Day 11 Berri to Nuriootpa

Today was a big day, 186 km to Nuriootpa, in the heart of the fabled Barossa Valley. The weather was good, albeit cloudy. We rode through Loxton and then, we just kept going and going through a somewhat tedious scenery.
Something really good in our favour was the fact that once we left Loxton, the traffic was almost non existent, so the Group could relax a little, knowing that they pretty much had the road to themselves.

Our two favourite sportspeople decided to entertain the rest of the Group by performing a few skilled tricks. Impressive stuff. The terrain was slightly undulating for most of the ride.

We had a welcome lunch at Swan Reach and after that, we made our way to the ferry, to cross the mighty Murray River. When we hit the road again, we found it had gentle crests, I guess in preparation for the massive climb on Sedan Hill.

Finally, we arrived at the town of Sedan. We stopped in there for the Riders to have a few last bursts of energy in the shape of lollies, and an encouraging talk to prepare them mentally for the giant climb.

And off they went, steady, steady, each and every one of the Group, made their triumphant way to the top, some -we won't mention names- at speed, others not so speedy, but they all made it. It was wonderful to see. Sedan Hill had been that big, great obstacle, and once that obstacle was overcome, it was like this great weight had been taken off their shoulders.

Once at the top, we all gathered to hear the Last Post, a very emotional moment for all of us.

We continued from there to Angaston, for a well deserved coffee break. A reward after such a mighty feat.

Finally we arrived at Nuriootpa, where a Civic Reception was waiting for us at the Council Chambers. There were members of the Group's and Crew's families who had come up to see us, which was much appreciated. We had a fantastic time at the Council Reception, with fabulous local produce provided and of course, we got to sample the Region's excellent wines.

Councillor Bim Lange, one of our Riders, did his nightly ritual of finding fault with the Riders and giving them a lot of fines, which is always fun to see and a great way to raise money between the Group and Support Crew.

After the Reception, we made our way to our accommodation and then got ready for what it would be our last meal together on this Tour.

Here are some photos of the day's ride.

Keeping an eye on the bikes

Riding to Swan Reach

Very long and straight road at times

Crossing the river on the ferry

Patrick Jonker and Catherine Hughes. Thumbs up for a great climb at Sedan Hill

The Rossi brothers posing with Stuart O'Grady at the Nuriootpa Reception

Tomorrow is our last day. It is going to be an emotional and hard day, because even though it is only 80 km to Adelaide, we have a feeling the weather Gods are not happy. We'll see.

Until then,

Cheers.

Day 10 Mildura to Berri

Today was one of the busiest on the road, since we started the Tour in Canberra. We left Mildura at 7.30 am, because we knew it was going to be a long ride. Truck after truck, caravan after caravan, made the road a bit congested at times, and certainly very, very busy.
But, the Group soldiered on, riding 160 km in almost perfect weather conditions, wonderful clear skies and a slight head wind.
We also had an additional 14 Riders, who came up to Mildura from Adelaide, which changed the dynamics of the ride. The original Group of 25 had a few days to ride together and get used to each other. These 14 riders, were thrown into the deep end, on one of the longest rides in the Tour. But, they did very well, they proved they could ride as if they had been with us right from the beginning.

We had the pleasure of having the legend Patrick Jonker join us from Mildura. He is not only a great sportsman, but a great sport. He was always ready to help others, spoke to anyone and everyone and he has a wonderful personality.

After a few stops, we arrived at the place where our Riders were very eager to stop. After 10 days away, and over 1,000 km cycled, we finally hit the South Australian border. Few cheers and a few photos were taken.

We continued onto Paringa to have lunch, and we stopped at this lovely park, opposite this enormous "Black Stump", absolutely beautiful.

After lunch, we proceeded to Renmark for a quick media call, and not long after, we arrived at our destination, the lovely riverside town of Berri, where we were warmly welcomed by the members of the Riverland Legacy Group. After having a bit of a rest, a clean up and a soothing dip in the pool, we went for drinks at the function room of our Caravan Park, where we got to meet the Mayor of the Berri Barmera region, Mr Peter Hunt.

Dinner followed, and again, we only have praise for all the work that the different Legacy Clubs have done for us. The dinner was a fantastic event. Several dishes to cater for everyone's tastes and dietary requirements were set for us. Delicious fresh fruit that was savoured with gusto, and then whatever was left, was kindly donated by the Legacy Club, because they knew we had to get rid of every piece of fruit and vegetable on crossing the border. There was much laughter and conversation, and lovely stories were told. All in all, a wonderful evening.

But all good things have to come to an end, and it was time for us to go back to our cabins and have a rest, as tomorrow is going to be a hard ride. On our way to Nuriootpa, we have to climb Sedan Hill, not an easy Hill at all, and it will test the endurance of the Riders.

Here are some photos of the day's ride:

Keith Bleechmore, President of Adelaide Legacy and Mrs Bleechmore, drove to Mildura to send the complete group of 39 riders off.

