2013 Bridge2Bridge Video Highlights

The video highlights have been put together into a beautiful movie of our journey from Brisbane to Sydney. Watching it brings back some nice memories of the pain and happiness a 1,050km ride can bring. I can't believe how lucky we were with the beautiful weather and amazing scenery.

Enjoy!!

2013 Bridge2Bridge Wrap-Up and Photo Diary

 
"You've ridden from where?!" The lady sitting in traffic beside me asks. 

"The Story Bridge in Brisbane. Over 1,000km in a week." I reply a second time, with a half embarassed/half proud grin spreading across my face. 

"Wow. Thats a long way. Wow! You guys are amazing. Good luck for the rest of the ride!" She smiles and waves goodbye to the group. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

That was a pretty typical interaction from strangers we had met along our journey. Whenever we would have to put the Bridge2Bridge into words and explain to someone that we were cycling from Brisbane to Sydney, it would hammer home the sheer distance and size of the challenge (in case we had somehow forgotten).

As a fairly regular cyclist, I knew pretty well how much pain 1,000km would inflict on our bodies. But some of the other riders were less experienced (and much, much less prepared) and basically went in blind. For me, this is what made their achievement even more amazing. I know plenty of people who would have pulled out even before the first day was over.

There were definately times when I was hurting badly (physically and mentally) and thought about stopping or slow down. But the combination of the ride purpose, the people I was riding for and my determination to see it thru soon and give it my best soon banished those thoughts to the back of my mind. In the end, I completed it without too many problems and felt pretty good the next day. I even pushed myself on the climbs and set a quick average pace each day. My only real issues were:

• Saddle sores - They came on after 4 days of riding. I had used copius amounts of Assos Chamois Cream but they still appeared. They weren't too bad and I was able to continue riding (with a grimace) for the rest of the week. I would hate to imagine what it would have been like if I didn't use the cream (ouch!).
• Knee pain - My left knee was hurting quite abit when we hit the cold tableland country. Armidale, Scone and Glen Innes were all below 5 degrees and I found that my knee would hurt for a few hours until I had sufficiently warmed up. It didnt affect my riding too much as I would take it easy and warm up for the first 30-40km then hit top speed with Ivor and Lawrie later in the day. I should point out that I usually hate, hate, hate, hate the cold - and this ride would mark the coldest weather I have ever ridden a bike in.
• Flats - I was lucky with only 2 flats. Poor Ivor had 8 altogether, with 4 occuring in one day! That would have tested my patience I think.
• Shifting - My shifting on the bike wasn't as clean as I would have liked. I dropped the chain off the front a few times and there was some noise in the rear cogs too. I will have to spend some time looking over it this weekend.

The Team

The A-team! (L-R): Mark, Alex, Randall, Cure For Life rep, Graham, Rochelle, Lauren, Lawrie, Ivor, Kevin, Cure For Life rep, Andrew, Peter (and son), Me

Evil Masterminds (Randall & Mark): The key organisers. Randall lost his daugher to an aggressive brain tumor which lead to his first ride from Gympie to Sydney solo. After rebranding to Bridge2Bridge, Randall hopes to continue the ride for years to come. Mark is his key offsider - organising media appearences, meet & greets, school visits and rider preparation. Mark also loves a beer or three.

Guardian Angels (Graham and Rochelle): Our saviours. They drove the van and tended to our every need. I know how whingey and annoying I can be after a hard ride so I am so grateful for all their help managing and looking after 10 riders day-in, day-out. They put out breakfast, picked up our luggage, organised our motel bookings, provided drinks and food, warmed us up, cooled us down, encouraged us and provided vital distance and time checks (how annoying would 10 cyclists asking "how far to go now?" everyday be haha) and generally putting up with us. Without them, the ride would have been impossible.

The LJ Hooker crew: The major sponsor for the ride this year was LJ Hooker. This was led by the Sunnybank Hills branch. Peter is the head honcho and his team of Alex, Kevin and Andrew were along for the ride. Lauren (Alex's partner) and Lawrie (Peters friend) also joined up to boost numbers. They had strong motivation to complete the challenge with Lauren losing both her Dad and Sister to brain cancer and Lawrie losing his brother.

