Yea to Whittlesea 36 miles (333 miles total)
Needless to say we woke this morning excited and ready to go. The big final push to the end!
Our plan is to arrive at noon so we will be leaving in reverse order of speed. Our slowest guys will go first up to our quickest leaving at the end. We will have one rider leave early and find a spot a few miles from the finish line to gather us all up so we can arrive together.
It is a short day and an easy ride so we end up at the check point around 11am. We all arrive, one by one, and after a few photos, we leave, riding side by side, for the final few miles.
I was getting a real rush the closer we got to the finish and when we finally saw the huge finish line archway, I got such a rush of accomplishment. I remember thinking, "Wow. I did it!" I think the feeling was all around, and when we heard our school being announced, we all sprinted to the finish. Me with a huge dopey grin on my face.
Done. The Great Victorian Bike Ride 2006 is over.
Nina was there waiting for me and it was wonderful to give her a big kiss and hug. The kids' parents all showed up one after another and we told them all how well their boys did. I was particularily proud of the kids who weren't cool and very athletic. They persevered and pushed themselves to get through a tough ride. They did awesome. They all did.
After saying our goodbyes, Nina and I headed to our car, loaded up my gear from the piles on the grass, and headed home for the steak lunch I had waiting for me.
Total Miles: 333 Total kilometers: 536
As a footnote, shortly after we finished the ride, the exact area we rode through burst into the worst bushfires in over two hundred years. Two months later they are still burning. It is a hard life during the summer out there in the country towns around Victoria, and hopefully the drought soon ends and the farmers get a reprieve with some long-needed rain.
It was beautiful seeing the country the way we did but it would be impossible to not marvel at how harsh Australia can be. There are times when it feels like the land is doing its best to keep people from living on it.
1 comment:
I feel exhausted and exilerated all at the same time after reading of your 9 days of aventures on the GreatVictorian Bike Ride.
I'm not certain that my American students would have fared as well as your kids did, but apparently a few Americans did raise some really great kids, right Nick! You Rock!
Love, mom
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