Saturday 25 May 2013
SMIDDY TOWNSVILLE TRAINING WEEKEND - DAY 2
Stats for the day
Distance: 83km's
Ride Time: 2hrs 47min
Ave Speed: 29.6km/h
Climbing: 122 metres
Min Temp: 8 Degrees
Max Temp: 24 Degrees
Smiddy Riders: 24
Lucky Sharky intro
How lucky am I to be surrounded by so many good people in my life? I'm about to tell you... 2013, the year we are hoping to raise in excess of $1 million dollars for cancer research, has started off as a stellar year for sure. First up we had the NSW Smiddy four day Challenge that raised a staggering $240,000. Then the brand new four day Noosa Smiddy that brought in $85,000 and finally the three day Midi Smiddy, held just last weekend that raised an impressive $90,000. We still have the two Smiddy Tours to go in the French Alps, starting in just three weeks time. Then there is the new 10km Smiddy Swim Challenge in August, the Challenge event in September, Sharky's OZ 7in7 Adelaide to Melbourne and Tassie Smiddy in September as well. The Noosa Triathlon in October and the Busselton Ironman in December will see out the year for Smiddy events, before we start all over again in 2014! Woohoo I am tired just thinking about it! Now I am returning home from a memorable weekend of riding with the North Qld crew in Townsville and looking forward to a well deserved rest after two big weekends in a row.
A Chat with Jarrod
In all these events I get to hang out with like minded individuals that are all on board for the same reasons, and for this I am grateful and lucky to be in a position to meet so many amazing human beings that care enough to do something about this devastating disease that is killing the people we care most about. After the ride today I was chatting to Jarrod Sampson from Eimeo in Mackay. We were enjoying the warming sunshine as we sat alongside our Smiddy mates, sipping on delightful coffee at a cafe situated on the Strand. The weather was a glorious clear day, the bay was calm, the birds were chirping and everyone was walking around with a smile on their face. 'Life does not get any better than this!' I thought, as I was mesmerised by the the tranquility of the day and the awesome company that I shared.
So Jarrod turns to me and says, "Sharky how good is it that these sort of events attract such nice people? I was amazed these past two days that there was not one ego amongst the group and everyone just gets along so well." Jarrod had just voiced what I had already been thinking. To be honest I would give everything back, every moment, every dollar, every experience, to have my mate, Adam Smiddy, beside me in the peloton once again. That big infectious grin of his beaming out for all to see, feel and be warmed by. But as that will never happen I will -and forever will- cherish each and every moment, past, present and future, plus every single person that comes my way through Smiling for Smiddy events. Now that's why I am lucky!
A wrap of the day
Who said Townsville doesn't get cold? I think it was me... With the mercury dipping under the double digits this morning, out came the arm warmers, thermals, winter gloves and wind jacket for Sharky. And I am from Brisbane! The local riders went a step further and wore raincoats, fur-lined jackets, Arctic type leggings and even ugg boots were spotted amongst the peloton for the six-am chilly start. Totally true story guys... Once again Aaron and Luke were back and super excited about getting up two mornings in a row at the crack of dawn! Aaron's oldest Son Josh, was onboard today for the entire ride and even though he tried hard to contain his excitement, he failed miserably as the joy was evident on his 14 year old face. Our ride leader and course designer extrordinaire, Bruce Goodwin, once again mapped out an excellent route that took in all the sights of Townsville. Throughout our nearly three hour dead flat excursion we were treated to viewings of the habour, Ross River Dam, Mt Stuart, Castle Hill and the rare and unheard of sighting of two white horses in a paddock standing side by side, completely oblivious of the significance of who or what they were. Which I am thinking, you also have no idea what I am talking about...? The crew were absolutely floored this morning when Bruce informed them that the ten-kilometre nasty, horrible, rough and incredibly inviting 12% gradient climb up Mt Stuart was closed and no access was possible today. I swear I saw three quarters of the crew smile with relief, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt, as it was quite dark and their expressions were most probably ones of deep regret and disappointment.
The 80km ride was kept short deliberately to allow the out of towners a chance to get back to their hotels to shower, change, eat and start the long drive back to their respective towns. Once again the crew all rode responsibly, at times the speed would creep up but was always willingly brought back under control. We once again finished at the Strand for coffee and of course the second Smiddy huddle of the weekend.
The feedback from the group was nothing but positive and all agreed it was great to get to know everyone ahead of the actual event. In August we will have the annual 460 kilometre Smiddy training weekend to Warwick and back. The entire team from Brisbane and other states and all the north Queenslanders will be present then, for what can only be described as a cracker of a weekend!
Thank you my new friends and a huge thank you to my homestay hosts in Janet and John Curran for taking such good care of me over the past three days, and for cementing our friendship even further.
Anthony you legend!
On a side note I am writing this on the plane home to Brisbane and I must thank my old Townsville mate, Anthony Marano. You see he works for Qantas and obviously something was said as one of the lovely hostesses by the name of Kay, has been calling me Mr Smoothy, offering me extra food and drinks and generally making a fuss over me. I said to Anthony at Friday nights dinner about my dream to one day fly business or first class, just once, in my lifetime. He said he could not pull those sort of strings but he has done pretty damn good this time around! Thanks Ant, you are a legend!
Until next time.
Sharky
SMIDDY TOWNSVILLE TRAINING WEEKEND - DAY 1
Stats for the day
Distance: 130km's
Ride Time: 4hrs 40min
Ave Speed: 27.9km/h
Climbing: 708 metres (Hervey's Range 3km & Castle Hill 2.5km's)
Min Temp: 10 Degrees
Max Temp: 25 Degrees
Smiddy Riders: 25
North Qld Smiddy riders rule!