The Leftovers: Me and Ivor. Ivor knew Randall thru a friend and signed up for the first time this year. And me, well I just was on the internet one day and ended up on the B2B website. The rest is history.

Memorable Quotes

"Yep, they're screwed" - Was the resounding conclusion when Lawrie, Ivor and I had finally staggered into the motel in Warwick on Day 1 after 170km and the monster Cunninghams Gap climb. We were absolutely shattered and had little hope for the other less-experienced riders, especially after hear they had to walk up Cunninghams Gap. It was hours until we saw the next rider limp into the motel and the last rider finished in the dark. But none of them gave up, which speaks volumes for their mental strength.

"Damn you, Bolivia!!" - Muttered by me when my knee was giving me some grief climbing the long Bolivia hill outside Tenterfield. I still have no idea why this random climb is named after a South American country. Good news was I hit my highest speed of the trip - 75km/hr - down the otherside.

"How many hills are left?" - I think Lauren asked Randal this question daily haha. Safe to say Lauren wasn't a keen cyclist when she joined the ride but I am hopeful we have converted her now. She was the most determined person on the ride, with only 4 months of cycling under her belt she never gave up.

"Andrew crashed his bike further back. Peter might have pushed him off." - On the last day, Andrew had an unfortunate accident crossing a freeway onramp and was left sprawled across the tarmac. When his brother Peter, arrived fresh as a daisy miles ahead, we concluded that Andrew may have been caught up in sibling rivalry.   

"Oh look, dead pig." - After seeing close to 50 dead wallabies on the side of the road, we were somewhat excited about a different dead animal. For the record, we saw only 1 dead pig, a few foxes, a deer and a couple of cats. My nose is now finely tuned to the stench of road kill - I can smell it coming a kilometer away.

"Kevin is lucky to still be alive. He ended up in a bogan coal mine." - On the second last day we passed thru Cessnock which has the reputation for being somewhat....bogan. Poor Kevin (our funny Korean rider) had set off by himself, was promptly verbally abused by some racist kids, got angry and rode off in a huff. Only problem being that he went down the wrong road and ended up on some Cessnock coal mine access road. Safe to say if Graham and Rochelle didnt find & rescue him, those rednecks would've had Kevvy for dinner. Funny story tho.

Afterthoughts...

For days after the ride I would flip flop between two trains of thought:

• Well, that wasn't so hard. I am not even that sore. I didn't bleed, I didn't sacrifice a body part and with abit of training anyone could do that ride. Heck, even a rider with 4 months experience managed to finish. Its not that big of a deal. 

and 

• Holy moly that was hard. Don't forget how low you felt coming into Warwick on the first day - that was the worst you have ever felt on the bike. How many other people do you know that could do that? Sure the less experienced riders finished as well, but their mental strength is what kept them going. Its mind over matter when the body gives up. That was a tough ride. 

After talking to a few people back in Brisbane and hearing their reactions to the ride, I think its probably a mix of both trains of thought.

Yes, it was the hardest week of riding in my life. But, it was also the most rewarding thing I have ever done. There is that magical feeling of pushing yourself to the absolute limit of exhaustion, yet still being able to smile and laugh only an hour later. Add to that the fact we were doing it for charity (and in memory of friends we lost), then you have this whole mixed feelings of achievement, honour and sacrifice. Regarding the charity side, its nice to know someone, who I will never meet, will benefit from the money we raised - and one day if a cure for cancer is found, I can quietly be proud to be one of the many who helped that happen.

All in all, I would count it as a life changing experience. One which I would love to repeat again.

