Smiddy Challenge Day One Part One

Writing this at my billets place at 10.30pm in Nanango....it's been a long day!! Day summary Km cycled - 205km Riding time - 8hrs 25 min Avg speed - 24.5kph Total ascent - 2835m Well it finally arrived. After months of training the riders with their family and friends gathered at UQ for the traditional send off which didn't disappoint. It was great to have our Sunday group the Peroni boys there and even better that they joined us for the ride to Samford. The omens for the day were looking good. Beautiful clear skies and a gentle southerly blowing us on our way north. A quick stop at Samford to farewell dome good friends and say hello to some more who joined us. Our first real test for the day was Mt Mee which was navigated without too much trouble although Brad was well in the grasp of the dreaded manflu and was starting to suffer. As we regrouped at the top of Mt Mee we were somewhat surprised to see a Landrover screaming up the the horn blaring people yelling from the open windows and we thought what have we done to upset this driver but then we saw a rather sheepish Dammo smiling in the background. As it turned it it was a case of road rage but rather the fanatical support of Dammo's family with Hayley at the wheel!!! The ride progressed without incident as we took morning tea with the Windles again joining us which was great. It was at morning tea that we first heard that shortly we would be taking what us known as Sharky's shortcut. Looking at some of the grimaces on the faces of some veteran Smiddy riders we knew this could mean only one thing......pain!! Well Sharky didn't disappoint with his shortcut including two little climbs of about 20% and a section of dirt road and one creek crossing which was to prove the undoing of a few riders. Lunch at Kilcoy and the support crew excelled yet again. The Blackbutt range proved to be another challenge for while only about 6% it was a good long climb which tested the legs and in Dammo's case his left arm as he lent a hand to a fellow rider who was struggling. Well done mate that must have hurt big time. Gav rode with me and spent about 30 mins climbing without anyone worse near us. It was a very pleasant 30 mins to just chill with him even though weever working hard it was nice to have some space for a while. Afternoon tea was outstanding and consumed whatever was put in front if us. The last 2 hours saw some good riding and we finally rolled into Nanango at 5.40pm. A swim in the hot pool followed by dinner at the Darts Club topped off a great day. A big day tomorrow.....242k so need some sleep!!!