After a day of sunshine and great night at Armidale ex-Services Club, we awoke to overcast skies wet cars. It looked gloomy. We headed downstairs for breakfast and our first briefing. Phil Jobling seemed pretty relaxed and gave everyone a rundown of things to come. The hospitality we enjoyed at the powerhouse was great.
For day 1 Troy Johnson was recognised with the yellow jersey for the outstanding event he and Benita organised the night beforehand at the Armidale Ex-Services Club.We left on schedule. Thanks very much to the Hon (Richard) George Richard Torbay for officially opening the event. The riders went down the main street of Armidale and headed out towards Tamworth. With less than 1km completed the challenges began with the first signs of rain. The riders weren’t deterred.
After 81km and two rest stops, it was time to determine the king of the mountain!! The big hill in the Moonby Ranges hill climb from mason’s Gully always sorts the boys from the men. While there had been many friendly bets on who’d conquer the hill strongest and fastest, Paul Healey proved to be the man of the moment!! Zoran, Adrian and Phil had a hard morning too in the support crew, we had to download “king of the Mountain” on itunes to make sure that the right tunes were cranking at the magic moment at the end of the climb.
From there, it was all downhill (pretty much). Some, after egging on (Shermo) hit about 90kmh. Phil Jobling’s stats are below.
The riders made it to Ronald McDonald House in Tamworth for lunch at about 2:10pm. What a great effort. The staff and volunteers at the house did a fantastic job and their hospitality was overwhelming - thanks very much. What an impressive facility! The House turns one next week!!
Tonight the gents are all celebrating their first leg at the fundraising dinner at Tamworth Toyota. Thanks very much John and Liz O’Sullivan for all your efforts arranging the function tonight. Steve Bradbury’s keynote speech was very inspirational and once again there were plenty of auction items up for grabs! Over $17,000 raised - thanks very much to everyone in the community who contributed!
Tomorrow we have a 188km cycle to Coonabarabran! Weather’s tipped for rain and south westerly winds. This will certainly add to the torment!
{ 2 comments }
Hi everybody, great effort yesterday with some rain and wind making it tough at times.
Congratulations Doc for winning the KOM, that should keep those Armidale guys quiet for another year.
Sounds like great function last night with $17,000 raised thanks to John and Liz.
Well as you can see I wish I was there with you all I check the website every morning and read Phil’s wrap up of the day.
Have a great ride to Coonabarabran.
Looking forward to joining the ride and catching up with everybody in Merriwa.
Neil
Well guys,
The easy one’s over, now you’ve got to get serious.
I didn’t see coxy’s name in the KOM stats. I hope you didn’t need a push mate without me to help you.
I hope that you all ate well Saturday night for the first looooong day ahead.
I hope too, that you don’t suffer too much rain. Not good for a ride in the country hey.
My thoughts are with you all and I hope you are all well and healthy.
Hey Neil, all those sly Ks will benefit you mate, I’ll follow peogress each night. There wasn’t much info to have a shot at on the first day, so I’ll just have to wait a bit longer.
Again, all the best to you all, stay safe and keep up the good work.
I’d better start training for next year, now. Plenty of time. Ha ha ha.
Talk to you soon. Take care.
Oh, and Jobby, Has anyone scored a RED yet???
Regards,
Darrell
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