Wide-eyed and Legless....exactly how I felt at the end of the ride

Photo Slideshow

News Articles

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/east/six-dedicated-riders-will-take-on-1000km-this-week-when-they-take-part-in-the-bridge-2-bridge-bike-ride/story-fn8m0sve-1226632796207

http://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/1490373/on-bikes-to-save-lives/

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/pedal-power-to-find-a-cure/1871087/

http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/1485089/putting-the-brake-on-cancer/

http://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/story/1468298/riders-arduous-trek-for-cancer/

http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/pedalling-for-cure-to-cancer/1849798/

http://www.warwickdailynews.com.au/news/bridge-to-bridge-riders-get-ready/1853297/

http://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/1596244/pedalling-for-a-brain-cancer-cure/?cs=459

Training Diary 03/05/2013

Charity Ride Stats:

• Weeks until Bridge 2 Bridge ride - <1 day!
• Donations collected - $3,703.45

Training Stats:

• Distance YTD - 4,074 km 
• Elevation YTD - 36,567 m
  
• Ride Hours YTD - 167hr 53min
  
• Current Weight - 78kg

Well its nearly ride day! Geez that crept up fast! I can still remember the day I was down at the coffee shop under my work and first spotted the Bridge 2 Bridge webpage. I sat there for a good 30mins pondering whether I could do it or not, and finally after remembering my friend Eddies words I pulled the pin and committed to doing the ride. I had a nervous but excited feeling in my belly at that moment. I have the same feeling now.

Training Plans

Training leading up to an event like this is very very important. However, no matter how well I plan - it seems that I can never fully stick to the original training plan. Admittedly, my original training plan was rather ambitious (pencilling in 500km/week for 6 weeks straight) so it probably was never going to work. I think the key things to remember when doing a training plan are:

• Be realistic. You have to be brutally honest with yourself about how much training you can actually fit into a week. If like me, you have a day job and a (very forgiving) girlfriend - you will need to take these into account time-wise. No good putting yourself down for 5hrs a day on the bike - chances are you will end up unemployed and single before the training plan is over!
• Be flexible. Sometimes things don't go to plan. You get sick, have to travel away, or just plain don't have motivation for a big week of training. That's okay (to a certain degree) - just make sure you either catch up on the missed kilometres or do alternate activities like running or stretching. Some activity is always better than no activity. 
• Diversity. Make sure your training plan has a mix of training. For me, I got pretty sick of doing riverloops day in, day out. As nice as the scenery was, it just got plain boring. Mixing it up with group rides, climbing hitouts, 'just for fun' rides and rides in new places was great to keep boredom at bay.
• Be Inspired. Especially in winter, its all too easy to sleep in and put off the morning ride. For me, it was important for me to keep up my motivation and inspiration to get back on the bike and train my butt off. This mainly involved watching replays of my favourite cycling races, reading magazines on riding tips and of course visiting the local bike shop and browsing the fancy new bikes!
• Talk the talk. This is something I found out by accident. A great way to keep up the training and to self motivate is to tell all your friends and family about your goals. This helps in a few ways. The first is that once you tell people (and if you tell alot of people) you feel the obligation to go thru with the challenge instead of pulling out. If no one knows about it, its all too easy to give up! The second way it helps is that you will find that everyone will want to talk about your training, how you are going with fund raising and just general interest in your challenge. It really perks you up and gets you motivated to keep going. This type of crowd support can really gather momentum and you will find fund raising will become easier. 

All in all, my training for this event went well. There were low weeks where I didn't get to do as many kilometres as I had hoped - but I usually made up for it the following week. I am also counting on the old 'race performance' factor, where you tend to be able to perform faster/longer/better in a race-type situation than in training. I am pretty confident that I will make it to Sydney just fine.

Packing for the Ride

It looks as though I will be one of the more experienced cyclists on the trip in terms of mechanics, so in addition to my standard riding gear I will be bringing along some tools/spares to help the team out. So far, I have included the following on my ever-growing list of items:

• Puncture repairs: 3x spare tubes, 2x spare tyres, tyre levers, CO2 bulbs and head, patch kit
• Common tools: screwdrivers, Allen key set, chainbreaker, chain lube, grease
• Special tools: cassette remover, chainwhip, pedal spanner, pliers
• Misc: electrical tape, zipties, rags, rubber gloves
• Spare wheelset, spare chain, spare gear/brake cable

I have also dropped my bike off with a reputable mechanic for a once-over to ensure theres no big problems on the ride. It looks like all the training I did may have used up the last of my tyres, so I will be buying some new ones tomorrow to fit. Better to be safe (with new tyres) than sorry (by getting flat tyres all the way to Sydney)!

