Final figures

Hi all,
I just thought I would close off by saying a big thank you to all those that helped/contributed/supported us along the way. It really was a team effort.

Here are some final stats for you;

We rode a total of 1,020kms
There was a total of 8,971mts of climbing (29,432 feet - higher than Mt Everest)
We rode for a total of 45 1/2 hours
We have raised $10,745.00

So once again, so long and thanks for all the fish.....

Cheers
Carl

All Over

The ride is now competed. The last day was the easiest knowing that the finish was near.
Getting to the end was a little emotional. A combination of completion and disappointment it was now over. I had to take a deep breath just before I got there.
Great to so many people there clapping as we rolled in. This really completed the feeling of accomplishment.
I have definitely enjoyed the experience. From early morning training rides to generous people involved giving up time and/or money.
I am now content with the completion of the journey and knowing that we have help Port Kembla palliative care unit in the process.
Thank you.
Aaron

Final days

Day 7 was fun, tough to get the legs going but after 30k or so they picked up. We lunched in Vincentia and Erika's parents met us which was lovely. We ended up in Berry and Aaron and I had a little sprint up the hill which was not bad work after 150km. We then moved to the bar and stayed for quite a while... lots of beer was consumed.

Day 7 stats are here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124374259

Day 8, the final day, was just a short one, less than 70k for Berry to Wollongong. We had a fair amount of time to do it and I found it a little frustrating, we were pedalling slow and I just wanted it to be done with. I was very tired and a little hungover and wanted to get home. Once we got to the lighthouse I lay on the ground for a while and took it all in. It was all over, we're ridden every bit of Phillip Island to Wollongong (actually that's not true.. on day 7 I walked the bike up 100m of an incredibly steep hill - I couldn't pedal it).

All done. Thanks so much to the sponsors, you were an inspiration during the dark moments.

Stats here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124567753

Thanks to all the riders for making it a memorable experience.

Paul

Day 8 - the final day wrap up

Today was the final ride, hard to believe after 8 months of training and nearly 12 months of planning. We have now raised over $10,500 which is just fantastic.

Today we took an easy ride from Berry on our way to Wollongong. It is quite funny to think that ride is so easy now after so much training and then the ride itself. It was a very easy trip and it wouldnt have been complete without a big downpour at Kiama. As if we hadnt had enough rain...

We were planning a stop in Shellharbour for a coffee but we ran out of time so we just headed on to Wollongong and it was quite strange riding through familiar roads again. We headed back on the normal training route that we had used for months.

We arrived at the Wollongong lighthouse at 1pm and it was great to see family, friends and work collegues there. We were also met by Tourism Wollongong and the Illawarra Cancer Carers who later put on a bbq. Four sausage sandwhiches later I was happy:)

Thanks to everyone who has donated and supported us. Thanks to Dad who drove one of the support vehicles and took hundreds of photos. In the next week I will put up some photos on this blog. They all tell a great story.

Also thanks to Josh and Minnie who drove the other support car.

I would also like to give a special thank you to Aaron, Erika and Paul who jumped on this idea of mine and really helped it work. Without their help it would not have been as successful as this. Aaron, thanks to you for forcing me out to train during the cold, wet, windy, winter months to get hundreds of kms under the belt. Without that I would not have been able to keep the motivation up as much as I did.

So, all in all it has been very successful and it was great to be a part of.

Cheers
Carl

The final day.

Well, it has come down to the final day. A 65km ride into Wollongong via Shellharbour.

Just about to get some breakfast and a coffee and then we will head off around 9am arriving at Flagstaff Hill at 1pm.

Cheers
Carl

Day 7 - a struggle

Today was meant to be a little relief from the last few days, sure it was going to be long but not a hilly.
It was obvious from quite early on that I was going to struggle today, when ever there was a climb there was no power in the legs in comparison to the rest of the trip.
The weather looked like it didnt know what it wanted to do either which I struggled with during the day as I was either really hot or cold. As you can tell I wasn't having a good ttime of it.
We stopped in Vincentia for lunch which was good, got some food and coffee hoping to get some energy and it worked for about 20kms where I called out to Paul and Aaron "I think I have found my mojo", but it wasnt long before I lost it again:)
Paul and Aaron did a great job today and were there to help me along, thanks heaps guys. They also really drove the train home on the run into Berry.
Tomorrow is the final day and only a short one into Wollongong and then it is time to put the bike away for a week...
I cannot believe that we have covered so much distance over the last few days, we have been laughing and joking over dinner and drinks about what has happened over the last 950kms and we only have about 65kms to go.
I will give an update tomorrow evening with the full run down.
Cheers
Carl

Day 7 almost done.

The last 150km day was finally a little easier for me. The hills between batemans bay and berry where not as big as the previous days. The highlights today for me was breaking my battery mount at Nowra and getting a little stroppy because of it. The frustration then lead to a putting into a driving pace with Paul for the final kms to berry. It actually picked up my spirits as I knew my performance had picked up since I was able to power up the hills keeping up with Paul. Paul had really been the leader in the last few days.
We spent to tonight swapping stories of the trip over a few beers.
Maybe one too many as it's now late and we still have one day to go.
A little sad that we are now at the end. The challenges have been mostly completed on our part and the money raise on yours.
Now to look forward to the finish line.

Aaron