Blind Courage

From Perth to Sydney on tandem pushbikes – Monday, March 29 to Monday, April 26, 2010:
Total distance: 4120.2km
Actual riding time: 145.32 hours
Average speed: 28.3km/h

Now, after all those kms, is it any wonder the boys considered tossing their trusty steeds in the drink? No – just kidding. They couldn’t part with those fabulously reliable Cannondale tandems….

There was a real air of excitement this morning (Monday, April 26), as the cyclists and crew prepared for the very last day of the Blind Courage tandem bike ride across Australia. We’d stayed overnight at the Bass Hill Tourist Park and left bright and early to be at our starting point – the Dunc Gray Velodrome, which was not far from the park.

When the blogger arrived at the venue (late as usual), the cyclists were chatting to a few other cyclists – Justin, Minh and Dan – who planned to ride with them in to the city on the final leg of the 4000km-plus trek. John Nicholson was videoing the scene, as he had done throughout the trip and Mitch was pacing before escorting the boys in his final role as “tail-end Charlie”. Also in attendance was Senior Constable Andrew McNeice from Bankstown Police. As arranged the previous evening via John Murray, chairman of Bankstown Sports Club and his friend Ian, in the police force, Andrew was to be the Blind Courage police escort into the city. Also on hand at the velodrome were Karen and David Ross, who work with Bowdens Group in Sydney, great supporters of the Blind Courage ride.

That last 26km in to the Sydney Opera House was one of the shortest – and slowest – trips of the entire journey, as Grant’s final set of stats will attest. Mind you, the police escort was fabulous and having Andrew up front with lights flashing made for a pretty impressive entrance to the Opera House forecourt. With all the waiting media, family, friends and supporters, we didn’t get the chance to thank him personally for his efforts, which were very much appreciated by the Blind Courage cyclists and crew.

The security staff at the Opera House were wonderful to us as well, granting us special permission to park the motor homes for a few hours until we finalised our media commitments and had photos taken on the steps of the iconic Sydney landmark. So a big thank you to Chris Wynton and all the team at the Sydney Opera House for making us so welcome.

Thanks to Channel 10, ABC TV and Channel Seven for showing interest in the Blind Courage story and coming out to talk to the boys. With the news media full of the football salary cap scandal, miniature horses on the other side of the world, a cat stuck up a tree and that pint-sized Canadian pop star, your support and coverage of Blind Courage was most heartening. And thanks to our terrific new mate, Sydney freelance photographer Geoff Ambler, who covered our arrival. We’d met Geoff the night before at Bankstown Sports Club and he was only too happy to come along to capture the Blind Courage arrival on camera.

It was a pretty exciting time for the Nicholson clan too, as it had been 14 years since the entire family had gathered together. Two sisters live in the United States, another in Barcaldine, Queensland and another in Tamworth, NSW. The two brothers live in Brisbane and mum and dad Nicholson (Julie and John) are on the NSW Central Coast, so full family reunions are a rarity. The last one was in 1996, so today was extra special for all the family.

Deano and Lorin’s wives, Janelle and Lisa, and their children arrived from Brisbane, and Grant’s wife, Rhys, was in Sydney to see her hubby come over the finish line. Poor old John Eder had to wait until he got home to Warwick to see his pussy cat!
After a full four weeks of going through everything from mouse and locust plagues, heat, cold, dust, rain and aches in every body part imaginable, the Blind Courage tandem bike ride is now a part of Australian history. The reason for the ride is still there… 300,000 blind people in Australia. While we have not yet reached our financial target of $300,000, we remain optimistic that corporate Australia will come to the party – and that any individuals or organisations with a few spare dollars in the kitty might consider giving to Blind Courage. We have until June 30, 2010 to finalise this appeal, so please, if you have not already donated, do it now. Thanks to all those people who supported Blind Courage along the way from Perth to Sydney – and thanks to those who will support it before the end of June. We could not have achieved what we did without your help and encouragement.

Grant’s final statistics: 25.8km in 1 hour 24 minutes; Grant’s average speed was 18.3km/h; maximum speed 50.6km/h; minimum temperature 9.7 degrees; maximum temp 20.4 degrees; 7.85 km of climbing; average incline 3 per cent; maximum incline 6 per cent; downhill descending 9.9km; average descent 2 per cent; maximum descent 6 per cent.

After a 30-minute sleep-in in the cool climes of the Southern Highlands township of Moss Vale, the cyclists enjoyed a well-earned although accidental extra bit of rest. Their alarms were set for every day apart from Sunday, so being the day before the big arrival in Sydney, a Sunday ride was in order. They needed to get as close to Sydney as possible so tomorrow’s ride would be a short and relatively easy one, after their 4000km trek across the continent. John woke up to discover that their tandem had a flat front tyre so changing this also slowed their departure.