Other important things for me to bring are:

• Baby wipes - these things are a godsend. Great for cleaning yourself if you cant make it a shower for awhile. Great for wiping the bike down. Excellent for getting grease and dirt off your hands after you've been working on the bike too!
• Small amount of laundry detergent - Just in case we cant find a laundromat along the way, Ill bring some of my own laundry detergent so I can wash my kit in the shower. Nothing is worse than riding in a dirty kit (guaranteed way to get saddle sores) so clean kit is a MUST.
• Familiar hydration and energy gels - a long ride is no time to start experimenting with food and drink mixes. You can imagine the horror story if you find out that the energy mix you decided to 'try' actually doesn't sit well with your intestines. Not many roadside toilets out west! So I will be bringing along my own stash of High-5 Zero hydration tablets and Winners Energy Gels - these are the same ones I have used in training and know they work for me. I'll also bring my own box of muesli bars in case I need an emergency energy hit.
• Tablets - To minimise any annoying health problems I will be bringing my hayfever tables and an assortment of Fish Oil, Garlic, Magnesium and Zinc tablets. I have found these to be of some benefit to me after big rides and I figure they can only be helping my immune system in times of stress (eg. 150km rides). 

Fingers crossed I dont forget anything!

Thankfully I dont need to carry it all myself!

Final Fundraising

At my work I have been spreading the news about the ride and fund raising for the Cure for Life Foundation. Rachael, the mother hen of our team, really went out and took on the role as my official fund raising coordinator. It was great! As a naturally shy person, having someone willing to 'spruik' on your behalf is really nice and the support I got was amazing.

My branch at work collected all their spare change over the last few months and threw them in the fund raising tins. We also had a morning tea/bake sale yesterday for the ride. The end result was a MASSIVE collection of $1,003.45 which made me really, really happy. I know for a fact that the men and women at Cure for Life will be very grateful for the money we raised. To date, we have raised a total of $3,703.45 for the foundation. Amazing work everyone!

Donations:
Big thanks to the following people who have donated - It really means alot to me to have your support!
Simon Coombs, Lex Dewar, Darren Evans and BCC's City Projects Office.

More photos from Ipswich 170km Charity Ride

Reppin' the blue polka dot Metromint kit...

Me smiling to cover up the fact I missed the start of the 100 mile riders

Heading underneath the Start/Finish banner (race face is on!)

Still managing a smile and peace sign up the major climb (around 50km mark)

Training Diary 15/04/2013

Charity Ride Stats:

• Weeks until Bridge 2 Bridge ride - <3 Weeks
• Donations collected - $2,480.00

Training Stats:

• Distance YTD - 3,542 km 
• Elevation YTD - 31,757 m
  
• Ride Hours YTD - 145hr 30min
  
• Current Weight - 77.5kg

Training has been great lately. Last week especially was good and I managed to squeeze 440km (3900m climbing) in, finishing it off with the Ipswich 100 charity ride (more below).

The weather has still been abit hit & miss with a few days of rain/showers last week. I am desperately hoping that all this rainfall now will mean a dry winter (i.e. a dry Bridge 2 Bridge ride). The plan from here on will be to continue the high-distance training for the next fortnight then use the last week to taper down (only riding say 100-150kms) in order to let the legs recharge.

I have been lucky to dodge sickness so far this year. This weekend was the only time I have felt abit 'off' and I think it was mostly due to lack of proper sleep and the up & down temperatures. That being said, I still managed to knock out a 170km ride while I was feeling off so I'm not too fussed about it. I have been taking the following supplements to help avoid any sickness and injury problems:

• Fish Oil capsules - to ease joint pain and for the Omega3
• Garlic tablets - for an immune system boost
• Multivitamin tablets - to fill in any gaps in my diet for vitamins
• Hay fever tablets - to stop me sneezing every morning (especially at change of seasons)

 So far these have worked for me so I will make sure I bring some with me on the ride. Fingers crossed I don't get sick in in the next 3 weeks! Touch wood...

 Snaps from the Ipswich 100 mile ride...

