Well here we are back in Melbourne and all I have to say is a huge YAHOOOOO. It was absolutely awesome to ride into Melbourne and I can promise you the first glimpse of the city was an awesome sight I will never forget and then the scene when I turned the corner into the lane where the ‘finish line’ was also as unforgettable.
This ride has been more than just a bike ride, it been an amazing journey where every aspect of my being was test the ride was as hard physically as it was emotionally and as it was spiritually. At times during the ride I couldn’t believe just how hard it was and I still stand and wonder how I actually made it through because it should have finished on the side of the road many times. I can honestly say that every emotion in my being was poured out into that ride and I cant wait to share the full story bout some of the obstacles that had to be over come. There was wind, the heat, the road trains, the distance itself, the wind, the sunburn, the dry reaching, the blood nose after blood nose, my sore throat, the wind, the smell of rotting carcasses, the boringness of the landscape, the wind, the lack of communication with your family, the soreness of sitting in the same position, the sore hands, the sunburnt lips, the blisters on my lips, the unquenchable thirst, the wind, the constant ticking of the clock, the pressure of making decisions for a whole team, the wind, the responsibility of people watching and just in case I didn’t mention it THE WIND!
This ride has three clear parts to it and every aspect of these was tested to their absolute limits. During my training I had to mentally prepare to face the head winds again, I had to somehow prepare to overcome the amount of pain this ride would bring and then be ready for the depths I would have to reach down from spiritually. This ride took me to the absolute bottom of the well many, many, many times and I am still amazed at how I was able to some how get back on the bike time after time of failed goals and constant head winds. In the first few days almost every goal I had set we fell short of, so I stopped setting goals and just tried to press on and pinch every KM I could. It seemed like the ride was ridden over many short 35 -50km sections rather than setting for big towns and the like. I worker out a way to over come the constant road sign reminders of the 100’s of Kms to get to the next town as these fast became ‘bad information’. Bad information sent my head in a backward tailspin but by the second day I had worked out how to overcome this problem. Evry sign post was like getting a leg wax one hair at a time…
My daily goal and prayer had become reduced quite simply to help me through the day so that I could make it through the night and put my head on the pillow. Everyday I looked forward to the next evening as I knew that another day would be gone and soon I would get a chance for some sleep. So long as I stuck to my heart rate goal and slept 5 hours, I would have enough physical strength to face the next day. I followed a plan of conservative aggression knowing that when the time was right I would be able to GO…
The first day we headed out all excited then it was as early as lunchtime when things started to go a little pear shaped. At first the plan was for Dave and Greg to go and ride to the transporter, collect it and meet us at a garage where is needed to get fuel and water, however I said that we should stay together as a team, just in case…turned out a good decision. We get there and some lunch was made up for me and the rest of the team were al scurrying about sorting stuff out and then we couldn’t find the water filler, called Mark (transporter owner) then he directed us to it, then no one could get the cap undone, mild panic was starting as we could potentially start to loose time, so I simply asked have you prayed… I prayed grabbed the key gave it a jiggle then the tank lock was opened and went and sat down again then the hose wouldn’t go in, so I prayed then I was reminded Dave’s a plumber…”Hey Dave can you take a look at that hose…” then the hose went in and the water tank was being filled. So after a shaky start I said to the guys no stress… lets take a few moments extra and get it right, we didn’t need to panic. So then off we went, the rest of the day was ridden into a reasonable head wind and then night fell…tea time. We couldn’t get the power to work in the transporter, so in good preparation we had a fry pan and heated everything that way…seemed like the best thing to do until a few hours later I had a huge headache and felt a bit nauseous… then I get a call from Johann, transported wont start…hmm not a good 10 to 20 mins when they came up to us saying that it was ok and the transported had restarted, by now it was late into the first night, we didn’t have enough KM’s and we had a few problems, not to mention the wind was still blowing into our faces…It was about then that I started to have negative thoughts, I actually considered giving up right there and then because it seemed like everything we were doing was in our own strength and this journey was not about that it was about fulfilling a plan that God had laid on my heart and we were out there to raise money for our cause…things were turning out real wrong. I had wondered what happened to the Fremantle doctor, everyone knows that the wind blows form the west every arvo out our Perth… but not today!!! However we pushed on into the night and slept for about 5 hours surely tomorrow was going to be better, nugh! As soon as I put my bike on the road the breeze seemed to kick up and as soon as I got warmed up so did the wind! Head wind ALL blooming day we got to Coolgardie for dinner, the location we made first 24 hours last year, wow are we a long way behind. But then the wind died down so we managed to pinch 150km after tea and slept at Norseman.
Day three woke up and then the wind was stronger, I couldn’t believe it, now I am really struggling emotionally, last year we had two days of head winds and they effectively killed our chance of the record, now I am facing winds for the third day in a row. I headed out and by three hours I was hurting, then we had a rider change and my pain started to turn into anger the wind was getting stronger and stronger, it seemed the harder I pedalled the stronger the wind got, there must have been of 50kmph winds. 25km to make it to the road house I was struggling to ride 15 - 18kmph it was awfully hard and a constant grind. Then I decided t grind out of the saddle, so I did not sit down for over an hour, I didn’t look much over the hub off the front wheel and I just rode it like a time trial, my poor support rider got left behind. I wanted to give up and I tried everything I cold to find a happy place but nothing works, the wind is the greatest demoraliser I have ever been confronted with. I made the road house and couldn’t control my emotions I say on the bike and cried in the driveway for 5 mins, I had out everything I had into to clawing out just 25kms. I had dug into the bottom of the well and found the strength to push though. Then after lunch I decided just to try and keep turning the pedals over and over and not set any goals apart from not giving up and make it t tea then deal with the night. The night came and it was awful, most people who know me know that I love night riding but this was all different, the wind got WINDIER so I pressed on slowly and eventually made it with a lot of stops and tears along the way. Day four exactly the same as day 3 except I had just about used every one of my tricks or options I could and had nothing left emotionally. However somehow we pushed a little further up the road and made it to night time.
Day 5, wow day 5, much will be talked bout Day 5. I changed the clock to adjust the time zones, so I had to wake up in the dark bit I hoped it would shorten the night rides, so I set the alarm for 5 am. I woke up and heard the howling of the wind, I do not kno how I even got out of the bed, but I did I went to open the door and couldn’t as it opened into the wind. I went back to my bed got dressed ever so slowly and knew that the ride was over I had no more to give. I couldn’t do it any more. I dressed ate and went out to my bike, got on it, I started to rode and couldn’t even get my eyes above the front hub. I was in a horrible horrible place, I lasted 20 mins. Stopped, cried nd probably yelled out something like give me a break. Johann and mark came and consoled me then I said I am going back to bed and said the ride is probably over so work something out with the team… I CANT go on. I don’t know what he did after that they closed the doors and let me in peace. I was broken and finished man. I couldn’t sleep I really didn’t want the ride to end but I had no more emotions to draw upon and no mental strength to go on… Then what took place over the next two hours I can explain but it will take some time to write everything that happened, al I will say is I probably sat there for an hour and slept for about 30 mins. After that I got dressed again, the guys were going to send the whole team with me, but I said no in fact I thought it was best if I rode on my own. So I did for the next three - four hours I rode off into the nastiest of head winds and rode all alone. I spent time just praying and acknowledging the things that had happened when I was on my own in the room. I never found a happy place but I did find something that would mean that I wasn’t going to get off the bike!
Day 5 came and eventually went and the ride to get to Ceduna was bizarre and I can’t explain but we were not supposed to make it through there nut we did, and all I cared was that when my head hit the pillow my backside had to point to the welcome to Ceduna sign! Then Day 6 was no wind and we finally could ride with some reasonable distances being obtained maybe the ride was going to be salvaged, by mid arvo we had a very slight tail breeze. So I took every possible advantage of it and rode for 23 hours until he following morning, saw m wife and then had a sleep from 9.00 til 11.00, got up and rode with an AWESOME tail wind. Rode until the following day (again) and some how crossed the Adelaide Hills and made Tailem Bend, nearly fell asleep on the bike and pulled over for 2 hours and then got up and rode to the Vic border…HAPPY DAYS still a slight tail wind. Slept for 30 mins and then rode off into the night and it all came crashing down again emotionally 25 km our of Horsham I was convinced I wasn’t going to make it if I didn’t make Horsham then eventually after being convinced by my wife and quite a few tears I went to sleep with the help of a tablet, slept for 6 hours.
Then the most excellent day occurred, even tough it rained a bit in the morning the day turned perfect and we had a tail breeze so finally my patience game was over I could finally let it rip and no one was going to be able to hold my wheel!!! Well at least my team anyway, I had a good rider come up from Melbourne who wanted to ride the whole way with me (thanks Steve), he was strong and he was the right man for the job…we had the most excellent fun speeding and flying along and at times we hit over 60 in one section up HILL, yes UP HILL. Eventually the KM passed and the whole team Mitch, Dave Rob, Greg and Ray all rode in team colours into Melbourne with a few other new support riders. Standing on the steps of the GPO with my bike held high I screamed out with absolute joy and elation. Then as we came around the corner to the IBM building to see the huge crowd the with cameras all going off a huge banner and champagne spurting everywhere, it was awesome…THANKS YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT, ENCOURAGING EMAILS and YOUR PARYERS. Every one paid a part in me making it across that finish line.
