Day 9: Kancoban to Jindabyne
Pretty amazing to have two incredible days on the bike back to back … but that’s what we’ve had these last two days. Stunning scenery, perfect weather, challenging climbs and the rush of some amazing descents. Today we rode from Kancoban to Jindabyne; 115km through Kosciuszko National Park with a cheeky 3,000m climbing. An epic day on the bike.
The day started early with a quick breakfast by the big log fire at our accommodation, then we headed outside to the cold damp reality that we were about to to do a series of climbs culminating in an 18km ascent of Dead Horse Gap. We started some serious climbing pretty much immediately and it wasn’t long before we were spread out along the road as everyone found their climbing pace. Climbing up through the trees we were treated to some amazing views back down the valley … although as the severity of the gradient increased most of us were too pre-occupied with keeping the pedals turning to take in the surroundings. The first climb completed, we traversed some undulating roads watched by a few packs of Roos as we whizzed along … then it was time to shed a few layers of clothing and begin the major climb of the day – up to Dead Horse Gap. The roads on the first half of the climb pitched up to 16% … which after 8 days of riding and over a thousand kilometres is pretty steep. It’s at times like this that you dig deep and remember the reasons why you’re riding. For me that’s enough to keep the pedal turning, however TDC also has a saying that the hardest day on a bike is still way better than any day on Chemo – more than enough to keep me climbing towards the sky. In the end we all made it to the top to a great reception from our amazing support crew. This was the day that most on Tour had been apprehensive about, so it was quite an emotional moment as we reached the summit. All in all, a fantastic day on the bike.
It’s incredibly hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of Tour – the training, fund raising and anticipation last for months, then Tour finally arrives and the whole amazing experience is over in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow we’ll roll into Canberra to what for many will be an emotional welcome from family & friends … then the following morning I’ll be on the road back to Sydney – by car!
The great news is that TDC’s fundraising total for the year is now just short of our target of $2.3m. A huge achievement, and huge thanks to all who’ve supported to date. If anyone would like to donate to my ride and to help find cures for cancer, please click the following link:
https://www.tourdecure.com.au/pages/donate/registration/376cb5
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