Ipswich 100 Charity Ride

On Sunday I took part in the Ipswich 100 charity ride. Its the third time I have signed up for this ride and they offer three distances; 50km, 100km and 100 miles (or 160km). The last two times I did this ride was with Eddie and we did the 100km ride each time. As an extra challenge to complement my training, I signed up for the 160km ride this year. Its my first ever Imperial century (100 miles) and was my biggest single ride to date.

 Great countryside scenery...

It wasn't exactly a smooth start for me - I underestimated the time to drive out to Ipswich and the extra traffic at the designated parking area had me running late. The scheduled 160km start time was 6am and I was ready to ride at about 6:15am. But the time I got to the start line, the 160km group had long gone. Rather than give chase all on my own (a tough task), I opted to start with the front group of the 100km in the hope of catching some of the slower 160km riders on the way.

 Mountains in the distance...

Boy did those 100km 'elite' rider fly! We were doing 45km/hr for the first hour and the bunch was breaking up everywhere. I dropped off the back of the fast bunch eventually and I was mindful that I had used up alot of energy so far. I recognised a few guys from the forum shortly afterwards and slowed the pace right down.

 One of the many hills...

From there on, I stuck with my newfound friends Brett and Pete for the rest of the day. It was a long day of riding (over 7hrs) so we all went at our own pace. I was abit quicker up the hills (and it was a really, really hilly course) so we would regroup periodically along the way. I was glad that I had been training lately as the constant hills were energy sapping. I had an involuntary 15min timeout when I had a slow leak puncture (from a pothole I think), but once that was fixed I was off again.

 Don't think this old car's roadworthy anymore...

The scenery was beautiful - green grass and bright blue skies with wisps of clouds. It was amazing riding weather. There was minimal traffic and the ride was really well organised. I filled up on my fair share of hot cross buns and bananas! The men and women manning the food stops were cheerful and always up for a chat. A big thank-you to them for taking the morning off to help the riders out.
 

 Long road to nowhere in particular...

Total distance was 170km, total climbing of 1700m and time of 7hrs11mins. All in all a great ride and I will be back again next year!


Ride Website: http://www.ipswich100.com.au/
My Strava Ride: http://app.strava.com/activities/48691197



Donations:
Big thanks to the following people who have donated - It really means alot to me to have your support!
Anonymous donation of $100 and Vanessa Vong.


Thank you all so much.

Motivational Story - Reid Anderton (Aussie Challenge)

This is one of the most amazing endurance endeavours I have ever seen. The Aussie Challenge is Reid Anderton aiming to break the current record for travelling around Australia on his bicycle. He has set out to cover 400km per day for 35 days (total of 14,100kms).

As a recreational cyclist, I know what these kind of distances and times translate to (lets just say....alot of pain!). Not even professional cyclists do this amount of riding in their training.....and they get paid to ride! 

Reid Anderton is nothing short of a legend. He is truly inspiring and an prime example of how far you can push the human body if you are willing to try. Mental toughness will long outlast your physical limitations.

Official website for the Aussie Challenge

From his website...

Breaking the Current Record

The Guinness World Record is currently set at 14,183 km (8,813 miles) around the coastline of Australia in 42 days, 8 hours and 25 minutes by Hubert Schwarz (Germany) on the 4th of October 1993. This averages around 337km/day. But there was another record set on the 20th of October 2011 by Dave Alley at 37 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes, or around 377km/day. Let's just say that's a pretty high bar to better and a lot of pain to endure.

Reid Anderton who is part of the Challenge for Change team will be attempting to break the record for the fastest solo supported cycle around Australia. Reid is aiming to ride over 400km/day for 35 days - totalling 14,100kms. While he maybe cycling alone, he is hoping many will join the cause and make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children.

Suffering Alone

My (Reid) Challenge is ridiculous; 400km per day for 35 days around Australia. If I make it, it will set a new record for the fastest solo supported cycle around Australia. Everything would have to go my way for this figure to be achieved. Injury, weather (headwinds and rain), logistics, planning or lack of physical/ mental ability will all come into play, meaning my best case scenario could be severely limited, or at worst case, I could fail to complete the entire journey at all. 
On average I will be on my bike for 16-18 hours per day, burn 15,500 calories (enough to consume 28 Big Macs or 980 over the 35 days!) use 7 sets of tyres and cycle over 14,200km of following a single white line travelling at around 25-30km per hour, by myself. Enough to do anyone's head in! 

