This blog was created purely to follow the Perth-Sydney bike ride. Unless there is further follow up news about the ride, there will be no further posts on this blog.
To follow Trevor Lawrence’s ongoing world, look at the blog at http://TrevorJLawrence.spaces.live.com/blog/
Finished!
The final day took us from Picton to Elouera Beach (one of the Cronulla beaches) and then back to Cronulla Uniting Church.
In a sense this day began the previous day as we realised that the showers we had at the end of that day were the last we would have before our own showers at home. And so on for each activity from then on. As the trip had worn on there had sometimes been a bit of a “Groundhog Day” feel about things. Now there was a finality about everything.
This last day’s riding started out brilliantly and got better as far as the weather was concerned. The ride took us from Picton in the direction of Appin via Broughton Pass to Sublime Point where we had morning tea. This journey was hilly, and the pinch out of Broughton Pass was the steepest climb on the trip. However that pinch was not all that long and everyone managed it OK. (For myself, having not used the “granny ring” all trip, it wouldn’t engage for me when I wanted it and I had to push up in the middle ring. Good for me I suppose.)
At Sublime Point we were met by a number of local riders who rode the last ~50km with us. One of them commented that he expected a bunch of weary riders who needed a tow from him to get home. What he found was the whatever speed he rode the bunch of us simply sat on his tail. Not weary but fit after that many days riding.
The road from Sublime Point in towards Sydney was hillier than I had expected and there was some work to be done before we were done.
Edna got back on the bike at Waterfall after the hills were all done for the final 20km.
We arrived at Elouera beach on the dot of noon as scheduled to be met by friends, relatives and representatives of the Bible Society. For the Kippax folk, Lyndelle Ramsay was there to greet us with a hug and a pile of balloons for Edna. Photos and general fun on the shores of the Pacific Ocean were then the order of the day.
Then it was on to Cronulla Uniting Church for the official end of the trip. A good crowd to welcome us and participate in the final presentation of certificates and medals, followed by a great lunch for riders, visitors and all.
Eventually it was time to pack up and go home. This turned out to be a much longer and trickier exercise than we expected. We needed to load our bikes and gear into Jim’s trailer which was on Roger’s car, together with extra bikes and gear from some who were to stay at Jim’s place, then at Jim’s place re-engineer the towbar on Roger’s car to take the bike beak, then reload all our stuff from Jim’s trailer into Roger’s trailer. Took a great deal longer than expected, by which time we realised we’d never make it to the Chinese restaurant booking we had in Canberra. So a cup of tea then as we got under way at 5pm there were lots of phone calls to get Louise and Jocelyn to cancel the booking, break into Kauffmans’ house, organise take away and contact those involved to come at a different place and time. We eventually arrived home at 8pm to Chinese takeaway and a welcome home from our families, and a celebratory cake lovingly constructed from a route map off the web.
And thence home to our own beds.
What sort of a journey have we had? We have been favoured with remarkably good conditions throughout the journey. Yes we’ve had wind, rain and cold, but not much of any of these things. Lots of tail winds when it really counted on the long days across the Nullarbor; only about three days of difficult winds; days when we’ve seen rain around and in front of us, even drenching the food crew as the travelled ahead of us, but the rain somehow avoiding the riders; benign temperatures almost all the way.
It will take us all some time for it all to sink in and come to understand what the journey means to us and what lasting effects it has had on us. A bunch of over 20 people living in close proximity for five weeks and all getting on well for the whole time has been a great experience from which we will each learn something. Although fundraising is the goal of the exercise, the journey is much more than that.
To all who have supported us in many, many different ways over the time, thank you from all of us.
West to Eastern Shore
(to the tune of ‘Stir the Wallaby Stew’)
We thought we’d do a worthwhile thing for eternity
We’d raise a heap of money for the Bible Society
Bike-4-Bibles was the go, Jim Blaxland knew the score
So we rode our bicycles from west to eastern shore.
(Chorus)
So, “On ya bikes”, says Jim, “Surprises are in store
We’re going to ride our bicycles from west to eastern shore”.
The scenery along the way, truly it was great!
The condition of the roads changed from state to state
But the most intriguing thing was not the land or view
No! it’s personal anecdotes surrounding each of you
Now Mister-never-snore-no-flats, who ever could that be,
The king pin of the big chain ring: Kevin certainly
And Mrs I-hate-snorers, keep them far and yon
Could be no one other than grandmother Yvonne
There’s another pair of grannies here, not your average ockers
Recumbent Rodge and Edna on their Jason Recliner Rockers
They’re followed closely often time by camera, beard moustache
It’s Richard! Now where’s Richard and his thousand photographs?
Another steady rider here, who could forget
Franki Bicycletti and his morning tea spaghet
And there’s Luke who eats spaghet straight out of the tin
Luke who jumped us all one day and was the mountain king
Now Trevor Lawrence got so ill, he nearly died, they said
But now he’s flying up those hills, risen from the dead
And Big Al, the way he rides, his personality shines
It has to ‘cos he’s dropped his radio 3 dozen times
Now Alec joined us half way through and has to leave, that’s sad.
Another grandpa, for his age, his riding ain’t real bad
And Nicholas, with stripy tan, fancies he is quick
But he’s really quicker as a magnet for the chicks
The peleton it rolls along, without spits or spats
Stopping here and there it seems, just to fix up flats
And now .. … Another stop! .. What for? .. … What’s the matter?
Ah … the answer’s obvious! Weak Bladder Gazza!
