Day 5 Horsham to Bendigo – 216km
Back up at 5:15am and off we go & it’s a big day. The most kms this tour.
Lunch was a saviour in the short term but lead to horrible indigestion later in the ride, just couldn’t get my nutrition right this day. We had an hour entertaining and playing with the kids at St Arnaud Primary.The morning ride was 116km, the afternoon turned out to be a very similar distance. The total for the day was 222kms taking the ride up over 800kms in 5 days. No question, I’ve got to get the nutrition sorted out, it’s making the ride really hard. Will find some Quik eze.
The dinner presentations on the tour can be very emotional, very raw and very inspiring. Last night, Rob Phipps, one of the riders, shared his story of losing his wife to breast cancer 12 months ago. Rob is carrying a good 10 kilos more than many of the riders and every hour you feel is a huge effort for him to get through. However, you cannot help but be hugely inspired by his positive, sunny view on life and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room when he recounted his 13 year old son’s words on the phone “hang in dad, you’ll get there, we both know why you’re riding!!!”.
Tonight we had Nathan talk to us. Nathan is riding the 2 days from Bendigo. He had a melanoma which has spread to tumours throughout his body. He is a father of three and is fighting hard but it’s a battle that is going against him. What is so humbling listening to Rob and Nathan, and many others on the tour talk, is just the overwhelmingly positivity in the face of huge adversity. There are smiles on their faces and they’re trying to live every minute. Gives you a lot to pause and reflect on.
The night closed with a fund raising update. The total for the 7 Tour de Cure rides is over $10 million.
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