I have left out heaps and heaps of things there, especially some of the things that happened on day 5 in particular and ride through Ceduna and the things that drove me to ride for 23 hours to Port Augusta and why I didn’t give up on the many time I probably could have over the first 3 days. But we are having a presentation night with pics and videos of the ride and I will be talking about some of these things then. I would love anyone to come and hear about this MOST AMAZING journey…
5th Dec 20.00 per head, light supper and we will do some auctions etc.
Please email me dcrichmond@bigpond.com reserve a ticket
The success of this journey will only be rated once we see the smiling face of one child in a home that we have built from the money raised by these bike rides… Damian Richmond
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Day after......
Well its Wednesday and the race is less than 48 hours over and sleep is slowly getting caught up. Damian's voice is almost back and some of the team have even gone back to work. However, I did hear something that just blew me away - it appears that Damian was seeing back on his bike racing on the mountain bike circuit this evening. Can you believe this guy??
Here are the stats for the team for days 6 to 10:
Day 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode 3 hours 25 minutes and covered 73 kms
Rob rode 2 hours 30 minutes and covered 66 kms
Rob rode again later for 2 hours 5 minutes and covered 41 kms
Ray rode 7 hours 14 minutes and covered 138 kms
Dave rode 3 hours 35 minutes and covered 92 kms
Greg was rested
Day 7 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode 2 hours 25 minutes and covered 67 kms
Rob rode 2 hours 23 minutes and covered 63 kms
Ray rode 3 hours 10 minutes and covered 66 kms
Dave rode 5 hours 20 minutes and covered 129 kms
Greg rode for 5 hours 11 minutes and covered 127 kms
Mitch rode for 4 hours 8 minutes and covered 87 kms
Day 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob rode for 2 hours 56 minutes and covered 73 kms
Ray rode for 1 hours 50 minutes and covered 56 kms
Ray rode again for 2 hours and covered 43 kms
Greg rode for 3 hours 10 minutes and covered 64 kms
Ray de Boer rode for 3 hours 35 minutes and covered 138 kms
Mitch and Dave were rested in case there was an all nighter
Day 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode for 4 hours 55 minutes and covered 98 kms
Rob rode for 5 hours 42 minutes and covered 115 kms
Dave rode for 2 hours and covered 57 kms
Dave rode again for 2 hours 12 minutes and covered 51 kms
Greg rode for 2 hours 12 minutes and covered 51 kms
Ray de Boer rode for 2 hours 5 minutes and covered 62 kms
Ray was rested
Day 10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode for 1 hour 27 minutes and covered 44 kms
Mitch rode again for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Rob rode for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Ray rode for 1 hour 53 minutes and covered 52 kms
Ray rode again for 1 hour 30 minutes and covered 48 kms
Ray again for 50 minutes and covered 20 kms
Dave rode for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Greg rode for 1 hour 15 minutes and covered 38 kms
Greg rode for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Peter Loenen for 50minutes and covered 27 kms
Steve Van Dyk rode for 12 hours 30 minutes and covered 303 kms
There will be more stats over the next few days.
Here are the stats for the team for days 6 to 10:
Day 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode 3 hours 25 minutes and covered 73 kms
Rob rode 2 hours 30 minutes and covered 66 kms
Rob rode again later for 2 hours 5 minutes and covered 41 kms
Ray rode 7 hours 14 minutes and covered 138 kms
Dave rode 3 hours 35 minutes and covered 92 kms
Greg was rested
Day 7 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode 2 hours 25 minutes and covered 67 kms
Rob rode 2 hours 23 minutes and covered 63 kms
Ray rode 3 hours 10 minutes and covered 66 kms
Dave rode 5 hours 20 minutes and covered 129 kms
Greg rode for 5 hours 11 minutes and covered 127 kms
Mitch rode for 4 hours 8 minutes and covered 87 kms
Day 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------
Rob rode for 2 hours 56 minutes and covered 73 kms
Ray rode for 1 hours 50 minutes and covered 56 kms
Ray rode again for 2 hours and covered 43 kms
Greg rode for 3 hours 10 minutes and covered 64 kms
Ray de Boer rode for 3 hours 35 minutes and covered 138 kms
Mitch and Dave were rested in case there was an all nighter
Day 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode for 4 hours 55 minutes and covered 98 kms
Rob rode for 5 hours 42 minutes and covered 115 kms
Dave rode for 2 hours and covered 57 kms
Dave rode again for 2 hours 12 minutes and covered 51 kms
Greg rode for 2 hours 12 minutes and covered 51 kms
Ray de Boer rode for 2 hours 5 minutes and covered 62 kms
Ray was rested
Day 10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitch rode for 1 hour 27 minutes and covered 44 kms
Mitch rode again for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Rob rode for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Ray rode for 1 hour 53 minutes and covered 52 kms
Ray rode again for 1 hour 30 minutes and covered 48 kms
Ray again for 50 minutes and covered 20 kms
Dave rode for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Greg rode for 1 hour 15 minutes and covered 38 kms
Greg rode for 2 hours 55 minutes and covered 80 kms
Peter Loenen for 50minutes and covered 27 kms
Steve Van Dyk rode for 12 hours 30 minutes and covered 303 kms
There will be more stats over the next few days.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Coming home and THE RECORD!!
After the brief sleep Damian woke up and pushed on towards Melbourne with Mitch in support
, they rode on to Keith and at that point Dave relieved Mitch. Damian was setting a relentless pace - how was this possible of nearly 8 days of riding with very little sleep. There was also encouragement from messages painted on the road - from some wonderful supporters!!
While the wind was now blowing the right way, it was obvious that Damian's efforts to pick up the lost ground were starting to take it
s toll - his body was tired from the lack of sleep, yet he pushed on. Ray de Boer had driven up with his family to support and Damian as well as the team by making himself available to ride - the team welcomed this and Ray came out to ride with Damian. The pace had really picked up now and Damian powerd on towards the SA / Vic border - what a special moment that was. We were in our home state - it was Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Rob came out to ride with Damian and together they powered on to our dinner break which was in Nhill - we enjoyed pizza here (thanks Dave!). The team realised that tiredness was setting in and in an attempt to lift Damian - 3 riders went out with Damian - Rob, Dave and Greg. The next two hours were difficult with Damian struggling to stay awake and even the surprise arrival of our dear Mr Helpful - Peter Loenen, could not avert the agonising decision that Damian had to make and that was to get off the bike and get some sleep. So there we were - 4 vehicles pulled up on the side of the highway. Debbie offered to give Damian a massage and then he did get to sleep - it turned out to be almost a 6 hour sleep which was obviously what was needed.
When Damian woke up he looked outside saw that the wind was still blowing in the right direction and simply said - "we are going home, fast!" The ride recommenced with Mitch and Peter Loenen in support and as they entered Horsham, Peter dropped out and another support rider who had driven up to Horsham joined the ride - Steve Van Dyke. Steve a friend of the team, had planned to ride from here to Melbourne and was up for the challenge. Also in Horsham we were joined by Rob's uncle - Willem Vandenberg who is a pastor of the Presbyterian church in Horsham - Willem supported Damian by riding almost 15 kms with him.
The support crew in the car were blessed with some coffee's from McDonald's (Debbie and Kathy bought them) - lattes and cappucinos, however, when Damian saw this he came along side the vehicle and asked for a sip, needless to say he rode off with the cup and had more than a sip - I guess he deserved it! After Mitch came in, Ray Rus took over - the pace was quite quick now in spite of the rain that was falling (not to heavy though!), Greg then also joined the ride, all in the interest of spurring Damian on. Not long after, Ray got a puncture and had to be picked up, he got this repaired and went back out after lunch at which time Greg came in. Ray also came in an hour or so later, and Steve continued on with Damian - they rode a fast pace and then as the approached the Ballan East Roadhouse Damian cranked it up and they both raced up the ramp to the roadhouse - where does this energy come from?
At this roadhouse we proceeded to empty out the Transporter and load up all of our stuff into the trailer and Ray's van, as Mark would be heading off home from here. This was quite a sad moment as we had to farewell Mark, who had been an awesome part of the team and someone who gave unconditionally and was always willing to help - no matter what. Itw as no accident that Mark and the Transporter were part of this mission and campaign. THANK YOU Mark you will alwasy be in our hearts and prayers - For Chaplaincy Australia the best is yet to come!
All the riders except Ray rode in to Melbourne from Ballan East - we were also joined by Ben Vandenberg, who had driven up for this moment. Wow! What a sight 7 riders powering down the Western Highway, cruising up the hills and flying down them at speeds of around 60 - 66 km/hr. It could almost be asked - were there hills?? As we approached Melbourne, we were joined by Rob Eva and Paul Bailey tow very good friends of Damian's and the team. Rob also represents one of our generous sponsors - SRAM - THANK YOU SRAM and Rob.