This year for the Smiddy Challenge event in September we were overwhelmed with support from North Qld riders. In the past we have never had more than a few riders from up north. So this year's ride is already shaping up as a year of firsts. Our first year where we have had 20 women starters. (Our previous best was nine in 2010) Also our first year to have over 20 riders from North Qld, surpassing our previous best of ten! A first also to run a training weekend in far north Qld. And the major first, wait for it... The first time in eight years that I have flown to Townsville instead of cycling here! And do you know what? It was a whole lot easier and faster! What was I thinking? Why didn't Adam and I talk about a credit card flight to Townsville instead of a ride? Oh well, we are stuck with the ride so will have to keep doing it for the next 100 or so years. How cool to reach the same amount of years that the Tour De France has been run. Happy to aim for that and hope you are all along for the ride...
So without further ado please let me introduce you to the riders that attending todays session.
Road Crew:
Arron Eastment
Luke Eastment
Townsville Riders
Janet Curran (Also my homestay host and her husband John)
Lee Gasser (Fighting her own battle returning from chronic fatigue)
Ranetta Eastment (This girl is not only strong but beautiful)
Kirsteen Masson (As I found out today a hill-climber to rival Marco Pantani - The Pirate)
Paula Castle (Completed Challenge last year and back for both stages of 7in7 this year)
Bruce Goodwin (Our ride leader this weekend, great course mate!)
Neil Klein (A true gentle man and a real asset to the ride)
Michael Dunn (Loves the bike and strong as an ox)
John Livingstone (An experienced rider with his heart in the right place)
Ray Francis (Challenge rider from 2012 supporting this year's crew)
Jason Slingsby (Very strong rider with a wife that makes protein balls for him!)
Anthony Marano (Challenge rider from 2008 and 2009, supporter this year's crew)
Emerald Riders
Errol Rosenblatt (Errol is our oldest rider at 60 plus and bloody fit and determined)
Derek Hedgcock (Derek is great friends with Errol and 2nd eldest strongest rider)
Ingham Riders
Jayden Swarbrick (Son of Ian and new to cycling but very talented)
Ian Swarbrick (Just 18 months on the bike but very strong)
Gordon 'Nugget' (Good mate of Ian and Jayden, Nugget for a reason!)
Mackay Riders
Danny Mc'Carthy (First 2 years into cycling, lives and breathes cycling and Smiddy)
Tamara Vella (Lost mother to Melanoma, father 4 years ago- this ride is personal)
Jarrod Sampson (Friendliest Mackay guy I've ever met, very talented)
Bowen Riders
Owen Land (Old triathlete friend of mine from 90's, lost first wife to an aneurism in 90's)
Naomi Land (Wife of Owen and first outright to crest Hervey's Range, this lady is not only strong but humble)
Blackwater Rider
Ross McDermott (Couldn't wipe the smile from his face as had other riders to rider with)
Guest Riders
Brian O'Conner (A future Smiddy rider along for the ride)
Josh Eastment (Future Smiddy rider at 14 years of age)
Brisbane Rider
Sharky (Some dude with no experience, very skinny with a sharkfin nose)
So todays ride left at 5:30am from Bob Jane T-Mart carpark and after a quick chat from Bruce and myself the excited group rolled out and into Smiddy history with the first Smiddy Townsville training session under way. Please now see the highlights below to wrap up this Blog.
Sharky's Top Ten highlights from today
1. I said to young Luke Eastment, who came along to help his Dad with road crew duties today; "Luke would you like to be a future Smiddy rider once old enough?" Luke is 12 years of age and responded enthusiastically; "Sharky I would love to do road crew instead." How cool is that I thought... The next generation of road crew coming through.
2. Witnessing the arm and leg warmers come out for the cold start of what the local riders described as 'freezing conditions' with the starting temperature at 14 degrees! Only when the sun started to rise did it drop to 10 degrees for less than half an hour.
3. Seeing first hand Naomi and Kirsteen battle it out for Queen of the mountain up Hervey's Range. These girls can climb!
4. Witnessing firsthand the strength of all the North Qld riders. These guys are not only taking their training seriously but their fundraising is going through the roof. As I said to them in the huddle, they should be extremely proud of themselves already.
5. Paula Castle excitedly saying to me; "Sharky we have to talk Danny into doing Tassie with us, his smile is awesome, love that smile!" Danny's love for cycling knows no bounds, since taking it up less than two years ago he has shred 20 kilo's and looks like a pro cyclists but has a heart of gold! Hence the Smile is permanent affixed while on the bike.
6. Anthony Marano, old school Smiddy rider from 08/09 staying back to help Janet up Hervey's Range, even though if he had of tried he would have been first to the top. The man can ride and had his glory when he took out the points on the Castle Hill climb.
7. Young 14 year old Josh Eastment, who did the remaining 40 kilometres with the riders and expressed his gratitude to me for letting him ride with the group. Not only does he have awesome rider sense in the peloton, is super strong but a teenager role model for sure. The next generation of Smiddy rider's are coming through, and if they are all like Josh then future Smiddy pelotons are looking very healthy indeed.
8. The first Townsville training huddle ever performed and done in front of 100 people enjoying a coffee at the many cafe's on the Strand.
9. Tamara and Danny getting lost on the descent down Castle Hill and missing the now famous, never to be repeated, once in a lifetime Smiddy training huddle on the Strand. They arrived a scant few seconds after it was completed with huge smiles on their faces and very poor excuses for their late arrival!