The best part of the morning was riding two abreast on good country roads with the Wollongong tandem cyclists enjoying a chat. Their pace was pretty reasonable too although they couldn’t keep up with the big Cannondale road tandems on the downhills. Thankfully the police weren’t out that early on a Sunday morning as the boys rolled at 65 and 70 km/h respectively through a 50 zone.

Not long after getting back on the Hume Highway Lorin and John got their fifth puncture. A quick wheel change and they were off again. They then enjoyed a long, long downhill cruising at over 50km/h for 15 to 20 kilometres. Here they again lost the Wollongong tandems. Lorin and John tested their newly-honed downhill aerodynamic position (all tucked in with backsides off the back of the seat, also known as the downhill skier position) and rolled out to a maximum of 84.7 without pedalling at all. Dean and Grant pedalled like mad and only managed 84.5. Close boys but no cigar. Big boys always go faster downhills!

As the boys climbed their first hill after this gorgeous descent Lorin said: “Who turned off the fun?” Mark eventually caught up and they enjoyed the remainder of the ride into Campbelltown where they stopped at Café de Nicholson and Mitch’s diner for a well earned bacon and egg brekky. Beats Maccas any day. The Wollongong tandem cyclists eventually found us ALL in an industrial area off the main road.

From there on they braved the Sydney Sunday morning Anzac day traffic from Campbelltown to Bass Hill Tourist Park. On another down hill the boys on their Cannondale steeds again rolled away from the Wollongong pack who called out: “slow down”, to which John replied: “Braking on a downhill is against my religion.” Grant then chipped in with: “Brakes weren’t an optional extra on these bikes” which gave them all a hearty laugh.

On the way in to town, every motorist bar one was courteous and mindful of the cyclists. One rather ignorant man forgot he had a brake pedal next to his accelerator. He obviously got a new horn for Christmas because he never took his hand off it except to wave it angrily at them after he also found his steering wheel worked and changed lanes.

After four weeks on the road it was nice to go to church and thank God for our safe arrival.

Dinner tonight was a real treat. John Murray, chairman of the Bankstown Sports Club, and board member Alex Fulcher, hosted the Blind Courage crew and families in the carriage room of this massive club. If you haven’t been there before it’s such an experience. It’s what all clubs would aspire to be. The wait staff lead by Linda were speedy, efficient and delightful as they processed our drink requests, meal order, drink requests and more drink requests. Riding 4000km is thirsty work. At John’s request Lorin and Dean gave a short summary of the reasons for the Blind Courage expedition. Alex, being Mr Cycling Australia, and John were both curious to know the reasons for the journey and highlights of the trip. Immediately following the boys presentation John announced that on top of the club’s $3000 donation he would personally donate $1000. Not only that, John placed a call to the 2IC of the police department, a personal friend, and facilitated a police escort for the boys on their final leg of this journey. John Eder was absolutely rapt to catch up with Alex Fulcher and listen to his stories. We all reluctantly took our leave as we had a big day ahead us. Finally, not a big day on the bike, but a fair dinkum short ride at last… 25km.

Stats: Distance 107km 3 hours 23 minutes, average speed 32km/h; max speed 84.5km/h; Grant burnt 1909. Minimum temp 12.2 degrees; max temp 36.3 degrees; uphill climbing 650 metres; maximum altitude 743 metres above sea level. Distance 18.66km of climbing. Average incline 3 per cent; max incline 8 per cent; downhill descending 1286 metres; 51.24km of descending (way too much fun – and it was legal, well, most of it anyway). Total time going downhill 1 hour 10 minutes of descending. Average speed of descending 43.9km/h; average descent 2 per cent; max descent 10 per cent. Hey for those who are following these stats closely, you’ll notice they saved the best til last.

This was the first day the Blind Courage cyclists started out with short sleeves (surprisingly for Canberra). Since Mildura the boys have had the fine company of their mate Mark Berends, who we haven’t really mentioned much because he just drafts quietly behind them, hardly pedalling or talking at all – not that anyone can get a word in edge wise with our own resident Mr Havachat, Grant Williams. Well, this was Mark’s day in a not so wonderful sense of the word when he got his third puncture for the trip – and he hadn’t even had his Weet-bix! Fair dinkum, folks, it’s just not cricket … or cycling.

Mark pulled Mitch over and jumped in the back of the KEA to do a quick tyre change as tailgate Charlie (aka Mitch) continued his slow and steady behind the cyclists. The boys were quite concerned (but not concerned enough to stop) at the absence of their silent partner. Visions of Mitch driving over the top of him prompted them to place a phone call – “Mark – where are you????” As the phone was in the other vehicle, no answer was the stern reply. Ten minutes later the side door of the KEA flew open and Mark appeared, like a genie out of a bottle with a freshly inflated tyre.