Another man from Queensland side joined our riding throng
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.” was his daily song
He was referring to his butt, so big, so sore, no less
Trevor was his real name, but Butticus fits best.
Now Lucky Jim, he’s made the plans for all our nightly stops
But something happens to his brain when on the bike he hops
It takes away his power of speech and leaves him all bereft
Of any words at all, it seems, except for . . . L E F T ! ! ! !
We can not let the roadies off without a special note
The riders would be nowhere fast without these special folk
There’s Eric and there’s Richard on the CB to the trucks
To tell them that us cyc-a-lists are not just sitting ducks!
Then there’s ‘Triple R’ & M who get the food prepared
For Robert, pyrotechnics is his special flare
Rebecca, Robyn, Margaret make food to make us faster
And gave us all a brand new game - “Guess what’s in the pasta?”
Magella, Emmet, Caitlyn now finalise the list
And for the adults present they provide a certain bliss
When we arrive at end of day with our aching niggles
You take our focus off our pain with your smiles and giggles.
This ditty's not complete ’til the author’s in the ballad,
Maximus Superfluous, a lover of pasta salad.
Remembered for his raucous laugh, his wit and his devotions,
But most of all, his bag of pills, his potions and his lotions.
Though there’s been fun these 30 days, the purpose was intense
To get the Word of God to folk to make a difference.
Nothing would have happened though, except for one great bloke
Big THANKS to Lucky Jim, I say, from me and all these folks.
Last night rain arrived at about 8pm and continued for a few hours. Not sure how much rain fell in Goulburn, but Jocelyn and Louise had rain all the way back from Goulburn to Canberra. We also heard that the Melmoth’s West Wyalong farm had some welcome rain.
By morning the clouds were still quite heavy but it hadn’t been raining for some time. As the day progressed the skies cleared and we had a good riding day with some light tail winds.
The route took us straight out of Goulburn onto the Hume Highway where we stayed until the Hilltop, Colo turnoff passed Mittagong. Mostly it was safe riding on the highway, although one or two spots, such as the Marulan truck checking station, required extra care. Also just before the “big dipper” on the Mittagong bypass there were road works that closed the shoulder and the left lane, reducing the road to a single lane. Not as bad as it seems since Richard’s bus behind us could occupy the lane preventing any traffic from attempting to pass the bikes.
For some time out of Goulburn there are a series of significant climbs culminating in a long one with a rough shoulder to make the climbing that much harder. We stopped for morning tea beside the highway (I think at about the southern end of the Belanglo forest).
I was surprised at the amount of traffic on the road from Bargo to Picton, and that section of the road has to be a candidate for the worst, roughest road we’ve ridden on the trip.
Edna’s illness continues to improve, however she will not get on the bike tomorrow morning. She expects to get on at morning tea for the largely downhill ride to the end.
Yesterday evening was the last evening for Alex and Margaret Hood as they had to leave us immediately on arrival in Picton. Therefore there were a few reminiscences and three skits put on. I’ll publish the words of Mark’s song later as it requires a little typographic editing (the words are fine!) before publishing.
For a change today we awoke to fog for the first time. We rode through fog for the first 10km before emerging into a fine day again.
Some hill work today, but nowhere near as serious as yesterday.
Eric and I are looking forward to a visit from our wives Jocelyn and Louise who we haven’t seen for almost 6 weeks.
Sorry this blog entry is late, but the arrangements in Yass were that we were picked up by Yass folk and taken to their homes for showers and dinner, returning in the early evening to the church hall. This didn’t leave much time for fiddling with computers.
A touch of frost around and about in Young as we set out. To get out of Young you have to go up! There’s about 15km worth of climb on the way out, and of course that set the tone for the day. Much more hill work than we’ve had to date on the trip. From this day (and for the rest of the ride) we split into two groups for portions of the journey, to give those wanting to kill themselves on the hills the chance to do so. (There are cyclists who think hills are the greatest invention since sliced bread, and there are those who don’t.)
The countryside along the road from Young to Harden where we stopped for morning tea in the park is spectacular, although it doesn’t look so spectacular in a photo. And of course its the rolling countryside that makes for hard work on the bikes.
The important thing about morning tea in Harden is that at this point Edna decided the head cold (or whatever it is) had got the better of her and she got off the bike and into the bus. After we arrived in Yass she visited a doctor who diagnosed sinus infection, put her on antibiotics and ordered her off the bike for at least two days. She’ll likely get back on for the last portion of the last day.
We stopped in Bowning for lunch before a quick 12km run into Yass along the Hume Highway. Because the church hall was in use by the local school for a yoga class we could not get into the hall until 2:45 and were due to be collected by our hosts at 3:00, so there was not much we could do until then.
Our heartfelt thanks to Jo for taking on three strangers while looking after two youngsters at the same time.
What can we say? Another fantastic day’s riding. Blue skies, little or no wind, pleasant temperatures.
Before we started we had a visit from the reporter/photographer from the local newspaper who wanted to do an article on us. He took the obligatory photo of the massed group, then got all the names in photo order. He then headed out on the highway and waited for us at two spots as we rode by and took a stream of photos.
Over the trip we have had visits from photographers from a number of newspapers, and Jim or a substitute has been interviewed by a couple of radio stations.
Today’s ride had a few more hills than yesterday, though still basically flat. It gave those keen to stretch their legs a chance to blow the cobwebs out of the system. There’ll be plenty more of that between now and the finish.
Since we have plenty of time after arriving in Young, there has been plenty of time for people to get their computing “fix”. There’s almost a little Internet Cafe here.
