Day 1: Sydney to Bundadoon
Good evening all. Today was a huge day and started off with a bang with Kochie at Channel 7 HQ having the honours of firing the starters pistol. Come to think of it, it was more like a splash given the rain that greeted us first thing this morning for our departure.
A couple of live TV crosses enticed a bit of a crowd participation. OK, I admit that is me in between Mark Beretta and Charlie Teo, eminent Australian neurosurgeon who is on a mission to cure brain cancer. I got to ride next to and have a chat with Beretts for a while today – he is doing his 5th tour. Very passionate and very committed to this cause – impressive.
A few stats for those analytics amongst us…today consisted of;
168km,
1800m of elevation climbed,
6hrs 20mins of riding,
and I had 2 punctures.
Mechanical problems were common today given it pretty much rained the entire way. All of us were soaked through from very early on. It was cold and the rain at times was so heavy that you could hardly see where you were going. What better way to start – a good test of concentration and resilience.
We visited 2 primary schools along the way and presented to the kids on cancer awareness (one in Camden at St Pauls Primary School and the other at the very small Colo Vale Primary School). All very excited children eager to listen to some of the messages being shared by the tour riders. The kids were running around getting autographs from us all…something I am sure the majoity of us are not accustomed to, but I was happy to oblige of course. This was a big event for these small rural schools.
At the team dinner tonight we were joined by Professor John Rasko AO (clinical hematologist, pathologist and scientist), highly regarded as one of, if not the best in his field globally in adult stem cell and genetic therapy. He is playing a massive part in helping unravel the mysteries of cancer at a genetic level. The Tour de Cure is funding some of his key research projects and he shared some of the impressive progress that is being made so far.
All in all a challenging yet very rewarding day. Time to get some sleep now.
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