Over breakfast at a rest stop some 40km along the Federal Highway, it cooled off considerably. Then things really got interesting. No sooner had the porridge gone down than the rains tumbled down – just like Slim Dusty sang about – and it wasn’t even July! Well, weren’t they in for a wet 50km trip into Goulburn? They arrived at the Centro shopping centre resembling a group of drowned rats, so they quickly hopped into the KEA, closed the curtains, and did a quick change, like the Supermen they are.

They had a hot date at the Optus shop – as Optus has very kindly been a big supporter of Blind Courage to date. And wouldn’t you know it? The rain stopped as soon as they did. Optus has a prominent position in the Centro complex, and plenty of pedestrian traffic noticed their display and the Blind Courage posters. The good people of Goulburn opened up their wallets and dropped plenty of coins and notes into our donation buckets, for which we were thankful. Thanks to Craig Pritchard at 2GN Goulburn for the chat over the air, letting Goulburn listeners know we were in town.

The Optus store manager Karen and her assistant, Sam, couldn’t do enough for us. Area manager for Canberra and Goulburn, Jason, gave us a big welcome to town and produced the very popular Optus cup cakes in aqua and yellow colours. Yum. They always go down well.

Goulburn City Lions Club member David King and his wife Robyn, arrived while we were at the Optus shop, armed with a warm welcome and a big fat cheque for $500. Wow. Thanks Lions. You really are champions. David also informed the local media of our imminent arrival, so we had pre-press and a radio interview lined up, thanks to David’s efforts. The Lions have showed their true colours right across Australia, with their generosity and welcoming nature.

At this point we were joined by a group of tandem cyclists from Wollongong, led by Tim Manton. They’re a great mob and there were three vision impaired cyclists, who were keen as mustard to get on the road with Blind Courage to our next stop, Moss Vale. One of those cyclists is Katie Best, who is from Sydney. Katie regularly hops on the train from the Big Smoke just to go riding with the boys from the ‘Gong. The Illlawarra contingent made an early departure and it was just as well.

The Blind Courage entourage had been offered lunch at the Goulburn Soldiers Club, where chef Paul Miller provided a delicious lunch for all of us. Thanks also to the lovely Chris, our waitress, who ensured we were all well fed at the club. Not content just to feed and water us, the club also gave a very generous $200 cheque to the cause.

After a three-hour break from the saddle, the boys were a little reluctant to climb back on, but at 2.30pm, they pushed out of Goulburn bound for Moss Vale Village Park. The Southern Highlands is a beautiful part of Australia. The gorgeous autumn leaves everywhere were just a picture. The boys loved riding the hills into Moss Vale, particularly the downhill runs where Lorin and John finally exceeded Dean and Grant’s maximum speed – a whopping 85.3km/h. No matter how fast those little legs of his pumped, they couldn’t stay with the mighty tandems as they rocketed on down the hill It was also the first time Mark couldn’t keep up with their slipstream, and he was left behind in the wake. That’s not bad. It only took them 30 days to do it and that was only because they weren’t trying, said Captain Jack.

The cyclists tried to book in to the flash resort on the northern side of Moss Vale, which was booked out anyway. Actually they were having such a great ride, they overshot the runway to the caravan park by 5km. Only nightfall stopped them. We made our way back to the caravan park, showered and headed off to the Moss Vale Services Club. Keryn looked after us really well and ensured that no one left the club hungry. Thanks to the duty manager for arranging our soft drinks and our welcome to the friendly little club in that picturesque town.

You would think the boys did very little riding this trip, as we seem to talk about everything else but the ride, but of course, this isn’t the case. To date the boys have cycled for 141 hours, which equates to roughly 600,000 revolutions of the pedals. No wonder they’re tired! And their average overall speed is 28.294km/h.

Now, for the day’s stats: Total distance travelled 161.4km in 5 hours and 28 minutes; average speed 29.5km/h; maximum speed 85.3km/h; Grant burnt 3198 calories today. Minimum temperature 15.1 degrees; max temp 29.5 degrees; climbing distance 1372 metres; that’s 40.32km of climbing; average incline 3 per cent; maximum incline 7 per cent; they went down hills totalling 1292 metres, a distance of 45km; average descent 2 per cent, max descent 7 per cent.

