TDC Day 10 Swansea – Hobart
Elation & Exhaustion
Hi. Apologies to the delay to the final instalment of my blog which was brought to you by a late finish at the community dinner, and overwhelming tiredness!
We made it. No accidents apart from JT’s fall on camera on the 5th day, but as Gary Bertwhistle said to me this morning, this has been one of the toughest tours. Apart from the 1600kms, and nearly 18000 metres of vertical climb, there has been a case of gastro that has gone through the group that has benched a few of the riders for ,in some cases, multiple days. Fortunately for me I was unscathed.
Lovely morning’s ride around the east coast of Tassie…the scenery is spectacular…and should make stunning viewing in the special on the Tour which will be aired later this year. ( We were followed by a chopper for the best part of an hour).
We rode to a festival at Tubramurra where JT was doing crosses for weekend sunrise and then onto the beautiful town of Richmond. That left a very short 26kms to finish in Hobart. The peleton regrouped about 5kms down the road from the finish and in TdC tradition organised itself into groups of number of tours completed. It’s a lovely gesture for those who are multiple year veterans to finish first.
There was palpable excitement as we neared the finish line at Parliament House. People were breaking out in goosebumps and shedding a tear or two. As we rounded the corner into Salamanca Place I had a lump in my throught. I looked through the crowd and saw my family who were there cheering as i rode past. It was an extraordinary feeling.
We parked the bikes, hugged, shook hands, patted backs and said thank you to each and every rider for the pleasure and honour of riding with them. Tina, Lexie & Ava got huge cuddles. My brother-in-law Sean and his girlfriend were there too, Sean very kindly shoving a beer straight in my hand!
Jim from the Unicorn Foundation came and thanked me for all my support. Photos and downtime. Elation and Exhaustion.
The community dinner was a huge celebration. Some great pictures and video shown. Team of the tour and tour jersey winners were announced and thoroughly deserved.
We sloped off to get the kids in bed about 10.30 but the party was only just beginning.
Geoff Coombes asked me when I was riding with him for a short while what my 25 second elevator speech will be. My response was this:
Simply the most humbling and rewarding riding experience of my life.
Thank you to everyone for supporting me, and your messages of encouragement.
Signing off now
All my best , df
PS: TdC does not end here…there are committed people who work tirelessly all year round in the fight against cancer. Please continue to support them by spreading this message.
1 in 3 cancers are preventable. We are making breakthroughs everyday. One day we will find a cure. Until then we will ride.
Leave a message for me:
If you want you can even spread the word and post it on facebook.
