Day 6: Devonport to Launceston
Hi all. Our first day in Tassie under the belt. It was nice to be back in the state where I grew up. Before we jump into the diary update I wanted to share this. I woke up to a note from Sue (my wife and rock!). Kylie Blair who runs the after school care that my son attends sent this picture through to her. She has been creating their own version of my journey on a wall from all the blog updates. What a fantastic and uplifting surprise.
Dazza’s Diary – Day 6
It was a real buzz rolling off the Spirit of Tasmania en masse to a pretty chilly Tassie morning. Not raining though (at this stage) so could not complain too much, just a little maybe. Ben Davies (whom I’ve spoken about in a previous blog) and I rode off together.
The roads from Devonport through to Beaconsfield, our first stop, were pretty “dead” as we call it. Course gravel asphalt (not the silky smooth hotmix us cyclists love) which made it hard going. It slows you down and makes it seem like you are riding through quicksand. We arrived at Beaconsfield Primary School to a very warm reception. We presented to all the school kids, highlighting the key messages of being fit, healthy and happy. They had put together a terrific money montage in the shape of a bike – very creative bunch.
From the school we headed down to the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre where we had set up for lunch. This township endured very tough and tragic times in 2006 when the Beaconsfield mine collapsed, killing a miner and trapping two others for 2 weeks before they were able to be rescued. A sobering memory.
Southern Cross TV followed some of our movements during the day and caught up with us at Beaconsfield. We made the news and was able to share a few more messages to the viewers in Tassie. (Forward through to the 8 min 20 sec point for the Tour de Cure footage). There’s a brief interview with me on it – they were after someone with Tassie heritage to speak to 🙂
It was time to head at full speed towards Launceston. The weather was predicted to close in on us soon. And it did before we could get to our destination. Wind, rain and cold – what a trifecta. We all arrived at Launceston like drowned rats and could not get into hot showers quick enough.
The community dinner at the Grand Chancellor Hotel was a sell out. I sat at the table with Dave, Yvette and their 3 little girls. The youngest, Pippa (4 and a bit years old), was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of 3. Since then she has gone through an extended chemotherapy treatment program and has many months left before it’s complete. Dave was a guest speaker that evening and spoke of the hardship and trauma this bestowed on their family but from a positive perspective was so thankful of the support received from their medical team, Camp Quality and local community. Pippa has responded well to treatment and her prognosis is good. That’s all a parent can ask for given the circumstances.
One of the highlights of the evening was the off the cuff Q&A session with JT and Jens Voigt. Both are natural entertainers and the banter between the two was top shelf.
The stats fest continues…
Donation tally update as at 29th March:
Another $100 donated to the cause today – $32,835 and 90 cents.
Riding stats update:
Distance ridden: 120km (total = 842km)
Elevation climbed: 1,470m (total = 6,120m)
Time ridden: 4 hrs 35 min (total = 30 hrs 17 min)
Top speed today: 71 km/hr
Calories burned: 2,375 (total = 15,180 = 59 Big Macs)
Punctures: 0
DONATION LINK: https://bit.ly/2mm8WyQ
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