The Total So Far Is.....

"Well it's about time..." I hear you say!  And you'd be right, but it would be good for you to know that we are still expecting more money to come in in the next month and so the final total for Red Shield Ride 2016 won't be announced until early June.

I have been incredibly blessed by the support and encouragement each of the riders received this year and I'm very pleased to report that the total funds raise (SO FAR) stands at....

...as it stands today 21-05-2016!

This is a great result!

When asked before and throughout the Ride how much I'd like the Ride to generate, my reply was $5,000!  So to have exceeded that and still have money to collect which will see the total increase even further is simply terrific.

However, the Ride wasn't and isn't all about money.  We also target raising awareness of the Red Shield Appeal and it's contribution to the work of The Salvation Army in local communities helping vulnerable people each and every day of the week.

Hobart Mercury 

Burnie Advocate

I'm really pleased with the coverage the Ride received in the media in Tasmania.  I was interviewed for Newspapers in the North, the Northwest and the South, as well as on Radio and even TV this year!  We (riders and crew) were also able to rub shoulders with and talk to all manner of groups about the Red Shield Appeal and the work of The Salvation Army right across the state; from Kids' group in Devonport, to Business partners at the Statewide Business Breakfast, to MP's and the State Premier in Hobart.  The coverage has been good and the message (an important one) is being heard.

I really want to encourage you to think creatively about how you can be active in supporting the Red Shield Appeal!  If you've got ideas about fundraising that excite you and will excite others, then by all means talk to your Corps Officer and/or the local (Divisional) rep. from Public Relations; I'm sure they'd love to support your enthusiasm and get back you!

Last Ride - So Much To Think About

It has pretty much rained everyday since the Red Shield Ride came to an end a week and a half ago - actually since the Ride started two weeks ago.  This week has been wet, windy and wild everyday; I had a couple of short windows in the weather in which I fitted in a couple of workout rides, so as I looked outside this morning to see the sun, I was itching to get out there and have a good ride.

As I got ready, I settled on a good 80km route that I've done a number of times with a couple of good climbs in it.  This was also probably going to be my last (decent) ride on my Specialised Secteur Sport, so I wanted it to a good send-off.

Today's 'Last Send-off' for my Specialised Secteur

My three main patterns of thought while out today were as follows:

1. Reflecting on how good this bike has been.
2. This was my first solo ride without my Garmin (cycling computer) for 2 years.
3. I almost had the worst stack of my life - I'm still a bit wired even now!

They pretty much came at me in that order and were only really interrupted by the constant playing of "Dear Mr President" by Pink running over and over in my head and a brief idea about drawing our politicians attention to the hopelessness that so often comes with homelessness.  

So here they are....

1.  I've been riding a Specialised Secteur Sport Compact since 2013.  I bought it as a step up from an entry level road bike with the idea that I would be able to keep putting down the km's in the winter without all of the cleaning you have to do to maintain your Mtb during the wetter months.  

It really has been a great bike! 

Specialised Secteur Sport Compact 2013 - I changed my grips to black; way cooler!

Certainly since coming to Tassie, I've found it heaps easier to get out on the Roadie rather than the Mtb and so it's become my main bike since 2014.  I've ridden almost 8,000km on it (7829.7km) and never had an accident ... Ah, well maybe one!  It was a stupid thing that happened at walking pace; as I stood in the pedals to stretch, I lent my hands on the hoods and inadvertently my hands slipped forwards, locking on my brakes and down I came! I still have the scar on my knee.

As I was thinking about my (almost) trouble free riding, I can remember thinking 'wouldn't it suck if I stack the new bike next week?'  If you're wondering,  YES! IT WOULD SUCK!

It's been a great bike!  And hopefully it's not done yet!  I've given it a new chain and tyres this week and my hope is that my son Josh might decide to get out on it (with a couple of adjustments) and start cycling with me!

2.  As I began my climb up Strickland Avenue past Cascade Brewery, I instinctively went to check and switch the display on my Garmin.  I've ridden with a Garmin for 2 years now.  It is every bit as much as part of my cycling kit as are the bike, my helmet, my shoes and gloves and everything else.  I can't remember ever going on a decent solo ride without it since I bought it.

It was there today!  It starting playing up on the first day of the Red Shield Ride and I've sent it back to Garmin to be replaced.

I spent most of that part of the ride (going up Strickland Ave) trying to decide whether I liked not having it with me?

On the whole, I think not!  When it's there I find the figures it displays either encourage me to got harder and put in just a bit more effort - "beat your last time" sort of thing, or else it taunts me by telling me how far behind I am this week!  Either way, I find it motivates me to do better and it always gives me an accurate picture of how I'm going.

However, I found riding without it today - at certain times anyway - quite freeing.  I rode simply on feel; I knew it wasn't going to be a PB sort of a day, but it wasn't going to be my worst day either.  

