On Friday night the Licensees on the Central Coast hosted a function for dinner at the Reef Restaurant in Terrigal Haven. Dinner was delicious and the function was a hit. Over $11,000 raised. Thanks very much for all the effort that went into this very successful evening. It was a very late night as we all kicked on to Lilikoi at Crowne Plaza.
In the morning was our final briefing. Two yellow jerseys were handed out today. The first was to John Oulton. His fundraising efforts have been outstanding and at each function her outlined to guests his personal experience of Ronald McDonald House. His daughter, Imogen, recently received a double lung transplant and John and his family stayed at Ronald McDonald House in Melbourne. His heart warming story was well received by all and we congratulate Imogen on her recent achievements, receiving gold medals at the world transplant olympics!!!!
The second yellow jersey was awarded to Philip Willcockson for support of the group throughout the ride. I will wear the jersey with honour when I cycle. However my colleagues Zoran radisavljevic, Brendan Newman and all the other members of the support team are equally deserved of this recognition. Well done team, thanks very much for the experience!
We’d also like to thank the Crowne Plaza terrigal for their hospitality, organisation skills and assistance during our stay.
After our final briefing we set off up the Central Coast Highway. Phil Jobling gave Brendan, Zoran and I the brief. Take photos, lots of photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rideforsickkids
The guys absolutely powered. 7 days of hard cycling didn’t deter them from pushing ahead full power. In no time they arrived at McDonald’s Swansea. While this was a planned “drink stop” Jodie and Michael Feros kindly treated the guys to a bite so there were Big Macs and Angus Beef Burgers aplenty! Yum! Thanks Michale and Jodie for such a well organised stopover and for really showing the riders some great hospitality.
A Police Officer arrived and kindly offered to escort the convery to Ronald McDonald House Newcastle. This was very helpful for additional traffic control on busy roads and enabled the riders to bring home their cyclathon in style. Thanks very much for your help Senior Constable!
We arrived at Ronald McDonald House to the sund of cheers and the scent of barbeque. No time for rest gents. Time for group photos.
Families were delighted to see eachother again! Shortly after a mouth watering end of ride barbeque it was time for the Award ceremony. This is where it got enmotional. Every rider and support crew member was personally recognised for their contribution. Special mention for Ross Baines of Metroll who kindly paid for all the riders’ accomodation for the 8 nights. A very generous contribution. Lincoln Amidy of Pinnacle Team Events facilitated the award ceremony. Lincoln has been a critical member and took responsibility for safety and welfare. Great job Lincoln. You were a source of motivation and inspiration for all of us.
Phil Jobling announced the Rider’s Rider Award. Congratulations Robert Beattie. Rob hasn’t cycled for a long time, so his achievements, persistence and contributions in this ride were certainly respected and appreciated by the team.
Phil Jobling. I couldn’t possibly hope to detail Phil’s efforts without writing a book. Phil has worked on this project for months and has done so for 5 years now. Organising the Ride For Sick Kids each year is a mammoth task and every aspect has been organised to perfection. Nothing was left to guess work. Phil’s efforts are dererving of great recognition. It was awesome to see the look on Phil’s face when he announced that the rider has raised $302,050.
Yes over $300,000!!!! Phil’s ongoing efforts mean that the Ride For Sick kids has now raised $907,050 for Ronald McDonald House. That’s simply amazing!
Phil Jobling pictured below with imogen Oulton (mentioned above).
What an awesome adventure. Watch this space for the ride in 2010. I’m pretty sure everyone will return to partcipate again. I will too.
Finally, we’d like to thank all the following major sponsors for their support this year:
Hadley’s Cycles
McDonald’s
FSBA
McKey Distribution
Coca Cola
Ronald McDonald House Newcastle & Tamworth
Pinnacle Team Events
Giant
Kloster BMW Newcastle
Metroll
Caltex Energy NSW
we’d also like to thank the following sponsors:
Proquest Consulting
Bayer
QANTASLink
NSW Rural Fire Service
Fusion2 Graphics
NBN
Telstra
GME
Arnotts
Masterfoods
Perfection Fresh
Heroes and Legends
Complete Office Supplies
Cadbury
GU Sports
OSI International
Frantelle Springwater
investblue
X Strata Coal
Allied Mills
Patlite Accomodation Partners
Quality Hotel Powerhouse Armidale
Quality Hotel Powerhouse Tamworth
Acacia Motor Lodge Coonabarabran
El Dorando Merriwa
Baybrook Motor Inn Apartments Muswellbrook
Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
Crowne Plaza Terrigal
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