Four thousand kilometres in four weeks is an extraordinary journey for anyone, but just imagine trying it if you were blind on the back of a tandem pushbike. That’s exactly what Brisbane-based brothers Lorin and Dean Nicholson will achieve when they arrive on steps of the Sydney Opera House at 8am tomorrow (Monday, April 26). They will complete this epic journey in the company of their pilot riders John Eder (of Warwick, Qld) and Grant Williams (of Brisbane, Qld) and the iconic Sydney landmark will never have looked better for any of them.

The reason for their journey is threefold:

(1) They will become the first blind persons to cycle 4000km across Australia, creating national history and a landmark achievement for the vision impaired;
(2) They aim to raise $300,000 for Vision Australia, which equates to $1 for every blind or vision impaired person in this country; and
(3) Their dearest wish is to change the public perception of what a blind or vision impaired person is capable of.

Both Lorin, 41, and Dean, 40, are happily married, each with four healthy and beautiful children. Each is successful in their chosen field, Dean as an environmental scientist and qualified accountant, and Lorin as a highly sought after motivational speaker and professional musician. Lorin is also a highly experienced remedial massage therapist.

“My brother and I consider ourselves very lucky, even though we are blind,” Lorin said. “There are 300,000 of our fellow Australians who are blind or have low vision and of those, 63 per cent who want to work cannot gain employment. This is due largely to to the general public perception of the worth and capabilities of a person with a white cane or a guide dog. We are not just riding to help make a difference to those 300,000 people.  We are hoping to inspire a nation. If we can cross this amazingly beautiful country in four weeks with our supposed ‘disability’, the field is now wide open to every man, woman and child in Australia to go out and follow their dream, whatever it is.”

Don’t miss sharing this incredible triumph and significant piece of Australian history with their victorious arrival at Sydney Opera House at 8am on Monday, April 26.

The Blind Courage cyclists are now poised on the outskirts of Sydney with their final destination firmly in mind. They will leave the Bass Hill Velodrome at 6.30am for an 8am arrival at the Opera House.

To help the Blind Courage cyclists support Vision Australia, visit www.blindcourage.com

ends….

For further information visit the website, www.blindcourage.com … or to arrange an interview with Lorin phone Anna Rose on 0409 514 933.

The town made famous by the Dog on the Tuckerbox, was the cyclists’ starting point for today’s ride to Canberra, the nation’s capital – so of course, they couldn’t go past without stopping for a Kodak moment. They broke from tradition and stopped on a downhill, but hey, there’s only one Dog on the Tuckerbox and it is an Aussie institution. Not having the best start to their day, Deano and Grant had a puncture 200m from their breakfast stopping point. They didn’t get off and walk, but rather pumped up the tyre and rode flat out and did the 200m dash in record time. (This was puncture # 5 for this tandem riding twosome).

It was a huge day in lots of ways – with Deano and Lorin working simultaneously fielding radio interviews – Lorin with Alan Jones on 2GB and Deano talking to 2TM’s Mal McCall. Deano and Mal had a great yarn catching up on all the latest news that Mal has been regularly reporting to his large listenership. Alan Jones was broadcasting from Merrylands RSL and it was rather fitting that Lorin paid tribute to the fantastic support Blind Courage has received from registered clubs from WA to NSW. Not only have they fed and watered the Blind Courage entourage, they’ve also handed out quite a few dollars to the cause.

During Lorin’s interview with Alan, Clubs NSW CEO David Costello came on the line, and announced a further $5000 donation to the cause from ClubsAustralia. Bankstown Sports Club also came through with a very handy $3000 to boost the total. This now brings the tally very close to $18,000, with the funds raised on the road. Mr Costello made the pertinent comment that this total should be much higher – and with the efforts the riders are making, it was a shame Australia hadn’t dug a little deeper. The ride may be drawing to a close, but the fundraising for this project will continue for another few months. On that note, Lorin sends a big thankyou and hello to all the students and staff of Murray Farm Public School in Carlingford, Sydney, who so generously donated $727.25. You are all champions.

The plan made the night before on how to safely negotiate the crossing of on ramps and off ramps to the highway of three bikes and a trailing motor home, proved to work successfully. A series of steady hillclimbs made it a tough day but rewarding at the conclusion to know they’d come through it so well.

Not to be outdone by their fellow tandem riders, John and Lorin got a rear wheel puncture going downhill at 50km/h. Fancy having to stop when you’re going flat out like that! Not happy, Jan. Thankfully, they safely negotiated a stop and John made a mental note to never buy one of those useless tubes filled with goo that doesn’t work. Puncture #4 for these two and Lorin’s quote for the day was: “I like it better when the tyres are up!” We could all understand exactly what he meant, which made a rather unsavoury situation something to chuckle at. Mark, who was travelling behind the boys, admired the way they managed to keep the bike upright.