There is always one

Bim Lange carrying the Penny

Beautiful shot

A lot of respect for these two wonderful sportspeople, Patrick Jonker and Stuart O'Grady

We could always find a kind member of the public giving a donation

Tim Wheaton's turn to carry Private Brealey's Penny

Patrick Jonker and the Penny

We made it to South Australia!

The Black Stump. What an extraordinary sight

Mr Peter Hunt, Mayor of Berri Barmera

We had some visitors... A lot of weird and wonderful things have happened in this Tour so far

The Aunt of one of the Legacy organisers, Sue Andrew, charmed our photographer Simon

Here is the link to the day's video, taken by one of our Riders, Peter Short.

Video, Day 10, Mildura to Berri

To Nuriootpa tomorrow. 186 km with a massive hill almost at the end of the day's ride. A test of endurance, for sure.

Until then,

Cheers.

Day 9 Euston to Mildura

What a beautiful ride it was.

The weather Gods were smiling at us again. One of the best riding days we could have. It was only a short ride, of some 80 km, and the wind was helping us along, doing an average of  30 km/h. Perfect weather for a perfect ride.

The Group was just flying. The look of exhilaration on their faces was certainly priceless.

We had a special guest rider to our Group. The Education Minister for New South Wales, Mr Adrian Piccoli, joined us at Euston and rode with us, after donning the distinctive Legacy jersey, all the way to Mildura.

Once in Mildura, we made our way to JayCee Park, where the Lions Club, in conjunction with Legacy, prepared a phenomenal lunch with an enormous barbeque and lots of salads.

One can't say enough about the work that Legacy does. Every town we have stopped, there have always been members there to, either, welcome us or farewell us. Nothing is ever too hard  for them. Their kindness and support will always be remembered.

After the lunch, we had to say goodbye to Mr Piccoli. He enjoyed the ride very much and gave us an excellent donation, to add to the funds raised already. I hope in future, when he goes for his bike rides, he will wear the Legacy jersey with pride and think of this day.

We left the park and made our way to our accommodation, where we met with the 14 riders who came from Adelaide to join us for the "short ride", expanding our group from 25 to 39.There were a  lot of excited faces around.

Thanks to the generosity of Legacy by providing buses, we made our way to the Mildura Civic Centre for a reception, where were welcomed by the Mayor and several Councillors, as well as lots of members from the Mildura branch of Legacy. It was a great event to finish off a fantastic day.

Here are some photos of the day:

Adrian Piccoli holding the Penny for the first stage of the ride

Riding to Mildura in perfect conditions

The Group in action

Mr Piccoli handing over the Penny to the next rider, Andrew Bahr

What a beautiful part of of the country. Serene

Pit stop at the local service station for a reviving cup of coffee

Stuart O'Grady and Adrian Piccoli

Kim Harden, part of the Support Crew, at JayCee Park

The boys getting stuck into some fantastic food

Members of Legacy, Lions, Mr Piccoli, the Riders and Support

Jim Covino's turn to carry our Ward

Beautiful Park for a beautiful welcome to Mildura

Mr Peter Crisp MLA for Mildura holding the Penny

Last, this was the view from our accommodation in Euston.

Absolutely beautiful and tranquil setting.

Tomorrow we ride to Berri which puts us back in South Australia. I am sure there will be a stop at the border for a photo opportunity. However, before we get there, there will be a long 170 km to cover.

Let's hope the weather will keep being kind to us.

Until then,

Cheers!

.

Day 8 Swan Hill to Euston

As for the last couple of days, today was very cold, 3 or 4 degrees, which made things that little extra difficult.  We left the Caravan Park at 7.30 am for a 140 km ride to Euston. We rode well, and luckily, we had a tail wind which helped getting to our destination a bit quicker.

The average speed was 30 km/h, sometimes going as high as 35 or 36 km/h. It was a fantastic ride, but the sun was shining and the cold soon forgotten. The problem with some of these rides is that, they are long but can become quite tedious, due to a lack of scenery or towns.

We arrived at our accommodation, to a beautiful setting next to the river. The group had plenty of time to relax and clean up, to end up a glorious day at the Resort's restaurant for a well deserved dinner.

Here are some photos of the day:

A very early and cold breakfast

Andrew Rossi carrying the penny for the first section of the ride

Nice photo of the group 

Morning tea is being set up replenish the energy used.

peter Beyer handing over the penny to Peter Tymukas

From the side mirror

Getting into Robinvale

Tomorrow is a nice recovery ride, about 85 km to Mildura. We will have a special guest riding with us, all the way to Mildura. So tune in for more in the next blog.

Until then,

Cheers

Please click on the link below to see the video of the day's ride, taken by Peter Short.

Day 8 Swan Hill to Euston

Please, keep donating to our Group through the Legacy Everyday Heroes pages. We really want to smash a few records.

Day 7 Moama to Swan Hill

A very cold start of the day, about 3 degrees, and with wind chill factor, which made it more like -3, so everyone put on as many clothes as it was possible.