'Riding by feel' was pretty good while at the same time a little frustrating.  For instance, you know you're doing it tough up 'this' hill at the moment, but it is then really hard to gauge how tough you're actually going:  Is it the worst you've ridden this year? or is it on par with other times when things haven't been going as well as they normally do?

I think that putting the Garmin in the pocket for recovery rides or for leisure rides would be well worth trying - something I haven't ever done!  Maybe I'll give it a go when my replacement arrives!?

3.  Two decent climbs out of the way, I hit my usual strip on Sandy Bay road for my regular Saturday morning 'Kingston Beach and back' ride over Bonnet Hill.  I'd refuelled with a gel near the casino and set of southward at a reasonable (by the feel) pace.  As I came over the top of Bonnet Hill, as I usually do, I took a couple of glances behind to assess the traffic before getting into my descent.

On the second glance back I was surprised by a car passing me just as I was halfway through turning my head back.  All good!  I took a quick look forward to check my line on the road and went to take another look.  As I spied the white car behind me, I knew at once that I was in trouble.  I whipped my head around frontwards again to find that my line hadn't been as good as I had thought.  As the first car had passed me I must have start veering left, for I was now in the dirt off the soft edge of the bitumen and heading deeper into the ditch, grass, sticks, stones and brambles that line the side of the road at the top of Bonnet Hill. 

I estimate that my speed was somewhere between 35-45kmph and had been getting quicker.  It seemed to be happening so fast, and yet at the same time, felt like it took ages to stop.  I thought I was a goner a couple of times as I caught glimpses of branches and rocks in amongst the long grass and brambles.  

I'd love to say it was my mad Mtb skills that saved me - maybe it was!  All I know is that I was straight up and out of the saddle.  I threw my bum backwards as far as possible, tried to keep my feet level and stuck my heels down to keep my weight low.  Then trusting in my front brake to do it's thing, I rode the bumps and slides until I came to a stop - upright all the way through!  There were a couple of times I thought I was going to go over the handlebars, but I ended up being fine!

In the end, the only things to show that anything had happened were that my chain had come off (easily fixed) and that I was instantly wired!

I spent a couple of moments checking that everything on me and the bike were fine.  The car behind slowed to ask if I was okay and a cyclist coming up the hill also stopped to make sure I was all good - I was grateful for both of them.

As I set off down Bonnet Hill again, I can remember laughing and then immediately thinking "I think I might be in shock."  

For the first time in ages, I had a car then follow me really closely down the rest of Bonnet Hill - usually drivers are gracious enough to sit back and not get too close.  Trying to throw off the nerves from almost stacking, this did nothing to help me relax at all!  

Anyway, I pushed on to the beach and then back up the hill the other way.  What was with the drivers today? Coming back northward once over the top, another car decided to follow me down nice and close as well!  Of well!

Now it might of been the head wind as I came around the bend towards Little Sandy Bay or maybe it was the shock kicking in, or maybe it was both!  All of a sudden, I had (to use a cycling term) 'bonked'!  I had nothing left, no power, no motivation, nothing.  The rest of my ride was simply a case of turning the pedals as easily as I could to get me home.  I wasn't even sure I'd be able to make it up the hill to my place - but a quick stop and a Cadbury's Twirl took care of that!

It was an eventful ride! I'm still a bit wired now - so I'd say my bad spell at the end was mostly shock induced!  But what a send-off for my trusty steed these past three years!

Life Goes On....

And so it does!

Having anticipated for weeks taking yesterday as a recovery day, I ended up spending the day at Agfest with The Salvos.  Just prior to the Ride last week, I found out Stuart had been rostered on for Agfest for the Thursday straight after the ride, so I volunteered to go with him and keep him company on the road up and back.

As it happens, it was a good opportunity to get back to Salvation Army Officer basics.  I spent a few hours simply making people a cup of tea or coffee - and even a few Milo's - and listening to their stories.  I ended up bumping into a number of people we'd encountered over the last week on the Ride; some of them were eager to hear of how we'd got on since seeing them, some didn't appear to remember me at all.  This second group gave me pause to think.

Up front, it's only right that I acknowledge a little disappointment at not being recognised or remembered - just a little, quickly gotten over!  I'm not upset that these people didn't recognise me, after all when we met I had been wearing my Red Shield Ride cycling gear - yesterday I was wearing jeans, coat, cap and gumboots (it was really wet and muddy!)  But it did make me think of our (The Salvation Army's) clients who we serve.

While we journey along life's road with many of our clients; getting to know them well along the way, we also encounter others in a much more sporadic and infrequent way.  For these people, we endeavour to give them our full attention, love and care.  Yesterday's experience had me wondering though, how many Salvos have walked right passed people they may have helped only a day before without recognising them in a different time and place?  And what impact might this have on those people?

