We need a conclusion!
Day 9 – Launceston to Swansea; Total riding: 155km, ascent 1,500m
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Day 10 – Swansea to Hobart; Total riding: 143km, ascent 1,600m
Hi folks, it’s a sore, weary, but smiling Guillaume here! 1600 km done! Over 21 000 m of climbing (that’s almost 3 time the Everest)! The 2014 signature tour is over and it is with great joy, a bit of pain and lots of fatigue that I reached home last night! Here’s an overview of the last 2 day of the tour!
Day 9, yeah yeah yeah we know…..it was 5:30am and time to get up!
I was looking forward to today. We had no school or corporate visits, the distance was ok and it was team time trial day…..bring it on. Some would say that the initial ride out of Launceston was a tad chilly and up a big hill. It was a good hill indeed but chilly… naaaaaaa! The legs eventually warmed up during the climb, but I must admit I didn’t get comfortable on the saddle until much later. We reached the team time trial after 40 odd k’s and split into our smaller teams for the 8km course. How it works is that each team rides together and separate from everyone else, they ride against the clock and the team with the fastest time for their last rider wins.
We rode in a single line to keep most riders out of the wind. As the lead rider fatigues, they roll off and move to the back to recover and so it goes. We were pushing hard. My heart rate was beating like hell and, when we sped under the helicopter drone that was filming us, we would have been doing 50kph! Team LifeTech finished 6th! Not bad for a team that had a few casualties! We had morning tea on a crop dusting airfield and a crop duster buzzed by us a few times for fun and some great photos (have a look, definitely worth it). The ride to lunch was quite long and there was a very long uphill drag. Luckily the weather here in Tassie has been beautiful and the sun was very pleasant on my back. We then had lunch next to Lake Leake which was stunning. We sat around the foreshore eating ribs, veggies and mash followed by crumble and ice cream….feed that engine!
The final 30k’s to Swansea was mostly downhill and the view over the coast was awesome. We were escorted into town by the local fire engine and SES and we were greeted by the locals in numbers. Wow, what a day. It’s only 4:30pm and we are in Swansea. One to go and I am starting to believe.
Day 10! It is with an enormous sense of pride that I am writing this last section! I have to say that I have mixed emotions spinning in my head. My body wants this to end but my mind wants to stay in this bubble with these amazing people striving to make a difference. The ride out of Swansea is stunning. We rode down the coast and the Sunrise team had organised a helicopter. This flies very low over us for about 20km taking footage for the documentary that Mark Beretta and his team are preparing. This will show on channel 7 on New Year’s day and it’ll be brilliant.
After stopping at Triabunna where they were celebrating Seafest, we turned inland towards Hobart. This tour wouldn’t be complete without a couple more climbs. One climb was called Bust-Me-Gal and it nearly did bust me.
However, like so many previous days before, we dug, we coaxed each other, we remembered why we are ridding and we conquered it. We regrouped outside of town and rode into Hobart as a single peloton under a full police escort. They held back the cars on the freeway, they gave us a lane on the Tasman bridge and they made us feel very special. The emotions welled up as we rode over the bridge and Hobart came into view. Wow, I was here. We were here. As we rode past Constitution Dock the team was buzzing.
The final turn took us down to Salamanca Place and our finish at Tasmania’s Parliament House. Hundreds of people were waiting for us and the celebration was so heartfelt and emotional. We were hugging, cheering and crying. This has been so hard but so rewarding. Tasmania’s new premier, Will Hodgman, welcomed us to the finish and it started to hit us all that we had made it. Our whole team was here – this included Phil who I wrote about on day 6. He had got back on his bike today and rode with us all into Hobart…..kudos buddie.
There is a great quote by Margaret Mead that sums up this team…..”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” The cancer treatments may take some time, but this team of people is doing their bit to speed this up, support those who are suffering and educate our youth to be fit, be healthy and be happy. All your donations are making such a difference. We are still striving to raise more and achieve our goals. Our final dinner in Hobart was awesome. We had it on the wharf and the convention centre was full of the team, families and supporters. Kevin and Dave were our hosts and they were in fine spirits. We made toasts, we heard from the TDC Board, we heard perspectives from riders and support crew and we reflected on an amazing tour. The brilliant photos our photographers have taken were showing on the screens and this helped us reflect and remember. The formalities ended with a tour favourite moment, the Sunrise highlights. This was so cool we had to play it twice.
The photo of the last two days (and also the previous ones) can be accessed here: https://www.tourdecure.com.au/pages/news/gallery
And here is the Sunrise highlights! Congrats to Channel 7 for their amazing job!
To conclude, TDC is now over $2.5m raised for the year, an amazing achievement as it stands. That said, we are determined to raise more. These people are some of life’s best. I am very proud to ride with them.
G
xxx
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