Terribly windy until about lunch time, which meant hard work, as the Group had to battle strong cross winds. and then after lunch, things turned around and a nice tail wind helped them finish the 160 km ride. It was flat and somewhat tedious, and at times so extremely windy that the Riders had to lean their bikes against the wind, or else they would have ended up in a mess somewhere in the middle of the road.

Speaking to some of the Riders after our arrival in Swan Hill, they believed that ride was worse than the very wet and uncomfortable ride that they had on Friday cycling to Shepparton.

We went through some fantastic named places, like Gunbower, or Cohuna, where Mum and Dad found this great place for coffees, and of course, the Group just went for it. I am sure the owners of the cafe were quite happy, even though they had to conjure up 32 coffees almost at once. After that lovely coffee break in Cohuna, everyone was ready to go for another 30 km or so stretch.
We kept going, fighting those winds, thinking that perhaps, we  are going to end up being quite late arriving in Swan Hill, when suddenly, one of our Support Crew, Stephen, looked in the side mirror and saw this tiny rider in the distance, and asked himself if he could one of our Group, so he slowed down and realised that indeed, somehow, somewhat, one of our riders had been left behind, and noticed that it was Stephen Wheaton.
Luckily Stephen has a sense of humour, and after catching up with the rest of the Group, he decided to forgive them all for forgetting him. I think the rest of the Riders were feeling a bit sheepish by the time we stopped at Kerang.

3 great members from its Legacy were waiting for us, and welcomed us at the Park were we stopped. Again, lots of stories and memories were told, and they made us feel really welcome, thanking us for the effort and commitment to Legacy. We replied with the only answer we could give: We do this because we all love the work that Legacy does, we do this because we love helping, we do this, because of the spirit of mateship within the group, a spirit of mateship perhaps reminiscent of another era, long ago, when a lot of young men left for foreign shores, forged friendships, fought battles for their country and looked after those mates when the bad things started to happen, and many of them, as our Private Brealey, never made it back.

After a few more chats, they asked about our next stop, and when they found out it was at Lake Boga, they told us about how Lake Boga was an integral part of allied defence during WWII, with a facility that helped to keep Australia safe; it was the number 1 Flying Boat repair and service depot for the Catalinas.

Following the Japanese attacks in Broome in 1942, resulting in the loss of 16 flying boats, the establishment of a safe haven for flying boats and amphibians was deemed essential to the defence of Australia.

We left Kerang with great tail winds, which put us in Swan Hill about 45 minutes earlier than expected, and another 2 members, John and Jock, were there to welcome us.

After a few chores, like washing clothes and cleaning bikes, and going for a cooling dip in the pool, we had a nice dinner at the Club and then retired to bed to get ready for the 140 km ride to Euston in the morning.

Some photos of today's events:

The very nice members of Legacy in Kerang holding the Penny

Getting ready to leave 

Paul Burns turn to carry the Plaque

Sarah McEachern resting and trying to warm up a bit in the sun

Riding to Swan Hill

It seems that the Riders are not the only ones that need a rest

That is all for now. Tomorrow, ride to Euston, 140 km. It is going to be very cold again, and hopefully those strong winds have taken leave,

At this stage we have over $104,000 raised on our Legacy Every Day Heroes page.

Last, please enjoy the videos that our very talented Rider, Peter Short complies every day of the daily ride. this is the link: 

Day 7 Moama to Swan Hill

Until then,

Cheers.

Day 6 Shepparton to Echuca/Moama

A short ride today, 98 km to Moama. We started a bit later today seeing that the ride wasn't going to be long. So 10 am was the time of departure, but before we left, there was a very special moment when one of our Riders, Wayne Cullinan, recited In Flanders Fields, a beautiful and poignant poem by John McCrae.
I will post it in here, because we believe it is so fitting to our cause. He finished with the Last Post, and that in turn, left most of us with tears in our eyes.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields. 


We left the rain behind, but some mean winds were coming from the side, making the ride difficult in places. Still, we made good time and got to Moama with plenty of time to look after the bikes, shower and relax for a while, before going to have dinner at the local RSL Club.

When we got to our accommodation, a couple of Legacy members, Susan and John Ryan from Legacy Bendigo, were waiting for us, and we had a lovely conversation with them. We showed them the Penny and explained to them what the Penny was and for whom it was. They were quite emotional and taken aback, as they didn't know about it. More and more people are getting to know Private Brealey and what he represents.

The Riders who take him for each section of the ride, feel a connection with it. His is certainly a powerful, albeit common story.

Here are some photos from today's ride:

Wayne Cullinan, ready to carry the Penny, after reciting the poignant In Flanders Fields

It was a bit wet in Shepparton first thing in the morning

Shepparton has cows, lots of them.

Our first pitstop...yes, it was wet

Wayne, passing the penny to Sarah McEachern

Impressive group. Very hard not to spot them.

Mr & Mrs Ryan, from Legacy Bendigo, holding the Penny

Tomorrow we are off to Swan Hill. It is going to be a long one, 160 km. Hoping for the weather Gods to be kind to us.

Please have a look at the video of the day on this link.

Day 6 Tour de Legacy

We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

Until then, 

Cheers