The boys planned to meet up with gold medal winning Para-Olympian Lindy Hou at Yass. Lindy and her pilot, Elton Ivers, rode out from Canberra and met them a few kilometres on the Canberra side of Yass, where the cafe de Nicholson was set up for lunch. Lloyd from the Yass Tribune came out and met the blokes as they have scoffing their tucker, and had a good yarn before snapping a photo and leaving, knowing he was writing a story on the history-making journey.

With a reception planned in Canberra’s city centre at 5pm, the Blind Courage riders wasted no time getting on the road and hightailing it to the capital. Lindy had an inauspicious beginning to her tandem ride with Blind Courage, getting a flat tyre 15km from the starting point. A quick change and they were away again. And the boys were quite impressed with how Lindy and Elton motored up all the hills without getting out of the saddle. That girl sure can climb – and boy, she can talk too. What a great girl. It was a real privilege to meet her and for the boys to ride with her.
Graham Tidy, the photographer from The Canberra Times, came out the road and took static and action shots of the cyclists, while journalist Serena caught up with Lorin by phone – another of his many media obligations of the day.

The main thoroughfare from Yass through to the ACT border didn’t impress our riders’ backsides one little bit. And the safety aspects were a concern. It’s a very busy road and there’s no shoulder – so where do cyclists go when there’s traffic coming both ways? Nobody likes to put their foot on the brake and wait. Perhaps Mr Abbott should take the Transport Minister for a bike ride down the Barton so he can feel for himself the poor state of the road.

Arriving in the city’s heart, with a contingent of several tandems in tow, the Blind Courage riders received hearty applause when they showed up in Garema Place with a police motor cycle escort at the front and back of the pelaton.  Deano had the biggest grin though as his beautiful wife Janelle was there to meet him, along with his four girls, who were delighted to see their dad again after so many weeks without him.

Vision Australia staff and volunteers were enthusiastic in their welcome to the contingent who’d pedalled so far in such a relatively short space time. They provided a lovely spread of sandwiches and cakes which went down well, as food always does with our boys. Senator Gary Humphries came down and spoke to the riders and later gave a short welcome speech back at Vision Australia. Yes folks, politicians can be brief at times… and he brought his son Owain along to meet the crew.

The Southern Cross Club at Jamison Plaza was our eatery for the evening and what a lovely carvery they have. Thanks to chef Darrin England for such tender roasts and vegies, and our drinks waiter, Andrew Smith, who welcomed us warmly to the club. We returned to Canberra Motor Village and nobody stayed out of their beds too long. It was a big day for all of us. The blogger and the IT guru were the latest to hit the hay as someone had to post the blogs, didn’t they?
Grant’s stats: starting time 6.37am; 155.7km distance; riding time 5 hours 44 minutes; average speed 27.14km; max speed 80.92km/h; Grant burnt 3189 calories today. Minimum temp 11 degrees; max temp 32.6 degrees; climbed 1815 metres today (57km); average incline 2 per cent; max incline 7 per cent; downhill (the best part) descended 1426 metres (48.98km); average descent 2 per cent; max descent 9 per cent.

Left the caravan park at the usual hour – just after sun-up – and on the road. After cycling 65km before breakfast, they were spoilt rotten at Mitch’s Diner and café de Nicholson when the bacon, eggs, tomatoes, fried bread and more were brought out. If you’ve ever seen a flock of seagulls fight over a hot chip, you’ve got some idea of the carnage on that poor old trestle table. They even ate the patterns off the plate this morning.

A slow leak in the front tyre of Lorin and John’s steed, 5km short of breakfast, was a real incentive for the boys to crack the whip and get that show on the road, so they really set the pace. Could we get to brekky before the tyre deflated? Like the little engine that thought it could – it did, but only just. Now for anyone keeping a tally, this was puncture number seven, which means our supply of spare tyres is down to three and spare tubes is down to one. I guess it’s off to the bike shop in Wagga Wagga to restock the rubber. Thanks to Kidsons Cycles who gave the boys a generous discount on the tubes, which beats the heck out of a cathead in the big toe any day. Thanks Kidsons for getting us out of a prickly situation.

The steady morning continued until the boys met their favourite pinup girl – the Aussie Butt Cream queen, Petrina Quinn, and her mates from Bicycle Wagga. Benjamin from Prime TV caught up with boys just as they combined forces with Bicycle Wagga on their last leg of the Sturt Highway. It was a big media day for Lorin and Dean – as they were constantly stopping to fulfil radio commitments with interviewers all over the state and beyond.