10. Last but not least the incredible enthusiasm of the riders and the camaraderie that formed in such a small space of time on the bike. We are indeed - and for absolute certainty -in for a very special Smiddy Challenge event this year come September 7.
After a celebratory coffee at the Strand, all the riders made their way back to their respective accommodation and had the rest of the afternoon to relax, eat, stretch and start to look forward to tomorrow's gathering once again where we take on the mighty ten kilometre climb up Mount Stuart.
Until then it is cheers big ears from me.
Sharky.
Distance: 130km's
Ride Time: 4hrs 40min
Ave Speed: 27.9km/h
Climbing: 708 metres (Hervey's Range 3km & Castle Hill 2.5km's)
Min Temp: 10 Degrees
Max Temp: 25 Degrees
Smiddy Riders: 25
North Qld Smiddy riders rule!
This year for the Smiddy Challenge event in September we were overwhelmed with support from North Qld riders. In the past we have never had more than a few riders from up north. So this year's ride is already shaping up as a year of firsts. Our first year where we have had 20 women starters. (Our previous best was nine in 2010) Also our first year to have over 20 riders from North Qld, surpassing our previous best of ten! A first also to run a training weekend in far north Qld. And the major first, wait for it... The first time in eight years that I have flown to Townsville instead of cycling here! And do you know what? It was a whole lot easier and faster! What was I thinking? Why didn't Adam and I talk about a credit card flight to Townsville instead of a ride? Oh well, we are stuck with the ride so will have to keep doing it for the next 100 or so years. How cool to reach the same amount of years that the Tour De France has been run. Happy to aim for that and hope you are all along for the ride...
So without further ado please let me introduce you to the riders that attending todays session.
Road Crew:
Arron Eastment
Luke Eastment
Townsville Riders
Janet Curran (Also my homestay host and her husband John)
Lee Gasser (Fighting her own battle returning from chronic fatigue)
Ranetta Eastment (This girl is not only strong but beautiful)
Kirsteen Masson (As I found out today a hill-climber to rival Marco Pantani - The Pirate)
Paula Castle (Completed Challenge last year and back for both stages of 7in7 this year)
Bruce Goodwin (Our ride leader this weekend, great course mate!)
Neil Klein (A true gentle man and a real asset to the ride)
Michael Dunn (Loves the bike and strong as an ox)
John Livingstone (An experienced rider with his heart in the right place)
Ray Francis (Challenge rider from 2012 supporting this year's crew)
Jason Slingsby (Very strong rider with a wife that makes protein balls for him!)
Anthony Marano (Challenge rider from 2008 and 2009, supporter this year's crew)
Emerald Riders
Errol Rosenblatt (Errol is our oldest rider at 60 plus and bloody fit and determined)
Derek Hedgcock (Derek is great friends with Errol and 2nd eldest strongest rider)
Ingham Riders
Jayden Swarbrick (Son of Ian and new to cycling but very talented)
Ian Swarbrick (Just 18 months on the bike but very strong)
Gordon 'Nugget' (Good mate of Ian and Jayden, Nugget for a reason!)
Mackay Riders
Danny Mc'Carthy (First 2 years into cycling, lives and breathes cycling and Smiddy)
Tamara Vella (Lost mother to Melanoma, father 4 years ago- this ride is personal)
Jarrod Sampson (Friendliest Mackay guy I've ever met, very talented)
Bowen Riders
Owen Land (Old triathlete friend of mine from 90's, lost first wife to an aneurism in 90's)
Naomi Land (Wife of Owen and first outright to crest Hervey's Range, this lady is not only strong but humble)
Blackwater Rider
Ross McDermott (Couldn't wipe the smile from his face as had other riders to rider with)
Guest Riders
Brian O'Conner (A future Smiddy rider along for the ride)
Josh Eastment (Future Smiddy rider at 14 years of age)
Brisbane Rider
Sharky (Some dude with no experience, very skinny with a sharkfin nose)
So todays ride left at 5:30am from Bob Jane T-Mart carpark and after a quick chat from Bruce and myself the excited group rolled out and into Smiddy history with the first Smiddy Townsville training session under way. Please now see the highlights below to wrap up this Blog.
Sharky's Top Ten highlights from today
1. I said to young Luke Eastment, who came along to help his Dad with road crew duties today; "Luke would you like to be a future Smiddy rider once old enough?" Luke is 12 years of age and responded enthusiastically; "Sharky I would love to do road crew instead." How cool is that I thought... The next generation of road crew coming through.
2. Witnessing the arm and leg warmers come out for the cold start of what the local riders described as 'freezing conditions' with the starting temperature at 14 degrees! Only when the sun started to rise did it drop to 10 degrees for less than half an hour.
3. Seeing first hand Naomi and Kirsteen battle it out for Queen of the mountain up Hervey's Range. These girls can climb!
4. Witnessing firsthand the strength of all the North Qld riders. These guys are not only taking their training seriously but their fundraising is going through the roof. As I said to them in the huddle, they should be extremely proud of themselves already.
5. Paula Castle excitedly saying to me; "Sharky we have to talk Danny into doing Tassie with us, his smile is awesome, love that smile!" Danny's love for cycling knows no bounds, since taking it up less than two years ago he has shred 20 kilo's and looks like a pro cyclists but has a heart of gold! Hence the Smile is permanent affixed while on the bike.
6. Anthony Marano, old school Smiddy rider from 08/09 staying back to help Janet up Hervey's Range, even though if he had of tried he would have been first to the top. The man can ride and had his glory when he took out the points on the Castle Hill climb.