For sure, some may not want to be recognised - it can sometimes take a lot of courage to come to Salvos asking for help.  But for others, I'm sure there could be disappointment in similar circumstances.  Now again, I'm not saying we Salvos aren't trying hard enough - but we must always seek to constantly do things better - what I'm getting at is that in a different place and time, i.e. not in the office or at the Salvos Centre, when our minds have moved on to different things, we may not always notice a person as we would in another situation - it's not intentional, it's just the way it is.

Two things occurred to me yesterday as I thought about it: 

First - life goes on!  It goes on for all of us, with the exception of maybe a handful of people (if we're lucky) most of the time, what we're living with at any particular time, we live with by ourselves.  Of course, others may help, and help well.  But they go back to their lives and we remain in ours.  Life goes on.

Second - As a man of faith I am incredibly encouraged that Father God never fails to recognise me.  He never forgets who I am and what my circumstances are, and He's always willing to engage with me, no matter where I am, or what I'm doing.  That is a source of strength for me that blesses me more often then I can count.

Take care of your bike and your bike will take care of you!

In need of new tyres and a chain

Today I've spent the morning at a Radio interview at Ultra106Five with Scott and Jo; I've cleaned my bike and the bus; returned the bus; bought and source replacement parts for the bike and now I'm typing away!  Life goes on....

Starting to look nice and clean again

We're still really happy to accept sponsors if anyone if feeling generous or was perhaps waiting to see how we went!  

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And That's A Wrap!

Done and done!

The Red Shield Ride 2016 has come to an end.  

Yesterday, the thought of getting home to my family and my own bed was a major inspiration for a great day of riding.  This morning when the alarm went - our earliest wake-up call for the past six days - I just didn't want to get out of my bed; I was sooooo comfy!

Stuart, Tony, Dennis and I headed out to Carlton this morning for an 8:30am start.  As we drove our of the drive way, we were greeted by a snow covered Mt Wellington; it was cold.  Today we were going to be riding against the clock all day to make it into Hobart CBD for the Media Launch of the Red Shield Appeal at 1:25pm sharp!!

Thankful the snow fell after we finished yesterday!

Margi and Leigh at Carlton welcomed us with smiles as they always do and Stuart and I set about getting ready to start - have I said it was cold?  Ten minutes behind schedule we set off hoping the sun would warm us up!

With Leigh and Margi at Carlton - love these guys!

Stuart paced me today and it was good to back on familiar roads with my usual cycling buddy!  I love  views of Mt Wellington and Hobart riding in from the east.  The snow looked great from Carlton, but was quickly disappearing as we got closer to town.  

After 5 days of riding and in particularly after yesterday's effort, my legs were a bit heavy this morning and took a little while longer to warm up and loosen up.  We set a reasonable pace and kept hitting the time markers that I was making in my head for us to be able to get to Blackmans Bay, have a cuppa and then return to Hobart with a couple of extra riders.

Heading towards Hobart at Cambridge

Not overly keen on riding across the Tasman Bridge - it isn't exactly pleasant do so - Stuart and I agreed that we'd have a bit of fun.  He hoped in the bus and would head over the river with Tony and Dennis and then start riding again somewhere near Sandy Bay - I keep riding and race him to Blackmans Bay!  Rounding Rosny, I knew I may have overestimated my chances!  My legs were starting to feel the effects of the last five days.

The competitive juices were flowing though and once I got onto Sandy Bay Road I went ahead at the best speed I could!  As I got nearer and nearer to Bonnet Hill, I was really pleased not to have caught Stuart yet; he must have been moving - good on him.  Fatigue final starting getting the better of me and I began to slow up, so it was very surprising and a little worrying to get the Blackmans Bay only to find Stuart wasn't there!?  I hadn't passed him which left us wondering what could have happened? We didn't have to wait long to find out; he'd taken a 'short cut'!  Oh well, as they say; "Short cuts make long delays."

My wife Nicole and Major Steve Miller joined the Ride at Blackmans Bay and again, against the clock, we set off for Hobart.  But not until we each had a one (or two) of Linda's wonderful scones, jam and cream - thanks Linda!

While the climb back up Bonnet Hill was a challenge for both Steve and Nicole, I quietly loved the (very) relaxed paced as well as riding along with my wife.  Once over 'Bonnet' I had to push us along a bit - conscious of the time!

Joined by a couple of clowns:  Nicole and Steve

Stuart Foster leading the way up and over a couple of hills!

In the end, we arrived right on time as the to be welcomed by Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman and a crowd on Salvos and friends!  As we stopped, I was suddenly worn out.  Then next thing I know I was being handed a microphone and asked to speak about the last few days.  Like yesterday morning, I can't really tell you what I said, but I think I got through it well enough.  Thanked and congratulated, the crowd began to disperse and that, was that!  