By the time they cycled in to Wagga Wagga, they were met with an enthusiastic round of applause from the large crowd gathered at Vision Australia in Trail St. What a welcome to Wagga Wagga. The mayor was there, and a chair as well. Quite a few chairs in fact, and lots of people sitting in them but it wasn’t Play School they’d come to see. It was our intrepid riders, who had by then traversed more than three quarters of this wide brown land. It was a fabulous reception, attended by one of our major sponsors, Mark Shaw, the manager of the local Optus shop in Wagga Wagga. Mark came along and flew the Optus flag, and to the boys’ gastronomic pleasure, brought along the famous Optus cupcakes we’d heard so much about. They went down a treat after the barbie provided by the cheerful Rotarians who cooked up a storm for the big crowd.

Robyn Salau from Wagga Bowen Massage Clinic made John and Grant’s day, giving them both a much needed complimentary massage and the scent of their aromatherapy treatments caused Lorin and Dean much consternation for the remainder of the journey – because they didn’t smell as pretty as their pilots. Thanks Robyn. It was lovely to meet vision impaired people of all ages, including young Tim Rees, who travelled 100km with his dad, Peter, from Cootamundra, just to meet the Blind Courage boys. Colin Rush was one of the officials at the event, as he’s a prominent vision impaired citizen who loves his sport and loves to get out and about. Colin spoke beautifully and straight from the heart with his innate knowledge of the subject.

The mayor, Cr Kerry Pascoe, gave us a very friendly welcome to his fair city along with a $100 donation to the cause. In fact the whole gathering was extremely generous and opened their hearts and wallets. In just two hours, the tally was boosted by about $800. Petrina led the riders to the perimeter of Wagga before the police could run them out of town. Actually, it wasn’t quite as bad as it sounded, as the police officer was sponsor Mark’s brother.

Wagga was the starting point for another rider supporting the Blind Courage tandem riders – Peter Barr. Peter is a keen cyclist who was part of the Pollie Pedal, from Melbourne to Sydney in 2008. Unfortunately Pete had to pull out that year due to health issues and wanted to join our boys to complete some unfinished cycling business. Gone were the long, flat plains and the hills on the road to Gundagai tested the cyclists’ mettle. But of course, they’re tougher than a Toyota LandCruiser and passed the test with flying colours, arriving in Gundagai in fine time, as Grant’s states will later attest. What a relief it was for them to finally hit the cement of the Hume Highway after what seemed like endless miles of trigger point massage in their wake.

Dinner tonight was courtesy of our fabulous sponsors Clubs Australia and the good folk at Gundagai District Services Club. Club manager Joe Lico provided the group with a warm and friendly welcome to the club where an array of Aussie and Asian cuisine was offered. It all went down very well with the hungry horde who fuelled up for another big day on the bitumen.

Grant’s stats: Distance 185km, total riding time 6 hours 11 minutes; average speed 30.1km/h; maximum speed 82.87km/h; Grant burnt 3822 calories today. Minimum temperature 12.3 degrees; maximum 42.5 degrees; average incline 3 per cent; maximum incline 6 per cent; average descent 2 per cent; maximum descent 8 per cent.

The Blind Courage riders left the roadside rest area we shared with about four truck drivers, who obviously didn’t mind travelling at all hours – as they came and went at various times of the late night and early morning. The Blind Courage cyclists stuck to form and left as the sun came up for what they termed a “short day’s ride” – 136km. They were hoping it would be almost like a “rest day” leading in to the three big days ahead as we make our way towards our final destination. The road was pretty much as it was yesterday, long, flat and fairly boring, until we got to about the last 30km. We even passed Tubbo Station, the place immortalised by John Williamson in song. And as he so rightly says, we’ve never seen it so green.

Getting in to Narrandera we were met by the NARBUG (Narrandera Bicycle Users Group). Thanks to Phil for getting the group of riders together to keep the Blind Courage cyclists company on their way into town. On the recommendation of Tom and Lynda from Balranald, we booked in to the Narrandera Caravan Park, where Ken, Barb and daughter Lisa, gave us a discount on the night’s powered sites. Their facilities were spotlessly clean and the park was a credit to them, with water features creating a wonderful atmosphere among the manicured landscaped grounds. Lorin and Dean, Mark and Grant quickly took advantage of the inground pool and dived on in, only to lose their breath with the shock of the cool water.

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, some washing and other domestic chores, we headed down town for a catch up with the local Lions and the NARBUG members in the main street. Fellow cyclists are always fascinated by the new Cannondale tandems and never fail to give it a close up inspection, lifting it up to check the weight and trying out the seat for size. Mitch rattled the donation bucket along the street and received some handy additions to the growing tally of our on-the-road fundraising. He also checked out the hand-made timber chair outside the video shop, as he’s pretty handy with recycled materials and can always find a way to reuse something and on- sell it at the markets. He’s handy in lots of ways, is our Mitch.