As we turned into Sunshine Road, Ray Rus also joined the riders and Johann took over driving the Ru
s bus, the excitement was building as we neared the finish line - and there it was the Melbourne GPO - and the record was broken and set - 9 DAYS 7 HOURS and 29 MINUTES for riding a bike from PERTH to MELBOURNE.
After a quick photo at the GPO the team continued to the IBM Building at Southgate where quite a crowd had gathered as well as a cameraman from Channel Nine. What a reception, there was a banner, streamers, poppers and even champagne spraying everywhere as Damian and the team rode across the line. This was truly awesome with family and friends - at this point Johann called the team together along with everyone that was there and after a few reflections from Damian - Johann offered up a prayer of thanksgiving. Well this part of the journey and another chapter in the story is complete,
however to quote Damian, "the real victory is when we see at least one smiling face of a child in a home that has been built as a result of these funds raised." This is when the attempt to 'Break the Cycle of Poverty" will truly become reality.
, they rode on to Keith and at that point Dave relieved Mitch. Damian was setting a relentless pace - how was this possible of nearly 8 days of riding with very little sleep. There was also encouragement from messages painted on the road - from some wonderful supporters!!While the wind was now blowing the right way, it was obvious that Damian's efforts to pick up the lost ground were starting to take it
s toll - his body was tired from the lack of sleep, yet he pushed on. Ray de Boer had driven up with his family to support and Damian as well as the team by making himself available to ride - the team welcomed this and Ray came out to ride with Damian. The pace had really picked up now and Damian powerd on towards the SA / Vic border - what a special moment that was. We were in our home state - it was Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Rob came out to ride with Damian and together they powered on to our dinner break which was in Nhill - we enjoyed pizza here (thanks Dave!). The team realised that tiredness was setting in and in an attempt to lift Damian - 3 riders went out with Damian - Rob, Dave and Greg. The next two hours were difficult with Damian struggling to stay awake and even the surprise arrival of our dear Mr Helpful - Peter Loenen, could not avert the agonising decision that Damian had to make and that was to get off the bike and get some sleep. So there we were - 4 vehicles pulled up on the side of the highway. Debbie offered to give Damian a massage and then he did get to sleep - it turned out to be almost a 6 hour sleep which was obviously what was needed.
When Damian woke up he looked outside saw that the wind was still blowing in the right direction and simply said - "we are going home, fast!" The ride recommenced with Mitch and Peter Loenen in support and as they entered Horsham, Peter dropped out and another support rider who had driven up to Horsham joined the ride - Steve Van Dyke. Steve a friend of the team, had planned to ride from here to Melbourne and was up for the challenge. Also in Horsham we were joined by Rob's uncle - Willem Vandenberg who is a pastor of the Presbyterian church in Horsham - Willem supported Damian by riding almost 15 kms with him.
The support crew in the car were blessed with some coffee's from McDonald's (Debbie and Kathy bought them) - lattes and cappucinos, however, when Damian saw this he came along side the vehicle and asked for a sip, needless to say he rode off with the cup and had more than a sip - I guess he deserved it! After Mitch came in, Ray Rus took over - the pace was quite quick now in spite of the rain that was falling (not to heavy though!), Greg then also joined the ride, all in the interest of spurring Damian on. Not long after, Ray got a puncture and had to be picked up, he got this repaired and went back out after lunch at which time Greg came in. Ray also came in an hour or so later, and Steve continued on with Damian - they rode a fast pace and then as the approached the Ballan East Roadhouse Damian cranked it up and they both raced up the ramp to the roadhouse - where does this energy come from?At this roadhouse we proceeded to empty out the Transporter and load up all of our stuff into the trailer and Ray's van, as Mark would be heading off home from here. This was quite a sad moment as we had to farewell Mark, who had been an awesome part of the team and someone who gave unconditionally and was always willing to help - no matter what. Itw as no accident that Mark and the Transporter were part of this mission and campaign. THANK YOU Mark you will alwasy be in our hearts and prayers - For Chaplaincy Australia the best is yet to come!
All the riders except Ray rode in to Melbourne from Ballan East - we were also joined by Ben Vandenberg, who had driven up for this moment. Wow! What a sight 7 riders powering down the Western Highway, cruising up the hills and flying down them at speeds of around 60 - 66 km/hr. It could almost be asked - were there hills?? As we approached Melbourne, we were joined by Rob Eva and Paul Bailey tow very good friends of Damian's and the team. Rob also represents one of our generous sponsors - SRAM - THANK YOU SRAM and Rob.
As we turned into Sunshine Road, Ray Rus also joined the riders and Johann took over driving the Ru
s bus, the excitement was building as we neared the finish line - and there it was the Melbourne GPO - and the record was broken and set - 9 DAYS 7 HOURS and 29 MINUTES for riding a bike from PERTH to MELBOURNE.After a quick photo at the GPO the team continued to the IBM Building at Southgate where quite a crowd had gathered as well as a cameraman from Channel Nine. What a reception, there was a banner, streamers, poppers and even champagne spraying everywhere as Damian and the team rode across the line. This was truly awesome with family and friends - at this point Johann called the team together along with everyone that was there and after a few reflections from Damian - Johann offered up a prayer of thanksgiving. Well this part of the journey and another chapter in the story is complete,
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The last 1000 and the road home….
I apologise for the slow down in posts on this blog – especially to all of you who have been relying on the updates – life on the road has been quite busy, and we have not stopped too many times and when we have – sleep is ultra important. Telstra also has a lot to answer for – why cant we have reliable coverage across our country – its not that big…!
This attempt to run (or ride) this race for the purpose of helping orphans in Africa – a Kingdom cause – has been constantly under attack – and sometime between Wednesday and Thursday there was a break in this, and Damian started to make up some ground on what was lost into the head winds of the first 6 days. He rode for 22 hours on Friday beginning at 8.30am (after only about 5 hours sleep) this finished at 6.53am on Saturday morning in Port Augusta. After being
welcomed by Debbie, Ashlea, Joel and Hayley and also Kathy and Loren and Ray and Julianne de Boer with Brendan and Josie, the team went down for a sleep – this ended up being only about 3 hours before Damian woke up and was ready to go. We left Port Augusta at 12.40pm with strong winds somewhat behind him, and he was really moving – our good friend Francis d’Mello rode out with Damian – what an awesome moment – this guy drove all the way here just to ride what ended up being only about an hour but he did it to support Damian and the cause.
Some really strong riding saw Damian really pumping with the tail winds on towards Murray Bridge – there was an awesome effort by Ray de Boer on the bike in support of Damian and this also helped out the weary team. We got to Murray Bridge after crossing the Adelaide hills and Damian was motivated and strong – but the lack of sleep was starting to tell. He was really battling and to see this man doing it so tough – trying so badly to make up for those days of head winds was truly inspiring. We made it to Tailem Bend but soon after Damian simply had to stop to sleep – this was only for an hour and a half, and he was off again.
On a personal note – these 8 days I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions which have been predominantly around the manner in which this one guy – my friend and brother – has gone about this challenge. He has focussed on the cause constantly and not the goal of a record, he has challenged our team to put aside personal goals for the sake of the unified goal of finishing the race to raise funds for the orphans. He has responded to every human obstacle with what I can only describe as divine intervention. I am so glad that I had the honour to serve Damian and the team in the role that I had, I didn’t ride a bike, but that’s not what God has put in my hands. If one life is saved and given a chance to realise the potential that was intended for him or her, then it has all been worthwhile.
As I post this while driving behind him – he has just raised his fist and pumped the air as he saw a road sign which showed Melbourne on it for the first time with 589 km to go – PRAISE GOD – We are coming home. It may not be until the early hours on Monday morning – but who knows – this will STILL be a record!!!
This attempt to run (or ride) this race for the purpose of helping orphans in Africa – a Kingdom cause – has been constantly under attack – and sometime between Wednesday and Thursday there was a break in this, and Damian started to make up some ground on what was lost into the head winds of the first 6 days. He rode for 22 hours on Friday beginning at 8.30am (after only about 5 hours sleep) this finished at 6.53am on Saturday morning in Port Augusta. After being
welcomed by Debbie, Ashlea, Joel and Hayley and also Kathy and Loren and Ray and Julianne de Boer with Brendan and Josie, the team went down for a sleep – this ended up being only about 3 hours before Damian woke up and was ready to go. We left Port Augusta at 12.40pm with strong winds somewhat behind him, and he was really moving – our good friend Francis d’Mello rode out with Damian – what an awesome moment – this guy drove all the way here just to ride what ended up being only about an hour but he did it to support Damian and the cause.Some really strong riding saw Damian really pumping with the tail winds on towards Murray Bridge – there was an awesome effort by Ray de Boer on the bike in support of Damian and this also helped out the weary team. We got to Murray Bridge after crossing the Adelaide hills and Damian was motivated and strong – but the lack of sleep was starting to tell. He was really battling and to see this man doing it so tough – trying so badly to make up for those days of head winds was truly inspiring. We made it to Tailem Bend but soon after Damian simply had to stop to sleep – this was only for an hour and a half, and he was off again.