Given a microphone and asked to speak on a moments notice - the life of a Salvation Army Officer!

We're done!  I rewarded myself by paying off a little bit more of my new bike - only a couple more weeks to go! :-)

I'm not far off my fundraising goal, if you haven't sponsored me yet, I'd really love to get over my target!  Thanks!

My riding companions today: Steve, myself, Nicole and Stuart

I'll blog again in a day or two with some further thoughts and reflections, and with a fundraising total!

A Tough Ride - A Great Day!

Today was always going to be the most demanding day of this whole event.  150km and almost 2000m of climbing made today the longest and highest stage of the Red Shield Ride.  Whereas yesterday's stage was supposed to be the easiest day (especially on paper), todays was always the toughest and so I think knowing that going in made all the difference for me today!

Red Shield Appeal Business Breakfast in Launceston today!

This morning began with the Red Shield Appeal Business Breakfast at Launceston - so it was an early start!  It be honest, I couldn't remember if I was going to be involved - I hadn't prepared anything to say and was just wondering what I would say if asked when our very capable MC Jo Palmer from Southern Cross News introduced Captain Johnmark Snead to come and speak about the Red Shield Ride.

Nailed It!  At least I think I did - can't remember what I said though - just that I had rain inflicted curly bed hair!  Oops!

I've been checking the weather for the Plateau a couple of times a day for about a week now.  Yesterday the forecast started to include snow "down to 800m!"  Not exactly sure what to expect, the best we could do was to head out to Poatina and make good choices from there!

Sheltering from the rain in the bus at the bottom of todays climb, we decided that we both wanted to attempt the climb and then we'd make a call about pressing on from there!  So the plan was for both Stuart and I to go at our own pace with a car; I would call when I got to the top, Stuart would hop in the bus when he was done and I would push on until they caught me up!

There was so much water and stones moving downhill as we went up!

This wasn't there when I went passed

The rain hammered down and I was soaked in seconds - but I made it and was really pleased that I did.  As Tony stopped to call to let Stuart know, I pushed on.  After a couple of minutes, Tony caught me to say he couldn't reception and was going back to find Stuart and Dennis - I continued to push on.  

For the next hour I rode alone.

Starting to get a bit anxious as to where the other three were, I starting praying that they would catch up, while at the same time questioning whether I was still making 'good choices' by pressing on?  But I was making great time!

Tony finally caught up to say all was well - Stuart was determined to reach the top too and then he'd be coming along in the bus; I was so pleased and proud of my mate!  With Tony behind me again I really started to motor along.  It had taken an hour to ride 12km (climbing 800m+) and then in the following two hours I rode 75km - even placed in the top ten on a couple of Strava Segments!

We all regrouped at Bothwell and then turned our faces into the wind to bash our way over to the Lyell Hwy.  This was the most difficult section of todays ride; almost entirely headwind with strong gusts for about 30km.  I just kept thinking about the left turn coming up that would put the wind at my back once again and struggled on!

This pretty much sums up my day - it was awesome!

With the wind at our backs, Stuart and I flew down the Lyell Hwy into New Norfolk to surprise Lt's Di and Tim Size by arriving almost an hour earlier than planned!  Their welcome and hot refreshments were an absolute blessing! As was their company!

With Tim and Nathan Size at New Norfolk - always great to see these guys!

I rode 150km in five and a half hours today including a 732m climb at an average gradient above 7.5%.  I couldn't be happier with todays effort.  It occurred to me that if the UCI were watching todays and yesterday's rides, they may be excused for thinking of Floyd Landis; absolutely bombs on one day and then blows everyone else away with a mammoth effort the next. 

OK, I'm not Floyd Landis, but the swing from a poor day yesterday to a really good day today reminded me of him! (Google him if you don't know who he is!)

Tomorrow it all ends!  Please sponsor me - there's still time!  

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Some Days Are Just Tough!

We awoke this morning to the best weather we'd seen since starting the Ride on Friday - beautiful blue skies!

With Mel and Stuart K at St Marys

On paper todays stage was definitely the easiest and so spirits were high as we drove south and east to St Marys and the start of todays ride.  Our welcome at The Salvation Army didn't disappoint either; Mel and friends greeted us enthusiastically with freshly baked muffins (Phill rather liked these!) and of course, a cup of tea!

Out in the sunshine and feeling upbeat; after couple of photo's off we went - and at a good pace too!

The brightest the sun's shone so far!

However, after only a little while - just a matter of minutes really - I knew today was going to be a tough day.  The sun frequently shone warmly on us, but our constant companion for the day was a strong, steady and often gusty head wind.  Coming in from the west, as the road meandered westward down the Fingal Valley the wind blew into our faces all the way and a little from the right.  There was little shelter even behind each other.