A brief rest was in order before we headed to the Narrandera Ex Servicemen’s Club with members of the Narrandera Lions Club, whose president Rochelle McDonald, made us very welcome. They were all good sports and great company. The former mayor of Narrandera keeps himself busy volunteering within the community as an active member of Lions. Thanks to club manager Bev Ashcroft and the lovely Jenny behind the bar, who kept the boys in coke, squash, red cordial and lemon, lime and bitters throughout dinner, which was really tasty. There was a great variety on the menu and it was hard choosing just what to have – it all looked so good. Thanks to the club for their hospitality to the Blind Courage mob.

Now for the all important statistics from our stats man, Grant: Dstance 135.45km in a total riding time of four hours and 34 minutes. Average speed 30.1km/h; maximum speed 44km/h; Grant burnt 2579 calories today; minimum temperature 17.6 degrees; maximum 45.1 degrees; really flat road.

When the boys set off this morning, they rode off into one of the most glorious sunrises imaginable – according to Poppa John, it was Our Heavenly Father’s artwork. And what a painter He is. Considering yesterday was Mark’s first big ride for five weeks, he scrubbed up pretty well this morning and was keen to climb back on board, armed of course with our trusty sponsor, Aussie Butt Cream. Their ride over the bridge at Balranald spanning the Murrumbidgee was the only uphill variation of the day – the Hay plains are even flatter than the Nullarbor.

Now it’s about the RTA – please explain how roadworks work. The 40km limit for roadworks is fair enough. You have a red light and a green light at each end and the warning clearly indicates if you exceed the 40km/h limit, penalties will be enforced. So why is it that if Grant and Dean were doing 38km/h along the patch of roadworks, and started right on the green light, how come they couldn’t reach the other end in safety before the oncoming traffic was given a green light and the go-ahead to come through? And poor old Poppa John, following 10 minutes’ behind the cyclists after clearing the brekky plates, waited for five minutes at the red light, and then when it finally turned green, there were still three semi-trailers coming towards him and he had to move aside or lose a limb. It’s a tricky one that, and we would appreciate any feedback from other road users or clarification from the RTA on how it all works.

On a fun note, Dean and Grant met John Williamson’s old mate, Old Man Emu. He was racing along the fenceline and Grant couldn’t resist the challenge of the 400-yard dash, and dragged Deano cackling along behind. The emu was looking all set for a gold medal in the sprint, until he lost his footing and went ace over base in a most ungraceful manner. Feathers and drumsticks flying in all directions. Being the acrobatic type of bird that he was, he picked himself up quickly, found his feet and began running in the opposite direction. He’d obviously heard of Grant’s reputation for being a speed demon and decided to quit while he was behind.

After several more kilometres of locusts, flat roads, headwinds and even more locusts, out of sheer boredom Dean and Grant tried the bicycle version of car cricket. A white car equals one run; a black car, six runs; and every other colour four runs; a car with caravan, bonus two points; trucks and buses or vehicles over three tonne, were out. Three trucks in a row meant you were out for a duck. After two hours, they decided it just wasn’t cricket – it was more fun kissing locusts like Captain Jack.

A short time later, the boys passed Poppa John, who had found the perfect picnic possie on the outskirts of Hay. But Captain Jack thought another five kilometres was in order, so all the boys agreed and continued on. Riding through Hay there weren’t too many places to pull over, so they continued on the Sturt Highway to Narrandera, bypassing the Hay township. Less than 10km from the Hay turnoff, the cyclists spotted Poppa John with a new picnic possie, only it wasn’t as flash as the previous spot. By now the worms were biting our ravenous cyclists, so they quickly exited the bitumen onto the gravel which rapidly turned to stubble full of very nasty khaki burrs and catheads (thorny, triangular weeds resembling nails). There was that hissing sound no cyclist ever wants to hear and they soon realised … Hay – we have a real problem here. Not one, not two, not three flat tyres – there were six of them all in a row. Instead of sitting down and enjoying a tasty lunch of freshly prepared hamburgers and leftover Chinese, all five cyclists had tyres, tubes and rims on the menu instead. Pin cushions have had less holes than these tubes did, folks. The thought occurred to them that they could follow the Nullarbor tradition and start a tyre and tube tree, but they were too tyred, worn out and deflated so they ate instead. How unusual. For the final 30km of the day’s journey, their spirits soared as a blessed tailwind carried them along.

