Day Ten: Swansea to Hobart
Tasmania once again turned it on for the final day of the Tour de Cure. A stroke of genius by the route organisers to bring the tour to this state – hats off to Geoff Coombes and Victor De Sousa.
Relatively speaking, this was one of the easier days on tour. This being said, a 140 kilometre ride with 1,450 metres of vertical climbing is not to be sneezed at. We began our day riding south from Swansea along the Tasman Highway. At the community dinner last night, a Swansea local described this section of the highway as Tasmania’s Great Ocean Road, and it is an apt description. With a police escort and the Channel 7 chopper overhead taking some footage, this section of the ride was both beautiful and a lot of fun, despite the rolling hills. Following a break at Triabunna, we then began the most difficult section of today’s ride, the 64 kilometres from Triabunna to Richmond. There were some long climbs on this stretch of the Tasman Highway, the most significant being the 9.3 kilometre “Breakneck” hill. Like yesterday, we climbed as a group, further testament to how the peloton has improved as a group over the past ten days. Following some lunch at the beautiful historical town of Richmond, we completed the final run into Hobart under police escort and were received by Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman at the footsteps of Parliament House.
So the 2014 Tour de Cure has come to a close. We have ridden over 1,600 kilometres and climbed over 21,000 vertical metres. But one thing you learn very early when you get involved with Tour de Cure is that it is not first and foremost a cycling foundation. The bike is a vehicle though which we raise awareness and money for the cause. What is far more important than the kilometres we have travelled and the metres we have climbed is the thousands of school children we have shared the “Be Fit, Be Healthy, Be Happy” cancer prevention message with, the numerous rural communities we have educated and inspired (Bundanoon, Adaminaby, Corryong, Wangaratta, Mansfield, Eildon and Swansea just to name a few), and of course the money we have raised to fund cancer research, support and prevention programs.
Right now I am feeling physically shattered but emotionally enriched. I have connected with some amazing people and heard their very powerful and personal stories. My lasting memories of this tour will not be the cycling. It will be key moments like riding alongside Simon McCarroll on day one of the tour, the day that marked the anniversary of his mum’s passing from cancer, having dinner with Daren Armstrong in Corryong and hearing about his battles with cancer, reuniting with Trish Shaw and young Josh in Wangaratta, a teacher and student I met during one of last year’s school visits, and having my wife and youngest daughter join me at a school visit I was involved in at Our Holy Redeemer in Melbourne.
Thanks again for all your encouragement, support and donations. To my boss (Sal) – If you happen to read this, don’t expect me to be in the office tomorrow.
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