Transplant Links Blog

The day started with an 8am breakfast invitation courtesy of a Kiama Cafe owner, who had heard of our challenge on local radio.  All tucked in to a hearty breakfast knowing that today we were going to need all of our strength to climb the infamous (well in Australia) Jamberoo Pass.  We set off around 9 and initally rode through the rolling hills of the costal hinterland, but all looking at the sharp escarpment that lay ahead.  At 15 kms we arrived at Jamberoo Pass and started our climb, to say it was painful would be a complete understatment as most of us had never attempted anything quite as steep.  The climb itself lasted 5 kms in which we had climbed almost 600 metres to the top. We recovered at the photo site at the summit and then rode a further 15 kms to the Robertson Pie shop for a well earnt lunch.  During the afternoon we continued to cycle rolling hills but more of a challenge was the very strong headwind that had picked up, which made the last 20 kms to our destination of Bundanoon seem a lot further.  After a nights rest we set off early tomorrow to Canberra which is a distance of 130 miles, so day 3 will be a long day in the saddle!

Today we cycled from Downtown Sydney to the town of Kıama a dıstance of 132 kms. The weather was warm and sunny and hılls steep, but all arrıved safe just a lıttle weary! Durıng the day we had a number of medıa stops and even  appeared on the local TV news thıs evenıng. The Brıtısh contıngent are all ın need of a good nıght sleep as body clocks aren’t adaptıng as quıckly as hoped. Tomorrow we need to be ın good form as we take on the ınfamous Jamberoo pass tomorrow en route to Bundanoon!

Dave Woodward must have put his bike in the wash - Its shrunk!

Today we had a shake down ride in Sydney. All went well and we’re all set for the off tomorrow. Please do not forget to donate www.ride2give.com and then click on the donate button for Transplant Links.

Well, the UK team are now all in Sydney and took the opportunity today to walk off some of the jet lag.  All of us noticed how strong the sun was today and in hindsight are relieved that we didn’t undertake this task as originally planned in February.   Tomorrow, we meet up with the Australian team for a shake down ride in preparation for the start of our ride across the Australian Alps on Monday.   

Gary

In this section of the blog we’ll keep you informed of the progress of  three brave and fearless cyclists who are taking on the massive challenge of the Australian Alps – an epic 1,200km route linking Australia’s two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, all in aid of Transplant Links.

In February, Gary Roche, Dan Bridgeman and Geoff Clarkson will experience mountainous terrain, extreme weather conditions – from bitter cold, to temperatures in excess of 40°C. It’s a huge undertaking and a physical challenge that will push them to their limits for our charity. To find out more visit www.justgiving.com/aus2010.