Thanks to the hospitality of Bob and Heather Weston at the Hay Bowling and Golf Club, we were welcomed with open arms. Anne, one of the club members, had a yarn to the blogger and found out the boys were on their way, so she quickly did a whip around and collected $76.
Thanks to Judy behind the bar for all the liquid refreshments. Those boys sure love their red cordial, don’t they? Andrew and Tania Schipp, and their daughter Katie, old friends of Dean and Lorin’s from back in Tamworth, turned up at the club and gave the boys the shock of their life. They had a great catch up over dinner and plan to stay in touch now they’ve re-established contact. Thanks for the $100 donation, Andrew and Tania. You are absolute champions. Our dinner was cooked by chef supremo David and Annie Cai, brother and sister-in-law of Andy Cai from the Balranald Ex Services Club. Between those two clubs, they would have the best Chinese food this side of Adelaide, so don’t go past or you’ll miss out on a culinary treat. Thanks to the Hay Bowlo for your very generous donation of $200 and to Heather and Bob for your pleasant company during dinner and your words of encouragement to the cyclists. From the blogger’s perspective, it was great to meet an old Attunga local out on the Hay Plain.

Grant’s stats: 171.4km, riding time 6 hours; average speed 28.15km/h; max speed 52.97km/h; Grant’s calories for today – 3386; min temp 18.7 degrees; max temp 36.4 degrees; uphill and downhill – just kidding, folks. The Hay plain is really flat…

After two days full of rest, relaxation and refuelling (aka face stuffing), the cyclists were waiting outside the motor homes, legs twitching, new reflective vests gleaming, champing at the bit. They were hanging out for the sun to show its face before they could ride on out for the final week of this incredible journey.

Captain Jack (John Eder) announced: “Blow it boys, we’re going – light or no light”, so they left the All Seasons Holiday Park and took off down Fifteenth St, bound for Deakin Ave, Mildura. One of the guests at yesterday’s Vision Australia morning tea function had indicated an urge to ride along with the boys as they left the city limits. Thanks Thane for riding along Fifteenth St with the boys. They do pick up the pace a fair bit, so sorry if you got left behind – after all, they are men on a mission.

Thanks to a few choice words to The Man Upstairs from Anna, the boys were graced with a tailwind from Mildura right through to Euston, shortly after breakfast. Turning left towards Balranald, they noticed an increase in locusts and a change in direction of that favourable tailwind, which rapidly became an unfavourable headwind. Deano piped up and said, quite appropriately: “Euston – we have a problem.” They all had a chuckle, despite the headwinds giving them curry and continued to do battle with the elements for the remainder of the day.

Captain Jack just closed his mouth in time to receive his very first locust kiss – it was probably a girl locust, just smitten with him. He reckons she’s certainly smitten now, because she’s a dead locust. John doesn’t kiss on the first date.

The blogger caught up with an old friend from Tamworth, Judy Lister, who’s a great country music fan from way back. Jude moved back to her hometown of Balranald some time ago at the insistence of her family and loves being surrounded by her kids and grandkids. Jude walked Jordan and I down to the Shamrock Hotel, owned by her daughter, Jennifer Garner. Jen used to own The Family Hotel in Tamworth before moving back to Balranald. Jude promptly started rattling the donation bucket as soon as we hit the pub, and the generous local blokes chipped in for the cause. Thanks boys. We enjoyed your company. Thanks also to Chris Lister, Judy’s son, for allowing us to collect for Vision Australia in the pub.

We then pulled in to Balranald Caravan Park, where Tom and Lynda Moss manage the picturesque park on the banks of the ‘Bidgee. They were more than happy to host the three motor homes on powered sites for the night, offering their clean and tidy facilities free of charge to the Blind Courage gang. Thanks for your hospitality, folks. And a huge vote of thanks from the blogger for the use of your email facilities before we pulled out of town. It was very handy.

Today was another fairly typical day on the Blind Courage journey – the boys ate, they rode, they ate, they rode, and then they ate and rode some more. And when it comes to tucker, they don’t come much better than Andy Cai’s Chinese restaurant at the Balranald Ex-Services Club. The club’s manager, Toni Dennis, joined the Blind Courage crew for dinner which was a feast in every sense of the word. Andy brought out course after course after course – and of course, the boys kept eating and eating and eating… It was a lovely night. Thanks to Bruce and Charlie behind the bar for your courtesy. We also got to see ourselves on the club’s telly, as WIN had covered Sunday’s morning tea at Mildura riverside.

Grant’s stats: 165.65km travelled in a total riding time of 5 hours 37 minutes. Average speed 29.5km/h, top speed 49km/h. Grant burnt 3352 calories. Minimum temp 16.2 degrees; max temp 36.7 degrees; average incline 1 per cent; max incline 3 per cent; average descent 1 per cent; max descent 3 per cent.