After a few hours sleep the team set off at 9am Damian is still in a lot of pain in his achilles and knees, by making bike adjustments he is managing to ease the pain in hisachilles by transferring the load to the knees and then adjusting back gain after a while. The winds are still a major factor and have been most of the way so far - it has pretty much been a headwind all the way. (Just a quick note on the headwinds, they are so strong that the team have to pedal downhill, otherwise they will stop and at times even go backwards) Damian is till riding stronlg into these winds but it saps a lot of his energy - he is amazing - there are times when a message from the support car to the lead car tells of Damian suddenly out of nowhere take off and start peddling to speeds of nearly 45 - 50 kms/hr after riding into headwinds at only around 22 - 25 kms/hr for 10 hours. He is riding faster than the support rider, Ray De Boer, who just joined the team and has fresh legs. We think it is when he replays messages of encouragement - in particular he has been really encouraged by all the encouragement notes from the students of Donvale Christian School and also the emails sent through Glenn from many of you that are reading this.
In addition to the aching achilles and knees Damian has also got a number of blisters from sitting on a bike seat for so long - yes they are on his butt - some are broken too. The bike too while being special is also taking a beating - the team have had to replace two broken spokes and three punctures so far - this team is also amazing in addition to riding and driving for untold ours - they have been repairing wheels and tyres in the back of a Britz which does not have a lot of room. At times they are being instructed on what to do by Damian through the window while he is riding alongside - has to be seen to be believed.
During the night his HID Lamp ran out and was therefore riding without a light but in front of the support vehicle, however, Damian very suddenly came up on a large kangaroo, he literally eyeballed the kangaroo and if not for his mountain bike skills and the angels protecting him he would have been a gonner. He managed to avoid the kangaroo and stay on his bike - this was a miracle - as at that time of the night and after all the hours of riding you definitely don't have quick and responsive reflexes.
The team stopped and brought day six to a close around 3.15am just passed Port Augusta - Damian was keen to keep going but the winds had picked up again - and it was too much. A massage and sleep was needed and some cream for the blisters - have we got a job for your Debbie :-)
Personally (this is Johann) this guy is amazing and in speaking with the team and reading the SMS that we get - we are blown away by the determination and courage of this man and the team. The personal cost has been and is getting huge, but Damian's will to keep going is being driven by the desire to break the cycle of poverty for those kids in Africa. Each push of the pedal is another push for change. Throughout history we have seen significant changes result from significant sacrifices - the world record aside - I believe that this event and the sacrifices (physical, emotional, time, money, comfort, sleep, and the list goes on) of Damian AND the team WILL result in change and WILL play a part in Breaking the Cycle of Poverty for the orphans of Africa through HopeBuilders.
Please pray for the winds to be kind for the remaining 54 hours!!!
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