7. Young 14 year old Josh Eastment, who did the remaining 40 kilometres with the riders and expressed his gratitude to me for letting him ride with the group. Not only does he have awesome rider sense in the peloton, is super strong but a teenager role model for sure. The next generation of Smiddy rider's are coming through, and if they are all like Josh then future Smiddy pelotons are looking very healthy indeed.
8. The first Townsville training huddle ever performed and done in front of 100 people enjoying a coffee at the many cafe's on the Strand.
9. Tamara and Danny getting lost on the descent down Castle Hill and missing the now famous, never to be repeated, once in a lifetime Smiddy training huddle on the Strand. They arrived a scant few seconds after it was completed with huge smiles on their faces and very poor excuses for their late arrival!
10. Last but not least the incredible enthusiasm of the riders and the camaraderie that formed in such a small space of time on the bike. We are indeed - and for absolute certainty -in for a very special Smiddy Challenge event this year come September 7.
After a celebratory coffee at the Strand, all the riders made their way back to their respective accommodation and had the rest of the afternoon to relax, eat, stretch and start to look forward to tomorrow's gathering once again where we take on the mighty ten kilometre climb up Mount Stuart.
Until then it is cheers big ears from me.
Sharky.
Sunday 19 May 2013
2013 MIDI SMIDDY DAY 3 The Hurt Of The Cold!
Warwick To Brisbane
Distance:217 km's
Average: 27.2 km/h
Climbing: 1791 metres
Desending: 2220 metres
Riding time: 7hr 57min
Temp Min: Minus 3 degrees
Temp Max: 18 degrees
Wind: Finally at our backs!
Welcome to my final blog from a day that delivered freezing temperatures rolling out of Warwick at minus three degrees, to dazzling crystal clear blue skies and a tailwind that rewarded the riders and helped push them home in their quest to complete an arduous Midi Smiddy event. Well as promised I gave myself the night off from writing and after a night were I tossed and turned I now know I should have written it before I went to sleep.
The Chuddle huddle
You see my mind was a hive of activity; I had just spent the day of my birth riding for eight hours and 217 kilometres alongside 42 incredible gifted Midi Smiddy riders. How lucky am I to be able to share my 51st birthday doing what I love the most, sitting on my beloved bike and doing it with friends. How many birthday party's do you get to spend eight hours with your mates? Not many, and for that reason I was extremely grateful that my special day fell on another special day- the last day of the Midi Smiddy. Thank you to all the riders and road crew that made a fuss throughout the day and made me feel very special indeed. Actually the Smiddy peloton celebrated two birthdays with Robert Kropp also celebrating his birthday at a healthy 28 years of age. The finish at Adam Smiddy Park was also responsible for my inability to sleep well last night. For me -and I am guessing- for a number of the riders, they felt the same way also. I am always nervous about addressing such a large crowd, as historically speaking, the Midi Smiddy is always the largest huddle out of any Smiddy event. Well I may fumble at times with my words when public speaking, but one thing is certain, I am genuine and not afraid of letting my emotions show. The Midi huddle was different this time around as I welcomed the seven lady riders into the middle to form their own small huddle. Then the road crew were welcomed to form their own huddle around the girls, the riders formed another huddle around the road crew, and then supporters followed suit and formed a fourth ring around the riders. For me it was my way of harnessing the positive energy that is Smiddy. After everyone had left and I was driving Jimmy, our rider/mechanic home, we discussed the huddle.
"Jimmy how was that huddle mate?" Jimmy, in his thick Scottish accent that I had to ask him to repeat three times replied; "Awesome mate but you did the same thing in Townsville two years ago."
"Oh yeh that's right and I called it the Chuddle." Which was my combining the two words of huddle and cuddle. My two most favourite activities next to cycling.
Jimmy continued; "Imagine if we could bottle that energy Sharky?" I get excited talking about Smiddy energy and replied;
"Mate if we could infect everyone in the world with the Smiddy spirit how cool would it be knowing everyone would then be related?" You see once you have been part of a Smiddy event you are automatically part of the Smiddy family. Since 2006 we have been fortunate enough to welcome over 1000 cyclists and triathletes into the Smiddy fold. In that time these amazing individuals, alongside of all our road crew members, have helped us collectively to raise close on four million dollars for cancer research at the Mater Research.
Thank you Jimmy
Jimmy is not shy when it comes to chatting and we got onto the subject of funding and finding a cure, drug companies controlling the world and secret agendas not to find a cure. Then before we had a chance to find a solution to world peace and a cure for cancer we were at Jimmy's home saying our goodbyes. Jimmy is such a valuable member of the Smiddy crew; has been on board since 2008 and one of the best mechanics in the business. Mate I know you will be reading this, so on behalf of the riders, a huge thank you for your contribution once again. I know you are not a cuddling man mate but I am sending you a safe email cuddle to show my appreciation!
Well after the longest intro in the history of Sharky blogs I better actually tell you a little about the day.
The bitter cold rolling out of Warwick
Not for a long time have I ridden in conditions were even my eyeballs were cold! Seriously minus three degrees... Who rides on a morning like that when the rest of the world -or Warwick in this case- is safely tucked up in bed in their winter flannelette PJ's and the electric blanket on toasty warm? Well not many other cyclists were spotted -actually none were spotted all day- outside of the hardy crew that will forever be known as the 2013 'Midi Ice Breakers.' Look you know I am prone to slight variations of exaggerations from time to time, but let me assure you I have no need to go to that level as everything I am about to tell you is the utmost truth from how I saw it. Here are my ten reasons why you should believe that Warwick, while it may be one of the coldest harshest climates know in the entire world, I do need to point out it has the warmest and friendliest human beings living there. It is not their fault that these ten things occurred so please do not judge them harshly... We rolled out at six-am, just on dark, bike lights flashing and attired in everything we owned.
