Day 7 – From Eildon to Melbourne
Total riding: 160km, ascent 1,600m
&
Day 8 – Devonport to Launceston
Total riding: 132km, ascent 1,900m
Hi folks, on day 7 we headed toward Melbourne. We have successfully completed the 3 biggest days of tour, but we are still a long way from Hobart – which includes a big chunk of water.
Guys, this year is a tough Tour! Many of the team had reached their limit and this became apparent when one of the tour veterans collapsed at dinner. Don’t worry, he is ok, however the combination of the gastro bug many of the team are fighting, 8 hours of riding in tough conditions and the weariness from multiple contiguous days of hard yards is an extremely tough gig. Stuart, our paramedic has his hands full at present.
So day 7…… the alarm went off…..at 4am ….. Ok, getting use to it now! This tour is not just about the cyclists. There is a frankly quite stellar support crew who are making sure the tour runs effectively.Riders need to be supported on the roads, they need to be well fed and watered, there is a huge logistics exercise to move the group from A to B every day and the aches, strains and ailments have to be treated quickly and effectively. We also have a channel 7 film crew, photographers and would you believe, a helicopter drone. As a roving reporter, I would like you to see how things work on their side as a change.
Let`s start with the catering team from Canadian Kitchens. The food this team produces is amazing and keeps the peloton rolling. They prepare breakfast and the first riders appear before 5:30am for a full hot breakfast. There is also support for the Sunrise crosses (TV), ensure all bikes are ready and send off the pelotons. As for the logistics teams they pack up all the gear and load the trucks. They have to also load everyone’s bags which is a big task that becomes very repetitive. The trucks then head off to ensure the equipment required at lunch, school visits and corporate visits is in the right place prior to being needed and then packed up afterwards. These guys work hard. We also have support on the road. If you are expecting that this will be pretty relaxed (Comfy Lexus, leather seats and warm and dry), well Mmm, not quite right! They have to drive at 30kph or less, the traffic coming from behind is never ending and they are constantly looking out for the welfare of the team. It is intense.
The radio traffic between the front and rear vehicles is vital and the comms with the peloton is vital. They are our eyes ahead, the protection from behind and their support when things go amiss. A great example was climbing and descending the Black Spur today in cold, wet and misty conditions. Log trucks and bicycles on wet, windy and greasy roads is something that needs great care and communication. The peloton leads managed this beautifully with the support of their ever vigilant safety vehicles.
Finally, there is the corporate support team to ensure that visits to our sponsors went really smoothly. TdC is blessed with amazing corporate sponsors (thank you to all if you are reading this) and we make sure we try and give back as much as we can in the way of coverage, marketing and staff engagement. The arrival of sweaty, smelly and bedraggled cyclists always brightens a pristine corporate environment in a wonderfully colourful way!
But wait, there is more, as we reached the docks in Port Melbourne around 4:30pm and the logistics team established a community event at the pier. Once it was completed we had to pack it all down again and get the whole tour into the Spirit of Tasmania. Speaking of great sponsors, the Spirit of Tasmania is shipping us to Devonport in an amazing gesture of support and generosity – thank you!
Day 8 yeah, we are now in Tasmania! The trip over last night was a relatively good one and the team on the Spirit of Tasmania looked after us so well.
The ship is very comfortable and we had great meals and a few quiet drinks to celebrate making it so far. As the ship sailed we all received the most amazing surprise. One of the tour veterans from Queensland, had arranged individual video messages to all tour participants from their families. These were sent to us around 7pm and the emotions were very strong, I can tell you.
The support team worked late into the night with the film and social media teams turning off the lights.
No alarm this morning, simply an announcement over the ship PA at 5am to tell us we had arrived and we did the Sunrise crosses from on the ship this morning
We rolled at 8am and as this was the last weekday of the tour we had quite a few school visits planned. All 3 pelotons went in different directions early and had great visits with the primary school kids of NW Tasmania. Back on the bike, the scenery here is stunning. The weather was much better than yesterday and thankfully the Tassie forecast is good for the weekend. The only problem with great scenery is that it typically comes with more climbing! We climbed 1,500m in the first 60km! Ouch. Some riders are loving it, but many of us are coming to our maximum endurance. These trip are tough, but saying that, no one is complaining. We are deliberately challenging ourselves and hoping our achievements inspire those following us to support this great cause. The second half of the day was much flatter and we hit Launceston around 4pm. We had a huge reception in a local park with the Camp Quality team. The kids and riders kicked back and I must admit it was very therapeutic. Today was shorter and I must admit, so is this report. Like all my teammates, I am very weary!
Have a look at the picture from the last two days and enjoy!
https://www.tourdecure.com.au/pages/news/gallery
See you soon!
G
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