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.