Day 6 Bendigo to Benalla 192km
Day 6 Bendigo to Benalla 192km (another big day)
Hmmm, ulcers in my mouth and a chesty cough. My body is definitely starting to feel the stress. Surprise surprise though, this turned out to be a remarkably smooth day. We were given commemorative pink jerseys for TDC hitting the magic $10 million mark. Then it all changed gear. Just to spice things up, a team time trial had been organised which effectively involved each team riding as fast as it could for 16km straight. The winning team had to have all members over the line. An average pace of 40km/hr for over 20 minutes had the Optus team in a world of pain. Results are to be released but we “gave it a good nudge”.
As we collapsed and tried to relocate our lungs in the Rushworth village square one of those magical country Australia moments unfolded. An elderly gentleman who had been waiting for the tour to arrive set up a music stand and a chair, pulled out his accordion and proceeded to regale the whole party with the Australian national anthem and ” I still call Australia home”. Surreal and magical.
The remainder of the day progressed smoothly, though I was fatigued, with 2 great visits to tiny community schools. At each school we leave behind an iPad, and the gratitude from teachers who are struggling for regional funding is overwhelming. One school, Colbinabbin, is only open because the parents raised $10,000 to keep their bus service functioning for at least one more year. The kms on the bike passed relatively well, in large part due to some great company, stunning countryside and a slight tailwind. This was becoming a tough day for me, indigestion again, fatigue post time trial. Rolling over the bridge into beautiful Benalla as the sun was setting, we had knocked off over 400kms in 2 days and crossed the 1000km mark. Hugs and high fives all round and the tour tally ticks over to $2.1 million. Will sleep well tonight.
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