We out rode one rain front and attempted to do the same close to lunchtime.  We got ahead of this second front and had just stopped when the first rain (for us) of the day hit.  Thankfully though we were able to take shelter at a cafe and get some much needed hot food!

Trying to outrun the rain front

Two thirds of the way to the end, we set off again after a brief lunch stop hoping to finish in an hour.  Up until this point it had simply been tough going, but as we started off again I could feel myself getting down; negativity hit me full force as did the rain and a renewed stronger head wind.  A lunch stop should energise a rider, but this one felt like it had sapped us of all energy - it was slower going.

Well of course we couldn't - our conditions for the last hour; obviously can't see the wind

With about 10km still to go I had to do something to break my mood - so I started singing to myself.  The wind blessed Phill and Stuart at this point (though they probably didn't know it) as I was singing quietly to myself at the back of our line, the wind blew the sound away so neither of the other two needed to hear my dodgy voice.

The singing worked, but I was still happy to get off the bike in Conara.  As I sat in the door of the bus to change my shoes, I was suddenly greeted by the warmth of the heater - Hhhmmmmm!

Phill's face summed up our day

I'm tired this evening and so is Stuart, but I guess neither of us are as worn out as Phill.  This week Stuart and I have been really bless with others doing much of the 'pulling' at the front - even though we tried to do our fair share.  Today Phill went straight to the front and sat there for about 45km.  After a brief stop I rode myself back to the other two and got a feel for the workload Phill was putting in for us.  We stopped at the 50km mark for lunch and when we set off again, Phill went back to front and 'pulled' us all the way to Conara - it was a champion effort and I'm sure Stuart and I will appreciate it tomorrow.

Getting the doldrums on a multi day event like this is probably to be expected at some point.  Today they hit me in force.  Today should have been the easy day and perhaps that was part of the problem.  Tomorrow is going to be a really test.  It's the longest leg of the Ride (150km) with the highest climb as we head up onto the Plateau.  At this point, I'm happy to just stop and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

I'm sure Phill and Stuart would be as encouraged with some more sponsorships after days ride, so please be generous and head over to our fundraising online platform.

Probably My Best Day - So Far....

Where to start....?

Today was a full day of experiences.  At about 6:20am this morning, the heavens opened with thunder and lightning!  We had been expecting it and had spent a good amount of time yesterday evening discuss how it might impact the day's ride.  But at the time it didn't stop me heading back to bed for another hour and a half of sleep!

Our overwhelming conviction this morning was to make good choices in regard to our safety - the weather forecast predicted more rain, increasing winds and the possibility of another storm.  I was however quietly determined that if we could, then we should make a start, even if we didn't reach our end.

Sharing with the folks at Launceston

We shared in fellowship with three Corps today; Launceston welcomed us, blessed us and gave us a good send off.  Kings Meadows welcomed us louds and warmly with a beautiful spread and one of the Junior Soldier, Harry even worked the crowd with the donation tin for us - thanks Mate!  Then finally, we joined with the folks in Scottsdale who had got the BBQ out for us which we were and are so grateful for.  It really was wonderful to meet and share with so many people today!

A Kings Meadows Junior Soldier doing some Red Shield Collecting

The wonderful people at Scottsdale

The ride was a mission in almost every sense of the word!  The first 20km of the ride was a constant uphill grind.  Added to that was the wind and the rain which both were constant with increased gusts thrown in periodically.  I was really please we started and really enjoyed myself riding today despite being wetter than I was on Friday at Gunns Plains.  I had my mind set on riding up 'The Sidling' and even after a reassessment at Nunamara, I really didn't want to stop until I got to the top.

Abels Hill Road - Stuarts Favourite!

Adrian again hit the front and plowed through some terrible gusts of wind.  At one stage we were both pedalling really hard for our 15kmph.  Even after I offered and tried to take a turn doing the pulling, Adrian wouldn't come off the front and lead me all the way to the bottom of the Sidling where we both cycled side by side up the climb grateful for the relative shelter of the trees. 

The Top of 'The Sliding' - first time for both of us!

Going up was one thing, but the idea of coming down the other side was becoming more and more risky.  The debris and water we encountered crossing the road on the climb hinted at more of the same on the longer steeper descent and that was the point at which we decided that was enough.  I'm sure that one of us was likely to fall foul if we went on, so we gave it up at the lookout and hoped in the bus for the last run into Scottsdale.

Today's conditions going up The Sidling

Today was a challenge with the weather, but I had a really good day; an enjoyable ride even with the weather and great company at each of our stops.

Some days are simply this good!

We are still eager for sponsors and so please make sure to click over to the website and be generous!?  There is so much for The Salvation Army to do here in Tasmania and your generosity gives us opportunities to keep on keeping on.

