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!

.