On a personal note – these 8 days I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions which have been predominantly around the manner in which this one guy – my friend and brother – has gone about this challenge. He has focussed on the cause constantly and not the goal of a record, he has challenged our team to put aside personal goals for the sake of the unified goal of finishing the race to raise funds for the orphans. He has responded to every human obstacle with what I can only describe as divine intervention. I am so glad that I had the honour to serve Damian and the team in the role that I had, I didn’t ride a bike, but that’s not what God has put in my hands. If one life is saved and given a chance to realise the potential that was intended for him or her, then it has all been worthwhile.
As I post this while driving behind him – he has just raised his fist and pumped the air as he saw a road sign which showed Melbourne on it for the first time with 589 km to go – PRAISE GOD – We are coming home. It may not be until the early hours on Monday morning – but who knows – this will STILL be a record!!!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Before I forget here are the rest of the Mr Men characters….
As you already know, Damian had started to reveal the Mr Men characters that he had given to each of the team on last year’s ride. He planned to do this at the team dinner each evening. On the Friday night, as you already know he revealed Mr Cool – Gerry (now in Glory), Miss Giggle – dear Lynn and Miss Sunshine – his dear wife Debbie and yes the Miss Sunshine toy is still in his pocket.
On Saturday night Damian revealed that his son Joel was no other than Mr Happy as there was always a smile and cheer whenever he looked out the window or if he rode with Damian. Then we came to Peter, Damian had a couple of characters for him, the first was Mr Muddle, because there was always something that he had forgotten or needed to fix, like coming out to ride without his gloves, however, the other character was Mr Helpful and this was so true because Peter had a solution for everything and he also had a gadget for every situation and it was awesome.
The final three characters were revealed on Sunday night, Rob was Mr Cheerful, he was always smiling and nothing was ever too difficult and there was always a good word from Rob’s lips. Mitch was Mr Strong, he would come out in some tough conditions and just grind out the kilometres and he was a true work horse. Dave was Mr Brave, if it was heat or wind or long hours, Dave was up to it, he braved any situation and always stepped into the fray, where others may not have.
So there you have it the Race Across Australia 2007 team and the Mr Men character names that Damian gave them, all in the interest of keeping his mind working and himself somewhat amused – you should have seen his face when he went through the revelations – he was loving it.
On Saturday night Damian revealed that his son Joel was no other than Mr Happy as there was always a smile and cheer whenever he looked out the window or if he rode with Damian. Then we came to Peter, Damian had a couple of characters for him, the first was Mr Muddle, because there was always something that he had forgotten or needed to fix, like coming out to ride without his gloves, however, the other character was Mr Helpful and this was so true because Peter had a solution for everything and he also had a gadget for every situation and it was awesome.
The final three characters were revealed on Sunday night, Rob was Mr Cheerful, he was always smiling and nothing was ever too difficult and there was always a good word from Rob’s lips. Mitch was Mr Strong, he would come out in some tough conditions and just grind out the kilometres and he was a true work horse. Dave was Mr Brave, if it was heat or wind or long hours, Dave was up to it, he braved any situation and always stepped into the fray, where others may not have.
So there you have it the Race Across Australia 2007 team and the Mr Men character names that Damian gave them, all in the interest of keeping his mind working and himself somewhat amused – you should have seen his face when he went through the revelations – he was loving it.
The FIFTH 24 hours… struggling to 120 hours – headwinds all the way!
As I begin this next 24 hours period, I would like to ensure that all of you reading these blogs do not get an incorrect picture of what Damian is experiencing. It is unbelievable that the wind can consistently blow into his face for so long. Over the last 96 hours there has probably only been 10 hours of either no wind or cross wind. At one stage it seemed like every time the road turned a corner, so did the wind just to make sure it stayed in Damian’s face. It truly sux! If this has been anyone else they would have either been riding behind the Transporter or sitting inside the Transporter by now – Damian is truly riding on to victory in the strength of God, and to the furtherance of the cause to Break the Cycle of Poverty for orphans or widows.
As a support team we are doing all we can to do exactly that – support Damian in this superhuman effort and to try and stay ourselves focussed on the agenda and goal which is simple – support Damian, finish the race, do not look back and deal with what is here and now – to help break the Cycle of Poverty for the orphans.
Ray kept riding with Damian and did really well, Damian was using everything in him to keep up the pace and not let the wind deter him. We were focussed on getting to Mundarabilla, along the way a truckie asked us on the CB what we were doing and why? Mark explained to them the Race and the work of HopeBuilders he said – “that is great I will leave $10 for you at the next roadhouse. This spurred Damian on in an incredible way to go collect the money. We arrived at Mundarabilla Roadhouse for lunch and Damian walked up to the counter where the manager was and asked if there was some money from a truckie – he said “yes, here it is and here is $20 from me as well!” Wow, this was awesome.
Lunch was most enjoyable and then it was Mitch’s turn to get alongside Damian and head towards the West Australian / South Australian border. The winds had not let up – but neither had Damian with Mitch in “close” (sometimes too close) support. As they approached Eucla the road up the Eucla pass loomed and given the wind and heat we knew this was going to be a test. It was at this point that the wind seemed to change 3 times with each turn of the road – it was unbelievable and ridiculous. However, Damian did an awesome job up the hill he stayed ahead of a B-Double and then clocked up speed while tucked in behind it of nearly 45+ km/hr up hill!!! and Mitch came right up the hill after Damian and did it strong.
The next goal was the WA/SA border and wasn’t there a riotous cheer when we crossed that line – WOW – it was a good feeling we had finished a state. We stopped here for dinner and Greg readied himself to go out with Damian onto the Nullarbor. This was something that Damian had remembered Greg had said he would love to do about a year ago – and it was happening. This was an awesome ride with some amazing sunsets and even though it was still blowing Damian kept pushing out the kilometres, and Greg kept up. The boys peddled for a long time and we finally called it a night at 1.05am, and we finished up 73 kms before the Nullarbor Roadhouse. What a day!
The team statistics for day 5 reflected some incredible work from the team but don’t forget that there is one guy whose statistics are basically the sum total of everyone’s each day, and he endures all the wind changes, temperature changes, strong smelling road kill carcasses, B-double and B-triples not to mention the grey nomads!!!
Ray rode firstly for 1 hour 10 minutes and covered 20 kilometres
Ray rode again for 3 hours 25 minutes and covered 62 kilometres
Mitch rode for 2 hours 15 minutes and covered 42 kilometres
Greg rode for 5 hours 45 minutes and covered 112 kilometres
Rob and Dave were rested.
The next morning (Thursday) started with a 6am wake-up and the team set on our way at 6.50am to the Nullarbor
Roadhouse. Mitch was the first rider out with Damian and they were riding into an awesome looking sunrise and some big headwinds – you almost didn’t notice the sunrise because of the heartache of having this consistent wind. We then realised that the Transporter had a flat tyre and so this needed to be attended to. Dave and Rob were in the back so they assisted in a big way to get the job done – changing the middle tyre (set of three) of a 5 tonne transporter without using a jack!!! We rode into the Nullarbor Roadhouse and Damian enjoyed having a seat on a beaten up old bike – it was a priceless photo. Mitch was beaten up by the wind and Dave came out to support Damian in the battle.
They set their sights for Yalata and the half way mark for the ride - the total kilometres for this 24 hour period was 311 kms and the accumulated total for 120 hours was 1665 kms – this was 63 kms from Yalata.
As a support team we are doing all we can to do exactly that – support Damian in this superhuman effort and to try and stay ourselves focussed on the agenda and goal which is simple – support Damian, finish the race, do not look back and deal with what is here and now – to help break the Cycle of Poverty for the orphans.
Ray kept riding with Damian and did really well, Damian was using everything in him to keep up the pace and not let the wind deter him. We were focussed on getting to Mundarabilla, along the way a truckie asked us on the CB what we were doing and why? Mark explained to them the Race and the work of HopeBuilders he said – “that is great I will leave $10 for you at the next roadhouse. This spurred Damian on in an incredible way to go collect the money. We arrived at Mundarabilla Roadhouse for lunch and Damian walked up to the counter where the manager was and asked if there was some money from a truckie – he said “yes, here it is and here is $20 from me as well!” Wow, this was awesome.
Lunch was most enjoyable and then it was Mitch’s turn to get alongside Damian and head towards the West Australian / South Australian border. The winds had not let up – but neither had Damian with Mitch in “close” (sometimes too close) support. As they approached Eucla the road up the Eucla pass loomed and given the wind and heat we knew this was going to be a test. It was at this point that the wind seemed to change 3 times with each turn of the road – it was unbelievable and ridiculous. However, Damian did an awesome job up the hill he stayed ahead of a B-Double and then clocked up speed while tucked in behind it of nearly 45+ km/hr up hill!!! and Mitch came right up the hill after Damian and did it strong.
The next goal was the WA/SA border and wasn’t there a riotous cheer when we crossed that line – WOW – it was a good feeling we had finished a state. We stopped here for dinner and Greg readied himself to go out with Damian onto the Nullarbor. This was something that Damian had remembered Greg had said he would love to do about a year ago – and it was happening. This was an awesome ride with some amazing sunsets and even though it was still blowing Damian kept pushing out the kilometres, and Greg kept up. The boys peddled for a long time and we finally called it a night at 1.05am, and we finished up 73 kms before the Nullarbor Roadhouse. What a day!