More Rain, And Then The Sun Came Out - Briefly

It was an early start today!

By the time I had finished working last night and finally relaxed it was after midnight before I turned out the light in the hotel room to have some sleep.  That said it wasn't hard to get up this morning to meet with the men of Devonport Corps for breakfast and prayer.

Before the 'Off'

We spent a great hour with Capt. Kevin Meredith and the guys sharing about our day yesterday and where we were headed today followed by a blessing from Norman Targett.  His text came from Ezekiel 34:26 as God speaks of his covenant of peace; "I will make them and the places around my hill a blessing.  I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing" - pretty appropriate given the day we had yesterday and today's forecast.

Days start was chaotic to say the least.  In our eagerness to get underway, I forgot to talk to Tony and Dennis (support drivers) about the route we needed to take over the river in Devonport.  Last year we got separated from the bus because the bike path diverts away from the road.  As soon as turned onto the bridge I realise the same thing was going to happen again this year - it did.  A phone call sorted that out and we all had a meeting point in mind.

Then it all came undone!

As we climbed the hill east out of Devonport the rain came streaming down; to quote Forrest Gump it was "big ole fat rain!"   As the heads went down and the legs pedalled on through the weather all of a sudden I realised the four of us riders were suddenly only two with our mates no where in sight.  As I tried to shelter from the rain crouching next to a wall, my partner went back to look for the others.  Then the phone rang!  I missed it and tried to call back.  As I was talking to Dennis, Stuart (wherever he was) was talking to Tony and explaining that he'd got a puncture.  So with the water going down the back of my neck I gave Dennis short (and as simple as I could) instructions to get him to us and then headed back to find the others!

None of us were carrying our usual saddle pockets to change tyres having surrendered them to the bus to save a bit of weight.  It took another call to get the vehicles to us by which time I think all four of us were wondering if this was a taste of things to come?

Adrian Wilson leading the way - Thanks Mate!

Stuart, Phill and I were joined today by Adrian Wilson of Geard Cycles in Launceston.  Among the positives of having another rider come along, two things quick stood out to me about having Adrian with us: first, we now have a contact at a Local Bike Shop in Launceston - this should never be under-estimated.  Second, Adrian did way more than his fair share of leading today which added to a good overall pace and some periods of really good pace.

With only one stop at about the 30km mark, we were able to make it the 70km to Exeter for lunch at the Bakery.  After hot food and hot drinks ('Ah, TEA! :-)) we set off for the final 40km to George Town.

One of the 'Ups' of the Tamar Valley

One of the 'Downs'

The riding town was much more up and down, but thankfully the weather cleared to even offer some sunny spells.  The hill at Frankfurt (50km in) took us to the highest point of the stage much quicker that the same segment last year for Stuart and I, so smiles all round!  The road from Exeter was probably the toughest part of the day.  The road undulated quite a bit adding another 500m of elevation.  There were times of that part of the day today where the word that came to me describing our mood was 'grim'.  We were simply, but determinedly turning the pedals and not much else - we didn't talk too much at all for the last half hour except as we came into George Town.

George Town at the end of 109km

Aux Lt. Roderick Brown together with his wife Kelly and daughter met us with hot food, cakes and more tea!  All were gratefully received.  Thanks folks!

The main topic of conversation as we drove to Launceston was tomorrows weather and how it will impact the ride....

Today's Press - The Advocate

Today's Press - The Mercury

We'll know in the morning!


Stuart, Phill, Adrain and I would still love some donations to get to our goals.  These guys are working hard over long days so please be generous if you can!

Sorry about the lack of 'LiveTrack' my Garmin has broken! :-(

Starting Under A Cloud!

Its been sunny and fine in Tasmania for some time now; in fact the last bit of decent rain we've had - if I remember right - was back in January.  I've been doing heaps of riding this so far this year as a result.

Before the off - posing for the camera at Burnie

That changed today!  We started the Red Shield Ride under a cloud.  As we drove northwest this morning from Launceston to our start point in Burnie I was thinking again about the things that we can control and the things we can't.  I posted on Facebook this morning "Sometimes you start things under a cloud - but start you must!"

Riding inland from Penguin

After riding for a little while and then turning south at Penguin to head in land to Gunns Plains, I was reminded that while Stuart, Phill and I were out in the rain pedalling - not our normal choice of conditions for a ride - there are plenty of people today who are incredibly grateful for the rain.  Farmers of both agriculture and livestock have been doing it tough for a while now and who would no doubt be welcoming todays rain.  Things didn't seem quite so 'meh' after that.  The joy of cycling, albeit wet through, starting to kick-in.  I even remembered to tell the boys to 'lift your heads up and look around'.

