It was at about this time that a serious issue came to light. Brad "Spartacus" Scriven had been riding for most of the day in some discomfort due to some pretty severe saddle soreness (the conversation he had with Lucie was now starting to make more sense). As you do in situations like this Jase made some polite enquiries as to the state of the said saddle soreness only to be confronted with the response of "open wound!!" No wonder they call him Spartacus!!! The pain must have been horrific but Brad had just suffered in silence but now there was growing concern about how the following day would go.
We slept well and after what seemed like about 5 minutes were we waking for breakfast. A hearty breakfast had our morale and energy up and soon we were on the start line and ready to go. There was something missing however......RAIN!! It was dry and it appeared as though the cycling gods were showing us some mercy.
Sharky gave us the pep talk and urged us to take advantage of the slight tailwind to make good time.
In fact I made some great time...in the van that is after an early flat. The van was toasty warm but the ride soon ended as I rejoined the peleton coping only a minor amount of stick from the lads. A second flat soon after and this time the boys showed no mercy with the sledging and I must say it was well deserved.
If day one had been the day for gutsy heroics at the front by Stuey Bryce and Jens Beasley and sublime climbing by the Schleck brothers Jase and Dammo then day two was shaping up for the day that Spartacus Scriven would come to the fore. Right from the start he was prominent at the head of the peleton driving the pace just as Sharky had asked.
Just as things were looking up disaster struck the peleton with a major crash just short of Allora. A couple of riders failed to safely navigate some train tracks and down they came. Spartacus through no fault of his own found even his sublime bike handling skills could not prevent him hitting the road hard.
A quick check and there was no major damage but all riders who came down were directed to do some van time. Now having done a little van time myself I encouraged Brad to take the opportunity but Spartacus just looked me in the eye adjusted his damaged helmet and threw his leg of his trusty Giant and away he went. It was going to take more than a little bitumen time to slow him down today.
The peleton was now cruising along quite well and we made our morning tea stop on schedule which once again was a feast to behold. Nothing is too much trouble for our road crew as they proudly offered the fruits of their baking to us all.
To make things even better we were about to descend for about 12kms through some beautiful gorges and sweeping roads.
As Sharky had given the nod to the riders to ride at their own pace a breakaway soon took off chased by you guessed it Spartacus Scriven who was riding like a man possessed maybe that head knock had done him some good!!
The next 50ks went without incident as the riders got on with the job at hand and while their was still the odd conversation a peaceful quietness descended over the peleton as we headed to Rosewood for lunch.
Before we got there we had one last climb to do up the Laidley range. Brad was again at the front and the Cyc'd boys were urging him to take the KOM but soon the elite climbers showed their hand and it became a battle royal betweeen Rowan and Jase for KOM. Lucie again showed her strength by chasing the boys down. On the decent Rowan and Jase worked together but couldn't get away from Lucie who showed she can descend as well as climb.
Rosewood was a great place to stop and refuel. A couple of the boys were realy feeling the saddle soreness by now and a quick check revealed that not all was good inside the Smiddy knicks so it was time for some more butt cream.
Again lunch was worth riding 140km for and we enjoyed the break in the Rosewood park.
Part 5 - The ride into Brisbane coming soon
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