1. As I noted before, all eyeballs were frozen in place; the zombie look of horror continued on 42 faces until the temperature got above zero.
2. Full finger gloves were going for up to $1000 in that first 90 minutes on the bike.
3. Riders who did not have leg warmers had to be pushed for an hour consistently as legs froze midway through first revolution.
4. A few really brave, and definitely not foolhardy riders -I would never say that- for it is their freedom of choice to wear fingerless gloves on a morning where the temp is minus three degrees. Those rider's fingers had to be pried from the handlebars at the first comfort stop at Allora which was an hour into the ride.
5. The first amputations of toes and fingers from frostbite occurred at the morning tea stop. All good though, nothing stops a Smiddy rider and they soldiered on.
6. When urinating in nature, amongst the trees at Allora, streams froze solid, and was actually quite pretty, a rainbow kind of effect!
7. The road crew suffered big time as they had to turn the aircon up as high as 20 degrees in their vehicles!
8. Two riders made the mistake of sitting on a metal railing at Allora. I think they are still there?
9. Speech was impossible as mouths were frozen solid, some open, some shut and some even with a drink bottle inside their mouth when they foolishly tried to follow Geevsey's advice to drink early as what you do in the first ten kilometres will make all the difference in the last ten kilometres.
10.And finally the incredible joy of the peloton when the temperature climbed to a balmy five degrees two hours into the ride.
That pretty much sums up what the crew went through up to our morning tea break. Everyone was pretty pleased to see the friendly smiling faces of the road crew and the extra special feed they provided, which included frozen packets of Tim Tams and a birthday cake for Rob and I.
Getting back to Brisbane from there, while still 150 kilometres of hilly countryside, was pretty much plain sailing after that start to the day. The tailwind helped to push us home, so fast in fact that the road crew were caught out when we rolled into lunch a full 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Maddog done me the favour of reading out the day four blog as all the crew sat in the sun, thawing out and resting their tired and aching bodies. The riders were now a well oiled machine and an absolute pleasure to ride with. The family oriented road crew this year bonded as tightly as what the riders did and once again it was a Smiddy experience to remember for a long time to come.
Sharky's final words
A number of riders expressed disappointment that their Smiddy journey was coming to an end. But nothing could be further from the truth. A Smiddy journey never ends. Once in the family, always in the family. Maria and and David Smiddy may now reside in New Zealand but they are with us every single day of every single Smiddy event. They have always placed their extreme trust in Rowan and I since the very start back in 2006 that we will always do the right thing by the Smiddy name. While that continues, and I assure you it will, the Smiddy family will always give us permission to use their name to honour their sons memory. Each rider, road crew member, donor and supporter make up the Smiddy bubble of positive energy. Smiddy is a humbling journey and I implore each of you to feel good and proud about your involvement in the Smiddy journey. For Maria and David, you give them a purpose to keep moving forward. Most people reading this will have children and could not imagine a life without them. Keep doing what you are doing and one day you will be saving the life of your own child. It's as simple as that!
What's next Shark?
My next journey is with 17 Smiddy riders up in Townsville this weekend. I have a couple of days on the bike with the North Queensland contingency that are part of the Smiddy ride to Townsville in September. Then two weeks later we have our two five day tours for Smiddy in the French Alps. If you wish to follow the blogs from those journeys and others please feel free to go to my blogsite, leave your email address and automatic updates will be sent to your inbox. www.marksharkysmoothy.blogspot.com/
Thanks again everyone out there reading these blogs for your support for the Midi Smiddy crew. What an epic three days and I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.
Cheers,
Sharky.
Distance:217 km's
Average: 27.2 km/h
Climbing: 1791 metres
Desending: 2220 metres
Riding time: 7hr 57min
Temp Min: Minus 3 degrees
Temp Max: 18 degrees
Wind: Finally at our backs!
Welcome to my final blog from a day that delivered freezing temperatures rolling out of Warwick at minus three degrees, to dazzling crystal clear blue skies and a tailwind that rewarded the riders and helped push them home in their quest to complete an arduous Midi Smiddy event. Well as promised I gave myself the night off from writing and after a night were I tossed and turned I now know I should have written it before I went to sleep.
The Chuddle huddle
You see my mind was a hive of activity; I had just spent the day of my birth riding for eight hours and 217 kilometres alongside 42 incredible gifted Midi Smiddy riders. How lucky am I to be able to share my 51st birthday doing what I love the most, sitting on my beloved bike and doing it with friends. How many birthday party's do you get to spend eight hours with your mates? Not many, and for that reason I was extremely grateful that my special day fell on another special day- the last day of the Midi Smiddy. Thank you to all the riders and road crew that made a fuss throughout the day and made me feel very special indeed. Actually the Smiddy peloton celebrated two birthdays with Robert Kropp also celebrating his birthday at a healthy 28 years of age. The finish at Adam Smiddy Park was also responsible for my inability to sleep well last night. For me -and I am guessing- for a number of the riders, they felt the same way also. I am always nervous about addressing such a large crowd, as historically speaking, the Midi Smiddy is always the largest huddle out of any Smiddy event. Well I may fumble at times with my words when public speaking, but one thing is certain, I am genuine and not afraid of letting my emotions show. The Midi huddle was different this time around as I welcomed the seven lady riders into the middle to form their own small huddle. Then the road crew were welcomed to form their own huddle around the girls, the riders formed another huddle around the road crew, and then supporters followed suit and formed a fourth ring around the riders. For me it was my way of harnessing the positive energy that is Smiddy. After everyone had left and I was driving Jimmy, our rider/mechanic home, we discussed the huddle.