The ride itself was a good one, and I'd certainly love to come back and do it in the dry.  I love riding along the northwest coast and today wasn't any different.  But we broke new ground for me as we headed sound out of Penguin.  After a bit of a climb out of town, for the next 15km or so, we had what felt like a stead climb at an fairly easy, but constant gradient.  'What goes up must come down' they say and eventually we dropped down into Gunns Plains.

Overlooking Gunns Plains - It was a beautiful and slow descent

Another first for me in more ways than one!  First time at Gunns Plains - it truly in beautiful even in the wet!  First time descending on roads at round about the same speed I could climb them.  By the time we hit the down hill sections of the ride, the roads, the bike, the riders and most importantly the brakes were wet through.  It just wasn't worth trying to descend any quicker.

From Gunns Plains we had a nice climb up and out of the valley after a few km's of riding along the river.  Even in the wet - this was an amazing place!  I say wet, at this point of the ride, it started to get wetter.

Probably the wettest I've been on the bike!

After a brief conversation, we decided to ride directly from Ulverstone to Devonport via the highway, sandwiched between the car and the bus (support vehicles).  Although we were making good time this way; the rain combined with the spray of the trucks and cars, together with drivers haste to get home on a Friday afternoon and the failing visibility, we called it a day about 10km early - it just wasn't safe to go on much longer.

It was a little disappointing to end todays ride that way, but in the end it was the best choice.  Sometimes you just have to know when to stop I guess!?

After a warm welcome by the Junior Soldiers and friends at Devonport, I'm now showered and feed and feeling pretty good about it all!  The only disappointment is that my Garmin packed up early and I suspect there is a issue with the battery - probably due to the heaps of rain!  Hopefully I can revive it tonight!

On the Eve of 'The Grand Departure'

Well we are just one sleep away from the start of the Red Shield Ride!

I've had the chance to reflect a bit during a busy day today and here are a couple of my thoughts.  It's worth bearing in mind though that I don't want to labour any metaphor I any suggest, for I know that in the end they're probably pretty weak.

Gathering the kit

1.  The Ride isn't meant to be easy even if some cyclists find it to be so. A significant component of the challenge is going to be making sure each of the riders finishes each day!  Each persons individual challenge is part of the group's shared challenge.  We in this together!

Bikes are ready

2.  The forecast is for rain!  There are somethings we can control and somethings we can't.  All we can do is prepare as best we can.  In the end though, come what may, we've just got to get on with it!

3.  Tasmania is really a beautiful place to live - I'm going to miss having my brother-in-law Aaron with me this year and in particularly his repeated reminders to lift up our heads and look around.  I'm going to have to work hard to remember to do that over the next few days.

Signage on the Bus

4. I'm looking forward to finally spending the next few days on my bike - there really are not many things as good!  Yes, I'll be riding with others, but even in a group riding gives you the chance to think about a lot of things!  I'm also going to go places I haven't been before and ride some roads I've been wanting to ride for a while!

I'd love you to follow our progress each day - I'm hoping to post a link here for the 'live track' at the start of each stage and I'll be posting each evening about the days experience.

Also, please consider sponsoring me by clicking here.

Thanks

Recovering My Strength

Today's ride was the third since coming back of an eight day family holiday, and I'm happy to say the the legs are starting to feel a little stronger.

I'm still amazed at how much power I lost in my legs over nine days on not getting on the bike.  This was eccentuated as I was looking at my activity history for the past four months on Strava.  I've averaged four or five rides a week varying from 1hour Hills workout rides to climbs up Mt Wellington to 100km rides.  In terms of power in my legs, all that work was brought undone by nine days of rest.

Yesterday's 70km ride was intentionally an easy ride, the really wasn't any thought of power, speed, heart rate, cadence or anything else.  After spending a fair bit of time on Wednesday evening continue to work out some pretty severe cramps from my quads, all I wanted to do was turn the legs over nice and easy for a few hours.

Today was more about finding out just where I am at right now.

I like riding in a group, but I'm equally happy getting out their on my own.  On these sort of days, the only pressure comes me and while I can start off thinking 'just take it easy', more often than not, I tend to want to test myself quite often.  I was under no illusion that today would be a top ride, but it was a test to see the extent of the damage those nine days did.

Mt Nelson Signal Station - beautiful day in Hobart!

Warming up, things felt pretty good. As I turned up the 'Seven Bends' towards Mt Nelson, I wasn't at my best, but things were certainly better than they were midweek. Perhaps the day helped - it was beautiful out there today!  While things were going okay, I spent most of ride up and down Mt Nelson thinking of an alternative route over to Cascade that didn't involve riding up Lynton Avenue - in the end the 'test' demanded I give it go and it felt tough!

Cycling past Cascade and up Strickland Avenue felt better and the three or four other cyclists I passed on the way up didn't do my morale any harm.  Again though, towards the top the questions about my route home started to come; did I really want to ride up Molle St and then Summerhill Road at Mt Stuart?  The descent was good, and the 'test' needed to be satisfied, so off I went.