The team statistics for day 5 reflected some incredible work from the team but don’t forget that there is one guy whose statistics are basically the sum total of everyone’s each day, and he endures all the wind changes, temperature changes, strong smelling road kill carcasses, B-double and B-triples not to mention the grey nomads!!!
Ray rode firstly for 1 hour 10 minutes and covered 20 kilometres
Ray rode again for 3 hours 25 minutes and covered 62 kilometres
Mitch rode for 2 hours 15 minutes and covered 42 kilometres
Greg rode for 5 hours 45 minutes and covered 112 kilometres
Rob and Dave were rested.
The next morning (Thursday) started with a 6am wake-up and the team set on our way at 6.50am to the Nullarbor
Roadhouse. Mitch was the first rider out with Damian and they were riding into an awesome looking sunrise and some big headwinds – you almost didn’t notice the sunrise because of the heartache of having this consistent wind. We then realised that the Transporter had a flat tyre and so this needed to be attended to. Dave and Rob were in the back so they assisted in a big way to get the job done – changing the middle tyre (set of three) of a 5 tonne transporter without using a jack!!! We rode into the Nullarbor Roadhouse and Damian enjoyed having a seat on a beaten up old bike – it was a priceless photo. Mitch was beaten up by the wind and Dave came out to support Damian in the battle.They set their sights for Yalata and the half way mark for the ride - the total kilometres for this 24 hour period was 311 kms and the accumulated total for 120 hours was 1665 kms – this was 63 kms from Yalata.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
My Husband is an absolute inspiration
Hi Dame,
I am missing you sooooooo much but just needed to tell you that you are the
Most inspiring and amazing man that I know. I am truly honoured to be your wife
And I know despite the CRAPPY conditions that YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
You have the most amazing capacity to handle pressure and the most
Amazing ability to endure when everyone else would have packed it in.
Keep going babe because you are a WINNER, AN absolute INSPIRATION and
I love you more and more each and every day.
Love
Little Miss Sunshine
I am missing you sooooooo much but just needed to tell you that you are the
Most inspiring and amazing man that I know. I am truly honoured to be your wife
And I know despite the CRAPPY conditions that YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
You have the most amazing capacity to handle pressure and the most
Amazing ability to endure when everyone else would have packed it in.
Keep going babe because you are a WINNER, AN absolute INSPIRATION and
I love you more and more each and every day.
Love
Little Miss Sunshine
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The FOURTH 24 hours…getting us to 96 hours – will the wind stop?
This next 24 hours was begun after a short coffee break at which time Rob who got us to the 72 hours, swapped with Mitch. This was not going to be an easy session as the stillness of the morning had made way for more head winds – will they ever change or end? This was a question that was on all of our minds – however Damian remained calm and positive – but you could tell he was hurting.
There was not too much chit chat on the road today, but Damian simply ground out the kilometres with Mitch in support. Mitch did an awesome job yet again, with the speedo showing around 15 – 18 km/hr, yet they were peddling like it should have been 30-35 km/hr. Mitch battled on towards lunchtime – this was a very slow section. Lunch was planned for the Cocklebiddy Roadhouse, while this wasn’t far away it seemed like it would never come. Mitch could not keep up with Damian, when Damian decided enough was enough and he was going to show the wind who was boss, when he virtually sprinted the last 10 kilometres into what seemed like a 40km/hr headwind, he made it to lunch 15 minutes ahead of what they expected.
There was an extended lunch break at the road house where some of the team enjoyed showers and the proceeded to enjoy some very nice steak sandwiches – the manager could not believe it when Johann ordered 8 steak sandwiches. It was nice to sit in the air conditioned road house even for a few minutes and enjoy this break. The wind did not seem to be letting up – but the road to Melbourne was still there. So Damian refreshed his drinks, re-applied the zinc cream and sunscreen and like a gladiator about to enter the arena, he got back onto his bike and continued into the head winds with Greg now in support. These two guys settled into a groove and managed to push out a steady 17 km/hr into these winds. Then as if things couldn’t be any harder Damian blew a tyre, but within minutes the team got another bike ready and out to him and he was on his way again. The tyre was repaired by Rob and Dave in the back of the Transporter and the battle continued.
The going was really tough but Greg supported Damian incredibly and maintained a fairly consistent 18 km/hr into some quite savage winds. The two of them even played little games to try and take their mind off the wind – not sure this really worked – it was so in your face! Given that this was now 4 days of head winds Damian’s energy and mental stamina was beginning to be sapped. This guy is truly driven by a passion and cause that is truly God given, because anything less than this would have made anyone else stop.
The two guys did enjoy the steep downhill run into the Madura roadhouse, but you can hardly call that justice when you climb a metre at a time for nearly 12 hours and then get to a downhill that only lasts for 300 metres! The team enjoyed dinner here and the public phone booth was put to good use with calls to home, even a long awaited call from Damian to Miss Sunshine. Damian also had a conversation with a “local” that confirmed the fact (like we didn’t already know) that “it always blows easterlies around here!” The plan after dinner was to do as many kilometres as we can and get to a truck stop that was 67 kms away, Dave would go out for the first 30 kms and Ray the balance. However, this was not to be – Damian and Dave peddled strongly but could only manage around 15 km/hr into some nasty head winds of around 30 – 40 km/hr. Damian pulled over and decided that it may be time to have a sleep and get an early start in the morning. With this in mind Ray also cam out to ride, in order to try and get the team to a truck stop. This only lasted 20 minutes – so we called it a night and settled in just by the side of the road. It was at this point that we decided to also switch back to Victorian time, therefore losing 3 hours in this day – given the type of day it’s been this was not a problem for anyone. We decided to get up at 4.30am and go again.
The team statistics for day 4 reflect some gutsy and inspiring work – you could probably have doubled these numbers if there was simply no wind:
Rob rode for 3 hours 20 minutes and covered 88 kilometres
Mitch rode for 2 hours 30 minutes and covered 36 kilometres
Greg rode for 4 hours 55 minutes and covered 91 kilometres
Dave rode for 1 hour 15 minutes and covered 15 kilometres
Ray rode for 20 minutes and covered 6 kilometres
If you looked at this closely you would have seen that the first 3 hours and 20 minutes yielded 88 kms and the balance 12 hours yielded 150 kms – the wind was strong!
The team woke up at 4.30am (now on Victorian time) and got ready and were on the road at 5.15am with Ray riding on support, but the wind was still there and no better, it took just over an hour before Damian said “we are going back to bed”. So that is what we did – we went back for another 2 hours sleep, when he woke up he got dressed and said he would go out on his own for a while. He did this and set about riding at a consistent 25 km/hr – UNBELIEVABLE!! The first hour and 10 minutes with Ray yielded 20 kms, which was quite good considering the conditions. However, after 2 hours sleep and a renewed energy Damian clocked up 41 kms in 2 hours.
Damian rode alone for 2 hours 40 minutes and then Ray joined him and rode past the 24 hour marker and we had covered 236 kms for this 24 hour period and accumulated 1354 kms for 96 hours – this is doing it tough.
There was not too much chit chat on the road today, but Damian simply ground out the kilometres with Mitch in support. Mitch did an awesome job yet again, with the speedo showing around 15 – 18 km/hr, yet they were peddling like it should have been 30-35 km/hr. Mitch battled on towards lunchtime – this was a very slow section. Lunch was planned for the Cocklebiddy Roadhouse, while this wasn’t far away it seemed like it would never come. Mitch could not keep up with Damian, when Damian decided enough was enough and he was going to show the wind who was boss, when he virtually sprinted the last 10 kilometres into what seemed like a 40km/hr headwind, he made it to lunch 15 minutes ahead of what they expected.
There was an extended lunch break at the road house where some of the team enjoyed showers and the proceeded to enjoy some very nice steak sandwiches – the manager could not believe it when Johann ordered 8 steak sandwiches. It was nice to sit in the air conditioned road house even for a few minutes and enjoy this break. The wind did not seem to be letting up – but the road to Melbourne was still there. So Damian refreshed his drinks, re-applied the zinc cream and sunscreen and like a gladiator about to enter the arena, he got back onto his bike and continued into the head winds with Greg now in support. These two guys settled into a groove and managed to push out a steady 17 km/hr into these winds. Then as if things couldn’t be any harder Damian blew a tyre, but within minutes the team got another bike ready and out to him and he was on his way again. The tyre was repaired by Rob and Dave in the back of the Transporter and the battle continued.
The going was really tough but Greg supported Damian incredibly and maintained a fairly consistent 18 km/hr into some quite savage winds. The two of them even played little games to try and take their mind off the wind – not sure this really worked – it was so in your face! Given that this was now 4 days of head winds Damian’s energy and mental stamina was beginning to be sapped. This guy is truly driven by a passion and cause that is truly God given, because anything less than this would have made anyone else stop.