"Jimmy how was that huddle mate?" Jimmy, in his thick Scottish accent that I had to ask him to repeat three times replied; "Awesome mate but you did the same thing in Townsville two years ago."
"Oh yeh that's right and I called it the Chuddle." Which was my combining the two words of huddle and cuddle. My two most favourite activities next to cycling.
Jimmy continued; "Imagine if we could bottle that energy Sharky?" I get excited talking about Smiddy energy and replied;
"Mate if we could infect everyone in the world with the Smiddy spirit how cool would it be knowing everyone would then be related?" You see once you have been part of a Smiddy event you are automatically part of the Smiddy family. Since 2006 we have been fortunate enough to welcome over 1000 cyclists and triathletes into the Smiddy fold. In that time these amazing individuals, alongside of all our road crew members, have helped us collectively to raise close on four million dollars for cancer research at the Mater Research.
Thank you Jimmy
Jimmy is not shy when it comes to chatting and we got onto the subject of funding and finding a cure, drug companies controlling the world and secret agendas not to find a cure. Then before we had a chance to find a solution to world peace and a cure for cancer we were at Jimmy's home saying our goodbyes. Jimmy is such a valuable member of the Smiddy crew; has been on board since 2008 and one of the best mechanics in the business. Mate I know you will be reading this, so on behalf of the riders, a huge thank you for your contribution once again. I know you are not a cuddling man mate but I am sending you a safe email cuddle to show my appreciation!
Well after the longest intro in the history of Sharky blogs I better actually tell you a little about the day.
The bitter cold rolling out of Warwick
Not for a long time have I ridden in conditions were even my eyeballs were cold! Seriously minus three degrees... Who rides on a morning like that when the rest of the world -or Warwick in this case- is safely tucked up in bed in their winter flannelette PJ's and the electric blanket on toasty warm? Well not many other cyclists were spotted -actually none were spotted all day- outside of the hardy crew that will forever be known as the 2013 'Midi Ice Breakers.' Look you know I am prone to slight variations of exaggerations from time to time, but let me assure you I have no need to go to that level as everything I am about to tell you is the utmost truth from how I saw it. Here are my ten reasons why you should believe that Warwick, while it may be one of the coldest harshest climates know in the entire world, I do need to point out it has the warmest and friendliest human beings living there. It is not their fault that these ten things occurred so please do not judge them harshly... We rolled out at six-am, just on dark, bike lights flashing and attired in everything we owned.
1. As I noted before, all eyeballs were frozen in place; the zombie look of horror continued on 42 faces until the temperature got above zero.
2. Full finger gloves were going for up to $1000 in that first 90 minutes on the bike.
3. Riders who did not have leg warmers had to be pushed for an hour consistently as legs froze midway through first revolution.
4. A few really brave, and definitely not foolhardy riders -I would never say that- for it is their freedom of choice to wear fingerless gloves on a morning where the temp is minus three degrees. Those rider's fingers had to be pried from the handlebars at the first comfort stop at Allora which was an hour into the ride.
5. The first amputations of toes and fingers from frostbite occurred at the morning tea stop. All good though, nothing stops a Smiddy rider and they soldiered on.
6. When urinating in nature, amongst the trees at Allora, streams froze solid, and was actually quite pretty, a rainbow kind of effect!
7. The road crew suffered big time as they had to turn the aircon up as high as 20 degrees in their vehicles!
8. Two riders made the mistake of sitting on a metal railing at Allora. I think they are still there?
9. Speech was impossible as mouths were frozen solid, some open, some shut and some even with a drink bottle inside their mouth when they foolishly tried to follow Geevsey's advice to drink early as what you do in the first ten kilometres will make all the difference in the last ten kilometres.
10.And finally the incredible joy of the peloton when the temperature climbed to a balmy five degrees two hours into the ride.
That pretty much sums up what the crew went through up to our morning tea break. Everyone was pretty pleased to see the friendly smiling faces of the road crew and the extra special feed they provided, which included frozen packets of Tim Tams and a birthday cake for Rob and I.
Getting back to Brisbane from there, while still 150 kilometres of hilly countryside, was pretty much plain sailing after that start to the day. The tailwind helped to push us home, so fast in fact that the road crew were caught out when we rolled into lunch a full 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Maddog done me the favour of reading out the day four blog as all the crew sat in the sun, thawing out and resting their tired and aching bodies. The riders were now a well oiled machine and an absolute pleasure to ride with. The family oriented road crew this year bonded as tightly as what the riders did and once again it was a Smiddy experience to remember for a long time to come.
Sharky's final words
A number of riders expressed disappointment that their Smiddy journey was coming to an end. But nothing could be further from the truth. A Smiddy journey never ends. Once in the family, always in the family. Maria and and David Smiddy may now reside in New Zealand but they are with us every single day of every single Smiddy event. They have always placed their extreme trust in Rowan and I since the very start back in 2006 that we will always do the right thing by the Smiddy name. While that continues, and I assure you it will, the Smiddy family will always give us permission to use their name to honour their sons memory. Each rider, road crew member, donor and supporter make up the Smiddy bubble of positive energy. Smiddy is a humbling journey and I implore each of you to feel good and proud about your involvement in the Smiddy journey. For Maria and David, you give them a purpose to keep moving forward. Most people reading this will have children and could not imagine a life without them. Keep doing what you are doing and one day you will be saving the life of your own child. It's as simple as that!
What's next Shark?
