, 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,