The two guys did enjoy the steep downhill run into the Madura roadhouse, but you can hardly call that justice when you climb a metre at a time for nearly 12 hours and then get to a downhill that only lasts for 300 metres! The team enjoyed dinner here and the public phone booth was put to good use with calls to home, even a long awaited call from Damian to Miss Sunshine. Damian also had a conversation with a “local” that confirmed the fact (like we didn’t already know) that “it always blows easterlies around here!” The plan after dinner was to do as many kilometres as we can and get to a truck stop that was 67 kms away, Dave would go out for the first 30 kms and Ray the balance. However, this was not to be – Damian and Dave peddled strongly but could only manage around 15 km/hr into some nasty head winds of around 30 – 40 km/hr. Damian pulled over and decided that it may be time to have a sleep and get an early start in the morning. With this in mind Ray also cam out to ride, in order to try and get the team to a truck stop. This only lasted 20 minutes – so we called it a night and settled in just by the side of the road. It was at this point that we decided to also switch back to Victorian time, therefore losing 3 hours in this day – given the type of day it’s been this was not a problem for anyone. We decided to get up at 4.30am and go again.
The team statistics for day 4 reflect some gutsy and inspiring work – you could probably have doubled these numbers if there was simply no wind:
Rob rode for 3 hours 20 minutes and covered 88 kilometres
Mitch rode for 2 hours 30 minutes and covered 36 kilometres
Greg rode for 4 hours 55 minutes and covered 91 kilometres
Dave rode for 1 hour 15 minutes and covered 15 kilometres
Ray rode for 20 minutes and covered 6 kilometres
If you looked at this closely you would have seen that the first 3 hours and 20 minutes yielded 88 kms and the balance 12 hours yielded 150 kms – the wind was strong!
The team woke up at 4.30am (now on Victorian time) and got ready and were on the road at 5.15am with Ray riding on support, but the wind was still there and no better, it took just over an hour before Damian said “we are going back to bed”. So that is what we did – we went back for another 2 hours sleep, when he woke up he got dressed and said he would go out on his own for a while. He did this and set about riding at a consistent 25 km/hr – UNBELIEVABLE!! The first hour and 10 minutes with Ray yielded 20 kms, which was quite good considering the conditions. However, after 2 hours sleep and a renewed energy Damian clocked up 41 kms in 2 hours.
Damian rode alone for 2 hours 40 minutes and then Ray joined him and rode past the 24 hour marker and we had covered 236 kms for this 24 hour period and accumulated 1354 kms for 96 hours – this is doing it tough.
The THIRD 24 hours… getting us to 72 hours..
Well this period continued on from the last one with Ray and Damian breaking the back of some rather hilly sections 
heading towards Balladonia from Norseman. The skies were cloudy which meant that the sun was beating down on the riders but it was still hot and somewhat humid. The boys kept up a good pace however and powered on. We decided to take a break at the Fraser Ranges Rest Area and this is where Ray came in and Rob took to the road. Just before this happened Damian got the team together and explained that at this spot last year, the team’s fun loving and “always happy” driver – Gerry, decided to put on some bike stuff and have a ride, because this next section was meant to be “rather flat”, this was soon proven to be a stretch and Gerry informed Damian that he would stick to driving. 
With this reminisce the team spent a minutes silence and remembered Gerry who passed away tragically last New Year’s eve – Damian lead us in a prayer for his family. This was a very special moment on the Race.
Rob then took to the road and hammered out some serious kilometres with the wind even dying out for moments when the boys were free wheeling and hit speeds of up to 42 km per hour. Rob did an awesome job today and really had some fun with Damian. They even did their own version of a rap dance on bikes or sometimes known as a slinky – it was sooo funny and the car that drove past could not work out what was going on. Damian also took the video camera off Johann and proceeded to deliver the 2008 version of RAAcam – cant wait to see it!!
Mitch took over from Rob and rode some hard kilometres into strong winds, he worked hard with Damian and took us through to dinner and then went out for a bit more – this was a tremendous effort from Mitch.
The conditions were really bad after dinner strong gusting winds into Damian’s face and cold temperatures. It seemed like the weather was changing but the wind certainly wasn’t! Dave went out into the fray with Damian and worked overtime – there were quite a few breaks to change clothes, to try and protect from the cold and biting wind. Then we even took a slightly longer stop for a coffee and cake and biscuits inside the Transporter. In spite of the conditions there was still a good spirit and the boys were trying to keep the laughs up and the humour up – we kept focussing on the cause and reason for this ride so that Damian would stay in a good place.
As the conditions were not improving Greg went out to join the boys and Dave stayed out as well – the hope was that Greg and Dave could keep Damian positive and smiling – we really needed a break from the wind. Johann and Mark were in constant prayer while driving in support behind the boys. We decided to pull in a little earlier than normal for our night’s sleep – we pulled in at 11.59pm and everyone was asleep within 15 minutes and the alarms were set for 5am wake-up!!!
The team statistics for day 3 were low but they reflected some hard work:
Ray rode for 3 hours 45 minutes and covered 82 kilometres
Mitch rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 67 kilometres
Greg rode for 1 hour 29 minutes and covered 26 kilometres
Rob rode for 3 hour 47 minutes and covered 92 kilometres
Dave rode for 4 hours 15 minutes and covered 65 kilometres
After waking up at 5am the team was on the road again at 5.40am – a much better effort by all. Praise God – there was just a little head wind!
Damian and Rob set out and together they set about a pace of around 27 km/hr “in the big dog” right from the word go – it was raining but not too heavily. The first 2 hours saw the boys crank out 55 km wha ta change from yesterday.
There has been no phone coverage at all and we may not get any for the next day or so. However, that doesn’t change the job at hand… our 9.00am kilometre reading and the 24 hour total was 347 kms – this meant that the 72 hour total was 1118 kms this is still below our target, but the next 24 hours looks promising by the way Damian has lost very little weight over the 3 days so far – so we are managing his fluid and food well.
heading towards Balladonia from Norseman. The skies were cloudy which meant that the sun was beating down on the riders but it was still hot and somewhat humid. The boys kept up a good pace however and powered on. We decided to take a break at the Fraser Ranges Rest Area and this is where Ray came in and Rob took to the road. Just before this happened Damian got the team together and explained that at this spot last year, the team’s fun loving and “always happy” driver – Gerry, decided to put on some bike stuff and have a ride, because this next section was meant to be “rather flat”, this was soon proven to be a stretch and Gerry informed Damian that he would stick to driving. 
With this reminisce the team spent a minutes silence and remembered Gerry who passed away tragically last New Year’s eve – Damian lead us in a prayer for his family. This was a very special moment on the Race.Rob then took to the road and hammered out some serious kilometres with the wind even dying out for moments when the boys were free wheeling and hit speeds of up to 42 km per hour. Rob did an awesome job today and really had some fun with Damian. They even did their own version of a rap dance on bikes or sometimes known as a slinky – it was sooo funny and the car that drove past could not work out what was going on. Damian also took the video camera off Johann and proceeded to deliver the 2008 version of RAAcam – cant wait to see it!!
Mitch took over from Rob and rode some hard kilometres into strong winds, he worked hard with Damian and took us through to dinner and then went out for a bit more – this was a tremendous effort from Mitch.
The conditions were really bad after dinner strong gusting winds into Damian’s face and cold temperatures. It seemed like the weather was changing but the wind certainly wasn’t! Dave went out into the fray with Damian and worked overtime – there were quite a few breaks to change clothes, to try and protect from the cold and biting wind. Then we even took a slightly longer stop for a coffee and cake and biscuits inside the Transporter. In spite of the conditions there was still a good spirit and the boys were trying to keep the laughs up and the humour up – we kept focussing on the cause and reason for this ride so that Damian would stay in a good place.
As the conditions were not improving Greg went out to join the boys and Dave stayed out as well – the hope was that Greg and Dave could keep Damian positive and smiling – we really needed a break from the wind. Johann and Mark were in constant prayer while driving in support behind the boys. We decided to pull in a little earlier than normal for our night’s sleep – we pulled in at 11.59pm and everyone was asleep within 15 minutes and the alarms were set for 5am wake-up!!!
The team statistics for day 3 were low but they reflected some hard work:
Ray rode for 3 hours 45 minutes and covered 82 kilometres
Mitch rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 67 kilometres
Greg rode for 1 hour 29 minutes and covered 26 kilometres
Rob rode for 3 hour 47 minutes and covered 92 kilometres
Dave rode for 4 hours 15 minutes and covered 65 kilometres
After waking up at 5am the team was on the road again at 5.40am – a much better effort by all. Praise God – there was just a little head wind!
Damian and Rob set out and together they set about a pace of around 27 km/hr “in the big dog” right from the word go – it was raining but not too heavily. The first 2 hours saw the boys crank out 55 km wha ta change from yesterday.
There has been no phone coverage at all and we may not get any for the next day or so. However, that doesn’t change the job at hand… our 9.00am kilometre reading and the 24 hour total was 347 kms – this meant that the 72 hour total was 1118 kms this is still below our target, but the next 24 hours looks promising by the way Damian has lost very little weight over the 3 days so far – so we are managing his fluid and food well.