My next journey is with 17 Smiddy riders up in Townsville this weekend. I have a couple of days on the bike with the North Queensland contingency that are part of the Smiddy ride to Townsville in September. Then two weeks later we have our two five day tours for Smiddy in the French Alps. If you wish to follow the blogs from those journeys and others please feel free to go to my blogsite, leave your email address and automatic updates will be sent to your inbox. www.marksharkysmoothy.blogspot.com/
Thanks again everyone out there reading these blogs for your support for the Midi Smiddy crew. What an epic three days and I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.
Cheers,
Sharky.
Saturday 18 May 2013
MIDI SMIDDY DAY 2 THE WIND GODS GET THEIR REVENGE
TOOWOOMBA TO WARWICK
Distance:160km's
Average: 25.5km/h
Climbing: 1076 metres
Desending: 1276 metres
Riding time: 6:16:00
Temp Min: 7 degrees
Temp Max: 18 degrees
Wind strength: Hurricane!
No raining on this years parade
Super clear sunny days were ordered for the Midi Smiddy this year. Someone forgot to order no wind. On the bright side, for the first time in four Midi Smiddy events, we have not received any rain and none is forecast for tomorrow. But back to that wind: Rolling out of Toowoomba at seven-am the wind-gods had a sleep in. It was a fresh seven-degrees but with a downhill start for the first 30 kilometres the peloton were riding like a pro team from Europe, the only difference being a slightly less average speed! Spirits were high, there was plenty of laughter and the chatter in the peloton was definitely about that 'Upper' we all somehow survived yesterday afternoon.
The first taste of a kick arse wind
The first stop was at Pittsworth at the 60km mark. Morning tea was provided for the fourth year running by the friendly owner of the Bottlemart Pittsworth Hotel in Michael Carpenter. The fresh oven baked mini muffins were still warm and the platters of fruit were a welcome taste-bud-drooling-delight to the hungry riders and road crew. We thanked Michael with a rousing three cheers and a framed Midi Smiddy poster signed by the riders. It was on the roll-out from here that the first hint of what was to come for the remainder of the day appeared its ugly head. The westerly wind was now upon us in the form of a cross wind as we were heading south to Warwick. Two hours later we rolled into Clifton with the seven young ladies relegated to the front to lead the peloton into O'Shanley's Irish Hotel. The wind was tough but except for one occasion where the group splintered we still rode as a cohesive group. The pub has been our stop for four years and each rider is treated to a pot of Irish stew. Apparently the recipe has been in the family for over 100 years and it always goes down a treat with the group.
The Irish Spew Expression of Interest ride
Ten kilometres out of Clifton, still heading south and the wind-gods are not just awake but partying hard. Wind gusts of a million knots an hour forced the peloton to start a reverse rotation system, which sounds really cool and is supposed to help look after the outside riders punching into the wind in a two abreast stream of attack mode. In reality it still sucks and all riders are battered senseless by the buffeting winds no matter what we try. But that is riding and once again, while there was a lot less talk in the peloton, we all just knuckled down and did what had to be done to continue to move forward. So after ten-kilometres we get to the 12-kilometre go at your own pace section. Now the one good thing about this section into Allora is that a tailwind was promised -and delivered- for the entire 12km's. Due to the road turning East. This session is optional and while some choose to go to lactic-acid proportions to induce internal bleeding, others breathe a sigh of relief and use it to kick back and cruise into the finish. Ash 'Rocket Ship' Moor was clocked at 65km/h and definitely rolled in first after throwing down a few tacks to ensure Rowan was kept out of the hunt. Chappy, 'The Shepherd' was up there having a play as well and rumour has it that quite a few of the leading riders doubled tasted their Irish stew in their attempt to keep it down.
A true tale of a windy day in the life of the Smiddy peloton
From Allora to Warwick was 30km's of pure hell. The wind-gods were now absolutely sloshed and out to wreak havoc on any unsuspecting cyclists foolish enough to be out in the conditions. To give you an idea of how bad the wind was I want you to imagine you are on one of the first Virgin flights to the Moon; this will happen no doubt in the next few years if Sir Richard has his way. The jet space ship plane takes off and reaches Mach III; apparently this is really fast, like faster than 3000 km/h. Or to be precise; you see temperature affects the speed of sound, so at a temperature of 21 °C the speed of sound is 344 m/s. (metres per second) So for this temperature Mach 3 is 1032 m/s or 3714 km/h. Now you are feeling a trifle stifled and decide you need a breath of fresh air. You turn to your wife Marjorie and say; "Dear would you mind winding down the window?" She does as you ask and immediately the entire passenger cargo is sucked out of the window, lost forever and Sir Richard decides to turn around early to get home for dinner with his Wife.
Well the Smiddy peloton went through very similar circumstances today. True story!
Riders down!
Not five kilometres out of Allora, the wind buffeting the riders, a touch of wheels and two riders down. Niara and Brenton Thornhill had come to grief. Brenton was up like a flash and, as Rowan described it, used Niara as a cushion to break his fall, while Niara was a bit shook up and given some van time to recollect her confidence. To her credit, she was only out for ten kilometres and back out to finish the remaining few kilometres into the finish at the Horse and Jockey Motel. After the crash we decided to put eight strong guys on the front to rotate -which included Anna- then the remaining strong riders were placed on the right, while anyone struggling went to the left in the two abreast peloton. For the remaining 20km's we averaged 22km/h and nursed everyone safely into Warwick. An awesome team effort and spirits were once again on the highest of the high side.
Huddle by Oppy
Wayne 'Oppy' Oddy was given the honour of taking on the formalities of the huddle. Oppy was doing the ride in honour of his young Son who lost his leg to cancer last year. Oppy had a shocker of a day yesterday, requiring van time but always remaining positive and upbeat. The entire crew admire and respect Oppy and a better man could not have been chosen to lead the huddle.