The last part of today's 44km through West Hobart were hard work - harder then normal? I couldn't tell, it was simply hard! As I rode up the hill to home, I really wasn't sure how I'd gone. As I often do when out for a workout, I'd turned off the time, speed and distance display on my Garmin and was simply using my average heart rate, cadence, and elevation.

I'm really pleased with today's effort.  44km in under 2hours (not bad given the hills) and most surprisingly of all some good PB's on segments through West Hobart when I felt I was doing it toughest of all.  If you're interested, you can check out the ride here.

How am I set for the Red Shield Ride? Maybe not quite as good as I hoped I'd be feeling, but I'm 27-28kg lighter then I was eleven months ago when we rode the first Red Shield Ride and so all thing considered, things are looking good for the ride?

Back Into It After A Rest

Well, after spending the last week relaxing on holiday with my family, today I got back on the bike!

Starting off at Opossum Bay before 116km ride.

I was really intrigued to see what eight or nine days of no riding would yield.  I'd thought about just doing a regular 50km ride, but being fairly confident that I hadn't lost too much conditioning, I figured 'why not just go for a good long ride?' So I did!

Wow!  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to be anywhere near the condition of a professional cyclist (in fact, I'm quite open about how much of an amateur 'amateur' I really am), but today's ride gave me the tiniest glimpse into what it must be like for to be a professional cyclist.

Having read a few biographies of professional cyclists now, a common theme that seems to run throughout is the idea that in the space of as little as a week not riding their bikes, they can loose a lot of conditioning and performance.

The main thing I noticed early on today was that those eight or nine days of rest have had a significant impact on my power output!  I don't use a powermeter (who can afford those things anyway?), but I could feel it almost straight away on the sort of inclines that I've been comfortably climbing using my big chainring for weeks, I just didn't have the strength in my legs to do so today!

I confess, I was really quite surprised!  It wasn't a case of panic stations or anything like that, I did perfectly well on the little chainring, but it was really incredible what the result of the break from riding turned out to be!

Fitness wise, I didn't feel too much difference.  The distance wasn't harder than it's been at any other time - I still managed to maintain a good pace over the 116km that I rode today.  Until the last 30km or so, I figured the loss of power was the only really difference.   Then the cramp came!  I don't think I've experienced such pain on the bike for four years or so!  I spent the last 40 minutes of todays ride peddling through bouts of cramp in my quads, calves and hamstrings.  In the end I was wishing I'd only gone for a short ride!

Anyway, the Red Shield Ride starts a week on Friday, so I've got eight days to see if I can get some power back into the legs and ease the pain of leg cramps!

If you're interested in seeing today's ride, you can find in here.

It's All Coming Together!

As preparations continue to move along, we're really wanting to step up the recruitment of riders for individual stages!  We'd love to have different riders join us each day!

We have a core group of cyclists who have committed to riding the majority of this years Red Shield Ride which is great!  There are still room for more if you're wanting to get on board - but contact me asap please!

Preparations in full swing

IF YOU'RE KEEN, we'd encourage you to approach you employer and ask them if it would be something they'd support you in by giving you the time-off for a bit of 'community support' and also by encouraging colleagues to sponsor you!

We have a letter of introduction for employers explaining about the ride and encourage you to download it and use it to help raise the idea in your work place!  You get see a copy of the letter here.

Our fundraising platform is up and running now too!  You can access it for registrations and/or sponsoring at www.salvationarmy.org.au/redshieldride

The support crew are coming together; signage for the vehicles is in the pipeline and I'm looking forward to a great few days on the bike in this amazing state of Tasmania - It'd be great if you'd join me.

WHICH STAGE WILL YOU RIDE?

We're six weeks out from the Red Shield Ride 2016!

We're asking riders to consider 'which stage will you ride?'

While the Red Shield Ride is a 6 day event, we recognise that committing to all 6 days is a big ask for some people!  So we're hoping that this will make it easier for people to get involved and ride a single or even a couple of stages without feeling like they need to commit to the whole event.

In the same way, we're hoping that riders will be game enough to approach their employer to support this community focused event by encouraging sponsorship of their employee and offering them the time to participate particularly in the week day stages!

So if you're keen to be involved, why not contact Captain Johnmark Snead and request a letter introduction and endorsement from The Salvation Army to approach your employer with so they can get on board with you and support this great event that raises funds for The Salvation Army's Community Support programs across Tasmania!

Application forms for the rider can be downloaded here.

More info can be accessed in the form of an Information Sheet here.

A copy of the Event Route is available here.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call Captain Johnmark Snead on (03) 6228 8415 or email on johnmark.snead@aus.salvationarmy.org