The SECOND 24 hours… hence giving us 48 hours..
The second 24 hour period clicked over with Ray on the road and he was doing a great job keeping up with Damian on what were some rather steep climbs the road just seemed to just keep going up. As you wills ee later Ray did some great numbers.
Mitch followed Ray out onto the road and rode in what were some rather hot and windy conditions, Mitch could not believe that every time he pulled out from behind Damian the wind would blow in his face. During this stint the boys had a quick break for a can of coke and some biscuits and Johann put his massage course into good use and gave Damian’s tired legs and calves a massage – may be a new career in the ‘offing’ – maybe not!
Once Mitch came in, Rob went out into even hotter conditions and managed to work with Damian
through probably the hottest part of the day. It was during this time that Mitch and Greg who were in the Transporter had a bit of a battle with a “brown snake” – not really sure who won that battle – but let’s just say there wasn’t too much rest and relaxation in the Transporter. Please don’t anyone get worried about this little incident and children should not try this battle at home.
Rob was followed out by Greg who rode quite hard with Damian and took us into Coolgardie where we had a break at the road house and we also met up with Mark the final member of the team AND the guy who would answer all our questions about the Transport – and that is exactly what he did. We had the air conditioner and all the power working in there within 5 minutes – unbelievable. While we were waiting to get going again a guy from a couple of houses down the street came up and asked Mark to come and pray with his 93 year old mother, who wasn’t too well – he had seen the Chaplaincy Australia Transporter and it was an answer to his prayer. Mark very gladly obliged and after praying he explained what we were doing and the grateful guy donated $20 towards the Race – Thanks so much Keith and Bev (hope you are better soon).
We then turned south from Coolgardie and headed towards Norseman which was around 166 kms away. We stopped for dinner about 20 kms after the turn and this was most enjoyable – a choice of butter chicken with rice or lasagne. Greg went out after dinner for another hour and then Dave went out to take Damian to bed (so to speak). However, Damian wasn’t finished yet – he had his mind set on getting to Norseman – sorry Dave! This was an awesome evening for riding it was still (thank you Lord) and the boys really cranked it up and at times getting speeds of over 40 km per hour. This was an awesome effort and we pulled into the Norseman roadhouse around 12.30am – everyone was relieved as there were showers available – woo hoo!
The team statistics for day 2 are as follows:
Ray rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 71 kilometres
Mitch rode for 2 hours 30 minutes and covered 51 kilometres
Greg rode for 4 hours 20 minutes and covered 104 kilometres
Rob rode for 1 hour 50 minutes and covered 36 kilometres
Dave rode for 4 hours 20 minutes and covered 121 kilometres
Wake up time was set for 6am and this did happen with a few of the team getting up a little earlier to grab a shower – Greg even managed a toasted cheese and ham sandwich and a latte at the roadhouse – Johann gave him a yellow card for this, because he didn’t get him one! We departed at 7am a little later than planned (the whole team got a yellow card for this – from Damian!) and Damian set off again with Ray to face a few more hills and yes you guessed a bit more head wind. Greg and Rob followed in the Rus bus while Dave, Mitch, Mark and Johann stayed a little longer to clean up the Transporter and have a shower as well – they would catch up soon.
At around 7.15am Clayton Bjelan from LightFM in Melbourne called and interviewed Johann as a “live cross” to the Race team. This was tremendous and when Damian found out this has happened he was really encouraged – THANK YOU to Clayton and LighFM for your awesome support – we appreciate it.
The 9.00am kilometre reading and the 24 hour total was 371 kms – this meant that the 48 hour total was 771 kms this is a little below our target, however we are within range and Damian is still in great spirits and considering the conditions this is tremendous progress…. Let’s see what the next 24 brings!
Mitch followed Ray out onto the road and rode in what were some rather hot and windy conditions, Mitch could not believe that every time he pulled out from behind Damian the wind would blow in his face. During this stint the boys had a quick break for a can of coke and some biscuits and Johann put his massage course into good use and gave Damian’s tired legs and calves a massage – may be a new career in the ‘offing’ – maybe not!
Once Mitch came in, Rob went out into even hotter conditions and managed to work with Damian
through probably the hottest part of the day. It was during this time that Mitch and Greg who were in the Transporter had a bit of a battle with a “brown snake” – not really sure who won that battle – but let’s just say there wasn’t too much rest and relaxation in the Transporter. Please don’t anyone get worried about this little incident and children should not try this battle at home.Rob was followed out by Greg who rode quite hard with Damian and took us into Coolgardie where we had a break at the road house and we also met up with Mark the final member of the team AND the guy who would answer all our questions about the Transport – and that is exactly what he did. We had the air conditioner and all the power working in there within 5 minutes – unbelievable. While we were waiting to get going again a guy from a couple of houses down the street came up and asked Mark to come and pray with his 93 year old mother, who wasn’t too well – he had seen the Chaplaincy Australia Transporter and it was an answer to his prayer. Mark very gladly obliged and after praying he explained what we were doing and the grateful guy donated $20 towards the Race – Thanks so much Keith and Bev (hope you are better soon).
We then turned south from Coolgardie and headed towards Norseman which was around 166 kms away. We stopped for dinner about 20 kms after the turn and this was most enjoyable – a choice of butter chicken with rice or lasagne. Greg went out after dinner for another hour and then Dave went out to take Damian to bed (so to speak). However, Damian wasn’t finished yet – he had his mind set on getting to Norseman – sorry Dave! This was an awesome evening for riding it was still (thank you Lord) and the boys really cranked it up and at times getting speeds of over 40 km per hour. This was an awesome effort and we pulled into the Norseman roadhouse around 12.30am – everyone was relieved as there were showers available – woo hoo!
The team statistics for day 2 are as follows:
Ray rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 71 kilometres
Mitch rode for 2 hours 30 minutes and covered 51 kilometres
Greg rode for 4 hours 20 minutes and covered 104 kilometres
Rob rode for 1 hour 50 minutes and covered 36 kilometres
Dave rode for 4 hours 20 minutes and covered 121 kilometres
Wake up time was set for 6am and this did happen with a few of the team getting up a little earlier to grab a shower – Greg even managed a toasted cheese and ham sandwich and a latte at the roadhouse – Johann gave him a yellow card for this, because he didn’t get him one! We departed at 7am a little later than planned (the whole team got a yellow card for this – from Damian!) and Damian set off again with Ray to face a few more hills and yes you guessed a bit more head wind. Greg and Rob followed in the Rus bus while Dave, Mitch, Mark and Johann stayed a little longer to clean up the Transporter and have a shower as well – they would catch up soon.
At around 7.15am Clayton Bjelan from LightFM in Melbourne called and interviewed Johann as a “live cross” to the Race team. This was tremendous and when Damian found out this has happened he was really encouraged – THANK YOU to Clayton and LighFM for your awesome support – we appreciate it.
The 9.00am kilometre reading and the 24 hour total was 371 kms – this meant that the 48 hour total was 771 kms this is a little below our target, however we are within range and Damian is still in great spirits and considering the conditions this is tremendous progress…. Let’s see what the next 24 brings!
Monday, October 20, 2008
The First 24 Hours...
Well Saturday dawned and it was an early morning – Damian was awake and calm but there was a nervous anticipation. Many of the guys were up quite early a combination of not being able to sleep and the “carbo gut” factor – if you don’t know what this is, ask one of the race team when they return.
After packing the bikes up and getting the changes of clothes and riders organised, we had a time of prayer with the team and set off for the Perth GPO, where we would meet Mark Eden from Apollo and a couple of other friends – oh yeah, and that would be where the race would start. This was when we encountered the first challenge – where is the Perth GPO, we knew it was in Perth and that’s where we were – so we were off to a good start. We eventually found it with Mark’s help over the phone. Once there we proceeded to get all the bikes ready as all the riders would be riding out of Perth with Johann following in the Rus bus. We met Mark Eden as well as Brendan and Angus Flood – friends of Mitch, who were going to ride with us as well.
Just before we were about to set off Johann received a phone call from channel nine Perth and they showed up to interview Damian and capture the start of the race – this was an awesome encouragement for the team and Damian. Many SMS’s and phone messages as well as emails were received before the start and these were a huge boost for Damian. We started on time at 9.00am Perth!
The ride out of Perth was uneventful but it looked impressive with 9 riders in convoy and the Rus bus – woo hoo!! The support riders left us after about 20 kms and then we were on our way – only around 3,450 kms to go. From here on the ride went quite well with Damian and the support riders managing to ride within a very good heart rate level. They maintained an average speed of around 25km/hr which allowed us to maintain a good pace and complete 342 kms before we pulled into a rest area just 20 kms before a town called Southern Cross at around 12.25am – the team had ridden for 15 hours and 25 minutes including breaks for lunch and dinner. Most of this day we encountered head winds and cross winds, however Damian managed to keep a good positive spirit – please pray that he can maintain this.
The team has done awesome and in addition to the 53 minutes to cover the first 21 kilometres which all the riders did out of Perth, here is the rest of the statistics:
Mitch rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 63 kilometres
Greg rode for 4 hours 20 minutes and covered 109 kilometres
Rob rode for 2 hours 40 minutes and covered 71 kilometres
Dave rode for 2 hours 48 minutes and covered 78 kilometres
Ray and Johann drove most of the day as we were still awaiting the arrival of Mark Bateman who would be driving the transporter.