400km per day – possibly not achievable? But given the right conditions...just maybe!

Why?

Why does Reid ride? To raise funds and awareness for kids living in poverty, particularly in Southern Africa, working with Eagles Wings. Abject poverty is a condition that around 2.5 billion people worldwide experience. It basically means they are trying to live or exist on less than $2 per day. I personally have no idea in reality what this feels like, but I have seen the effects and issues related to abject poverty, mostly within Southern Africa. It is not a good story.


Your challenge will not be easy either. While I am on a bike for at least 35 days riding 400km per day, your challenge is to simplify your life-style for 35 days in order to raise $400. This way we will all stand in solidarity with children who currently live in extreme poverty raising vital funds and awareness.
Is $400 easy? Think through the certain luxuries you may be used to in your day to day lives. You enjoy coffee, chocolate, a round of golf, driving EVERYWHERE, desserts, restaurants etc. Get the picture? Each day you have to simplify your life-style enough to save $12.00 per day. This is where your $400 will come from. Individually this may be a big challenge, but done as a family, or business it will be achievable.

To place this in perspective it costs around $12.00 per month to educate a child in Africa. Every day you save $12.00, means ONE month worth of quality education for a child in need.

So take a deep breath, consider the purpose and sign up to simplify your lifestyle for 35 days. Give up the take away coffee, the extra chocolate and maybe that round of golf and before you know it you will have the $400.

Let us know what you have done to simplify your life in order to stand in solidarity with disadvantaged kids and how much you have been able to save as a result. Post your stories on our Facebook page. Encourage and inspire others to participate. A real challenge for your change.

See Where Reid Is Right Now 

Strava Map of His Journey So Far

Reids Strava Profile

Reid Anderton - Suffering for a Cause He Believes In

Bridge 2 Bridge Charity Ride

Big News Announcement:

I have signed up for the 2013 Bridge 2 Bridge charity ride, beginning 4th May.

The Bridge 2 Bridge charity ride will see 12 intrepid cyclists ride from the Storey Bridge in BRISBANE to the Harbour Bridge in SYDNEY, covering over 1000kms in 8 days.

The Bridge 2 Bridge aims to raise money and awareness for the Cure For Life Foundation who do fantastic work in brain cancer treatments and preventative research. The ride will coincide with the national Brain Cancer Awareness Week and we will be visiting schools along the way to spread the word about the good work being done by Cure For Life.

My Motivation
In 2012 I heard the bad news that my very good friends mum had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. She spent much of the year in and out of hospital. Unfortunately the treatments were not as effective as hoped and she returned home for Christmas. As is the case with cancer, her condition deteriorated quickly. Sadly, Joanne Oudejans passed away at New Years surrounded by her family.

My cycling buddy and work colleague Eddie Pose is no stranger to cancer. 4 years ago he was first diagnosed with cancer and the following treatments proved successful in defeating it. It was a joyous occasion and he had a newfound zest for life. Fast forwarding to 2012 saw him re-diagnosed with secondary Lymphoma cancer. A long period of treatment, stem cell transplants and immune system replacement followed. It finally seemed like he was on top of it by December. We even enjoyed a few rides together during the holidays.

Unfortunately, he was admitted back into hospital after Christmas with a gut virus. Just weeks later, we learnt that cancer had made its way into his bone marrow and there was nothing more that could be done. As I write this, Eddie is spending his last moments with his wife and close family. I was relieved to be able to see him for a short time yesterday- just to say our goodbyes and thank him for his great friendship.

I had been searching for a goal, a challenge, for me undertake this year. When I stumbled across the Bridge 2 Bridge website, and saw that it benefited the fight against cancer - it was meant to be.

I promised to complete the ride and raise as much money as I could on behalf of Eddie and Joey. Every pedal stroke of my 1000km journey will be for them both.

Ride Website:
http://www.bridgetobridge.org

Foundation Website:
http://www.cureforlife.org.au

Donation Website:
http://www.everydayhero.com.au/bridge_2_bridge_cycle_charity_ride_team