Day 2 – Victor Harbour to Meningie – that bubble just got cosier

I didn’t tell you this yesterday as I was having serious computer issues at 10pm last night doing my blog and after all the swearing and the energy from a big day, fell asleep without properly rounding out my story. It was interesting as I was sharing my room with Kevin Russell, CEO of Optus however was directing all my insults at Telstra.

Last night Seb Terry was our speaker at our local community dinner in Victor Harbour. I now know why the veterans have said pace yourself. Yes, there is a lot of cycling however the bigger moments in the day are the schools we visit and the communities we meet and it all adds up. This is why I get that sinking feeling that later in the week, I might be asleep at dinner before the main meal is served.

Stuart and his wife Kylie were out guests from Victor Harbour CommBank branch and CommBank hosted the evening. Dave Curran did a great job at MC and then after the formalities introduced Seb to talk to us and a number of locals who had joined us for the evening.

Seb is one of those young guys that just oozes the zest of life. He is well known now for his 100 things that he personally wants to achieve in his life – visit his site https://100things.com.au/ and he has been on a number of shows on tv telling his story. Yes he has run with the bulls, married a stranger in Las Vegas, walked the red carpet in Cannes, visited a Death Row inmate and even delivered a baby!! You might at a glance think, oh yes another crazy guy with a big bucket list however you would be oh so wrong. You may have heard from a number of successful people that one of their secrets to their success is that they believe in themselves and do not listen to that nagging little voice of insecurity in their heads telling them why they can’t do something. I don’t have enough time, I need financial security, I’m not smart enough…the list goes on…you know this little voice don’t you. We all have the judge in us giving us excuses as to why we can’t do things we would so love to do. Successful people have this judge as well however they have learnt how to drown it out and in some cases throw it away like Seb. I truly don’t think there is one thing you could throw at Seb where he would say it could not be done. The man is the most uninhibited people I have ever meant. He is almost like a small child who truly believes everything is possible before parents, teachers, friends tell them why things can’t be done and they grow up believing this. Seb…you are a true inspiration to us all and you embody what we all want…to do the things in life that are special to us and for others. Thats right, dont think for a minute that Seb is all about Seb…that could not be further from the truth. The man genuinely wants others to achieve their dreams and actively goes about helping them do that supporting children, charities and people not so fortunate as he. He is has been riding with us the last 3 days and touched many people with his simple but powerful message – write down what you want to do, commit to it and make it happen – no excuses. On the back of the Peloton today, I spoke with Steve who has been inspired to ride around Australia next year off the back of TDC as he has always wanted to do this. Watch out Lindy…I’m updating my list!

Today was a solid day of riding. No school visits as it is the weekend however we did get a chance to talk to locals at the 3 stops. 143km ridden today taking us from Victor Harbour to Meningie. We have dinner tonight at the School Hall and we have about 10 guests from CommBank. First 50 this morning was tough – Danny and I were on the front the whole way in blustery side and head winds. In fact at one stage, we were peddling like crazy and only managing 20kmph. The middle and last section of today, I spent helping out the back of another Peloton and a couple of the guys that were doing it tough. They were troopers though and made it home.

Some photos from the day…stage 2 whiteboard (you will notice these are always shot in the dark as we are up at 530am every morning), beautiful sunrise in Victor Harbour, Geoff briefing the team, stops during the day, ferry crossing at Wellington and then arriving at Meningie Sailing Club.

Ciao for now