The team woke up bright and early at 5.45am on Sunday and after a hearty breakfast of Weaties and other cereals and a Musashi for Damian we set off at 6.30am with Ray riding in support – go Pastor power! Sadly there were quite strong head winds and when that stopped they were cross winds, but Ray did well and rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 71 kms.
The 9.00am kilometre reading and the 24 hour total was 400 kms – this was an awesome effort and the team was extremely pleased considering the conditions. Mitch then went out to continue the second 24 hour period from where Ray left off.. more on that in the next post…..
After packing the bikes up and getting the changes of clothes and riders organised, we had a time of prayer with the team and set off for the Perth GPO, where we would meet Mark Eden from Apollo and a couple of other friends – oh yeah, and that would be where the race would start. This was when we encountered the first challenge – where is the Perth GPO, we knew it was in Perth and that’s where we were – so we were off to a good start. We eventually found it with Mark’s help over the phone. Once there we proceeded to get all the bikes ready as all the riders would be riding out of Perth with Johann following in the Rus bus. We met Mark Eden as well as Brendan and Angus Flood – friends of Mitch, who were going to ride with us as well.
Just before we were about to set off Johann received a phone call from channel nine Perth and they showed up to interview Damian and capture the start of the race – this was an awesome encouragement for the team and Damian. Many SMS’s and phone messages as well as emails were received before the start and these were a huge boost for Damian. We started on time at 9.00am Perth!
The ride out of Perth was uneventful but it looked impressive with 9 riders in convoy and the Rus bus – woo hoo!! The support riders left us after about 20 kms and then we were on our way – only around 3,450 kms to go. From here on the ride went quite well with Damian and the support riders managing to ride within a very good heart rate level. They maintained an average speed of around 25km/hr which allowed us to maintain a good pace and complete 342 kms before we pulled into a rest area just 20 kms before a town called Southern Cross at around 12.25am – the team had ridden for 15 hours and 25 minutes including breaks for lunch and dinner. Most of this day we encountered head winds and cross winds, however Damian managed to keep a good positive spirit – please pray that he can maintain this.
The team has done awesome and in addition to the 53 minutes to cover the first 21 kilometres which all the riders did out of Perth, here is the rest of the statistics:
Mitch rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 63 kilometres
Greg rode for 4 hours 20 minutes and covered 109 kilometres
Rob rode for 2 hours 40 minutes and covered 71 kilometres
Dave rode for 2 hours 48 minutes and covered 78 kilometres
Ray and Johann drove most of the day as we were still awaiting the arrival of Mark Bateman who would be driving the transporter.
The team woke up bright and early at 5.45am on Sunday and after a hearty breakfast of Weaties and other cereals and a Musashi for Damian we set off at 6.30am with Ray riding in support – go Pastor power! Sadly there were quite strong head winds and when that stopped they were cross winds, but Ray did well and rode for 3 hours 5 minutes and covered 71 kms.
The 9.00am kilometre reading and the 24 hour total was 400 kms – this was an awesome effort and the team was extremely pleased considering the conditions. Mitch then went out to continue the second 24 hour period from where Ray left off.. more on that in the next post…..
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Day Before.....
Well the whole team is almost here – Rev Mark Bateman who will be driving the awesome Chaplaincy Australia transporter will be joining us on Sunday – however the transporter is here.The team spent yesterday (Thursday) afternoon and night in the transporter, working out the best sleeping arrangements and storage arrangements. The transporter was parked in the yard of Meckering Transport Services who were truly awesome. They allowed us to use their shower and toilet and even the high pressure truck wash facilities to get the bikes and Ray’s van nice and clean again, after the drive over. THANKS to Ian Fortune the General Manager of Meckering Transport Services.
This evening (Friday) we will be spending the evening in two wonderful cabins at the Perth International Tourist Park. The facilities here are great and it will be a good relaxed night together before the big ride. The team went for a “little” ride this afternoon, just to get the legs working and to get any ‘bugs’ out of the system. I must say they looked like an awesome team, all decked out in their Lend Lease cycling gear – A huge thanks to Lend Lease for providing these.
Also in terms of preparation, there are plenty of carbohydrates going into the bodies and this does have some windy side effects!!! We demolished 6 large pizzas this afternoon (between 7 of us) as well a fair bit of coca cola and lemonade. The official weigh in was this morning – they even made Johann (who is only going to drive and manage logistics) weigh in. The weights are here we will compare these to the end of the ride. By the way the weigh in was before the pizzas :-)
Damian – 71.6 Kg
Greg – 73.4 Kg
Rob – 71.6 Kg
Rob – 71.6 Kg
Mitch – 86.8 Kg
Johann – 97.6 Kg
Johann – 97.6 Kg
Dave – 87.6 Kg
Ray – 82.0 Kg
On Friday evening the team spent some time relaxing and of course eating and “carbing-up”. 
Damian also shared the first entry of his journal with the team – this is a journal that he started around 20 weeks ago when he had decided to attempt the Race Across Australia again. It was quite a moving entry that certainly set the scene for what would be commenced the next day. We also got a glimpse of Damian’s Mr Men characters that kept him going last year during the many hours on the road. So here goes some revelations – Mr Cool was our dear departed friend Gerry. Miss Giggle was lovely Mrs Lynn and Miss Sunshine was the name given to Damian’s dear wife Debbie. 
Damian has also found a little model of Miss Sunshine in the supermarket and he will be carrying this in his pocket throughout this year’s attempt. It will be a constant reminder of the real Miss Sunshine who will be waiting for him at the other end.
Ray – 82.0 Kg
On Friday evening the team spent some time relaxing and of course eating and “carbing-up”. 
Damian also shared the first entry of his journal with the team – this is a journal that he started around 20 weeks ago when he had decided to attempt the Race Across Australia again. It was quite a moving entry that certainly set the scene for what would be commenced the next day. We also got a glimpse of Damian’s Mr Men characters that kept him going last year during the many hours on the road. So here goes some revelations – Mr Cool was our dear departed friend Gerry. Miss Giggle was lovely Mrs Lynn and Miss Sunshine was the name given to Damian’s dear wife Debbie. 
Damian has also found a little model of Miss Sunshine in the supermarket and he will be carrying this in his pocket throughout this year’s attempt. It will be a constant reminder of the real Miss Sunshine who will be waiting for him at the other end.The team will leave Perth GPO on Saturday morning at 9.00am Perth time (12 noon Melbourne time). We will by joined by our good friend Mark Eden from Apollo Bikes who will ride with us some of the way out of Perth.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
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2008 ITS ON AGAIN.....
Well after much deliberation and many discussions and a lot of prayer...its been decided to do the ride again!
so whens it on..................................OCT 18th 2008
when did training start................18 weeks ago
how long before the ride starts...Under 2 weeks
how much training has been done a lot......6 days a week for
the last 2 months after the build up towards that starting with 3 days a week.
so what sort of training................... long road rides, 180km - 250km per week end night mtb riding,x-training stepper
so how long on the stepper.............climbing 1000 floors per session 90 mins then weights (legs) and core body strengthening
lost much weight lost....................14kgs!!! (that just meant i was fat!)
so why do it again........................we raised 60000 last year and thats awesome but i am hoping we can break the 100,000 mark which we are about to do AWESOME..PRAISE GOD
syndey or melbourne this year ............MELBOURNE...We all live here and we can get better exposure for our sponsors and others can join the ride
how can donation be made................Go to raceacrossaustralia.com.au
are they tax deductible.......................YES!
so whens it on..................................OCT 18th 2008
when did training start................18 weeks ago
how long before the ride starts...Under 2 weeks
how much training has been done a lot......6 days a week for
the last 2 months after the build up towards that starting with 3 days a week.
so what sort of training................... long road rides, 180km - 250km per week end night mtb riding,x-training stepper
so how long on the stepper.............climbing 1000 floors per session 90 mins then weights (legs) and core body strengthening
lost much weight lost....................14kgs!!! (that just meant i was fat!)
so why do it again........................we raised 60000 last year and thats awesome but i am hoping we can break the 100,000 mark which we are about to do AWESOME..PRAISE GOD
syndey or melbourne this year ............MELBOURNE...We all live here and we can get better exposure for our sponsors and others can join the ride
how can donation be made................Go to raceacrossaustralia.com.au
are they tax deductible.......................YES!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Gerry Allen a tribute from the team 7.8.1971 - 31.12.2007
This blog has been quiet for a while because of not really wanting to write this.
On new years eve there was a terrible motorcycle accident that involved one of our teammates and good friends Gerry Allen. Words can't express the the saddness and sorrow this has made every one of our hearts feel. Gerry was awesome during the race, from his constant drumming in all parts of the dashboard or his very very funny commentary actross the CB radios. A person who is still missed and will always have a special place in all our hearts
Gerry's wife Kaye and his son Conner are constantly on our hearts and i am sure will still appreciate your prayers .
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