Day 8: St Helens to Swansea (the penultimate day)
The penultimate day of Tour 2017. On paper quite straightforward but with fatigue accumulating from days of riding and lack of sleep even 120km seemed like a marathon effort.
Dazza’s Diary – Day 8
Morning’s don’t get much more picturesque than this…
It was a clear but freezing morning. I’ve stated 4 but it was more like 2 degrees outside with wind chill. We huddled around under a BBQ enclosure in the dark to have breakfast. It was a spectacular sunrise over the water.
This rig has gotten me through over 1,000kms puncture free. A very comfortable ride is the Specialized Tarmac!
And apparently bikes grow on trees like apples around these parts. This apple would set you back about $12,000!
Me riding along with my game face on…I’m the one on the left. And I’m making a point of that because I appreciate identifying a Tour de Cure cyclist in a bunch is like finding your penguin in a waddle. 🙂
Channel 7 highlights clip from Launceston through to Swansea (Days 7 & 8) – as always the crew does a simply amazing job.
Arriving in Swansea was such a pleasant relief. The sun was shining but it was cool. Again, someone was very thoughtful and made sure there was a good supply of hot chips and potato cakes…and some beer. It was one of the shortest days so we were able to get into town with plenty of daylight to spare. The thought of having just one day of riding left provided a huge mental uplift, however, the prospect of a 3:30am rise so we could make it to Hobart on time was not so appealing.
I can’t pronounce this short walk but I made up one of my own which I have called…”stroll-to-the-esky-and-grab-a-beer” !!! I may be biased but I reckon mine would be one of Tasmania’s Top 10 Great Short Walks, if not Australia’s.
Sesame Street’s Count von Count would be in his element with these numbers!
Donation tally update as at 31st March:
Another $600 of donations to bring the tally to – $33,685 and 90 cents.
Riding stats update:
Distance ridden:Â 122km (total = 1,128km)
Elevation climbed:Â 880m (total = 9,422m)
Time ridden:Â 4 hrs 14 min (total = 41 hrs 13 min)
Top speed today: 67 km/hr
Calories burned: 2,060 (total = 20,920 = 81 Big Macs)
Punctures: 0
Leave a message for me:
If you want you can even spread the word and post it on facebook.
