparently he was serious and soon the Cyc'd boys were all seen putting their feet in freezer bags before pulling on their socks. "Don't worry fellas you'll be thanking me later" said Gav. We just thought this was the biggest setup ever but continued to wrap our feet in plastic.
The ride out of Brisbane was pretty uneventful wet but uneventful less one minor crash and couple of wrong turns which saw a solid if not a cautious start to the day.
I don't know about my fellow freezer bag wearing friends but I for one know that within 20kms my feet were sitting in bags of cold water and Gav was just laughing. All I could think about was revenge which involved filling his water bottles with the water from my freezer bags!! Drink that Gav "Bear Grylls" Bryce!!!
Before we headed off rumour had it that that morning tea would be waiting for us at the 70k mark. 70ks came and went as did 80 and then 90......there was rumblings among the peleton and not just from some stomachs as everyone was keen for a break.
It was during this period that one of the Cyc'd boys (Kent) overheard a conversation between another Cyc'd rider (let's call him Brad) and a female rider. Now there are conversations being held all the time in the peleton as riders get to know each other a bit better, you know where are you from? where do you ride etc etc however this time the conversation was about that rather personal matter perculiar to cyclist.....butt cream. The Cyc'd rider was overheard expousing the benefits of butt cream, the pros the cons the application techniques etc. Now this might be OK among the boys in fact there is some history here from the Tour Down Under this year with another rider from our group who is now overseas but to use butt cream as a conversation starter with a female rider does raise the question of should this be allowed or encouraged??
At morning tea a hasting gathering of the Cyc'd ethics committee was convened and the situation outlined. "Brad" ably defended himself and the committee, whilst somewhat bemused by his antics, dismissed the case out of hand, no cards were issued and a big pat on the back was handed out to "Brad".
Morning tea was legendary. The support crew are simply amazing and the spread they put on sensational. One rider was heard to say "I just ate my own body weight in Sao biscuits with tomato and cheese!!"
Part 2 - Cyc'd team models itself on Team Leopard Trek....coming soon
that's one of the scariest elevation charts I've ever seen
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