Well I will finish with Sharky's top 11 highlights from today:
Rowan Foster wins the selfless award for giving up his wheel to Fabian Gonzalez, when we ran out of spares, so that Fabian could finish the days stage.
Anna Tate, for chasing down four riders prior to lunch, to slow them down and bring them back into the safety of the peloton. When Anna asks male riders respond!
Oppy for completing the entire days stage today with no van time. A dream he wanted to realise but was unsure if he could do it. Well he did it and I am going out on a limb here and declaring he will finish all of the 220km final day three stage.
Niara for climbing back on the bike and nervously going to the back of the peloton to finish with the group. A courageous young lady.
Troy Anderson, for his work ethic and always on hand to help struggling riders out. Troy also emphasised that he gets the whole Smiddy experience and what we are trying to achieve. Which I know the vast majority of riders and road crew get as well.
Kieren Knight, our youngest rider at 15 years of age and struggled big time yesterday but still got through 80km's. Today he showed some real gall by clocking up 110km's. Tomorrow his goal is to beat that total and I know he will not only do it but smash it. Nice comeback mate and please remember you are to feel proud of what you have achieved after just taking up cycling this year. I hope to see you fitter, one year wiser and back to join the Smiddy peloton a new man in 2014.
The Smiddy peloton, for the teamwork, the camaraderie, the stronger riders looking after those that were struggling, and the struggling riders graciously accepting help, which in turns keeps us moving forward and not losing too much time on the road. I tip my hat to you lot!
Shak Knight, Shak is just seven years of age and is definitely the riders mascot. She wears a cool pink beanie, chews gum and has the beautiful attitude of a young adult keen to fit in with the group. She is just like her Mum and Dad; a bundle of energy and always running around keen to do whatever odd jobs need doing. She told her Mum that she was going to be Sharky's personal assistance for the three days! HOw lucky am I?
The seven girl rat pack; Antonia, Leah, Melissa, Cynthia, Nicola, Anna and Niara, are barely ever seen apart, they look after for one another and are so strong that they are putting some of us males to shame. Nice work ladies and I aim to see you all sign up for Challenge 2014 for the freight train express to Townsville!
Smiddy events always attract quiet achievers and they don't come any quieter than Stephen Heap Greg Ivers and Peter Corry. All no fuss riders, who just get on with the job, both occasionally going through their own world of hurt, but saying nothing, riding safe, concentrating and in return earning the respect of their fellow peers. Love having you guys in the peloton.
The Geevsey family are one unique and special breed of family. Chris is our lead car man, while his Wife Bridgette is helping out here, there and everywhere. But it is their children I am excited to tell you about. Jess, Jack and Georgia are all bike riders and all under the age of 15 and all busting to become the next generation of Smiddy riders. For now they are content with running around and doing everything possible that the riders may need, and doing it with an enthusiasm of a Jack Russel puppy! A joy to have on board and I know the riders will join me in telling you what a joy it has been having them on board.
The team dinner - No one goes hungry
Tonight's functions was held at the Senior Citizens Club. Each year outside caterers come in and look after the crew with a smorgasbord buffet. Each year no one goes home hungry. The desert buffet after the main meal had to be seen to be believed and went faster than beers at a footy reunion dinner.
Row works his magic once again
Tonight Row Man did his usual wrap up of the days events, day one journal was read out by myself with a bit of help from Georgia and Jess, who did a marvelous job reading out the rider and road crew comments. I was determined I would get more than a few hours sleep tonight and managed to get the bulk of the day two blog done prior to dinner tonight.
Row auctioned off one item, which was a day at the races in Warwick for eight people. He was not happy with the amount so phoned a friend, Robert Boyd, put him on speaker phone over the PA and shamed him into paying $700 for the item. Nice work Row! And to you Mr Boydy, I know you are reading this, and are now broke, but we appreciate it from the charity perspective. And no using this as an excuse to forget my birthday present mate!
Poor Jack story
I was put in a room by myself tonight, does that tell you something about me? Anyway Geevsey asked if his son Jack could share the spare single bed that was in my room, otherwise Jack was sleeping on the floor in his parents room. All was good with me but I feel for poor Jack. Stay tuned for my day three blog of how Jack got through a night of sharing with a Shark that can not only snore, talk in his sleep, fart and sleepwalk, but do all four things at once!
Shark turns 51 tomorrow so I am thinking I may give myself the night off tomorrow evening from blog writing but promise to deliver the day three blog on Monday.
Cheers,
Sharky
Distance:160km's
Average: 25.5km/h
Climbing: 1076 metres
Desending: 1276 metres
Riding time: 6:16:00
Temp Min: 7 degrees
Temp Max: 18 degrees
Wind strength: Hurricane!
No raining on this years parade
Super clear sunny days were ordered for the Midi Smiddy this year. Someone forgot to order no wind. On the bright side, for the first time in four Midi Smiddy events, we have not received any rain and none is forecast for tomorrow. But back to that wind: Rolling out of Toowoomba at seven-am the wind-gods had a sleep in. It was a fresh seven-degrees but with a downhill start for the first 30 kilometres the peloton were riding like a pro team from Europe, the only difference being a slightly less average speed! Spirits were high, there was plenty of laughter and the chatter in the peloton was definitely about that 'Upper' we all somehow survived yesterday afternoon.
The first taste of a kick arse wind
The first stop was at Pittsworth at the 60km mark. Morning tea was provided for the fourth year running by the friendly owner of the Bottlemart Pittsworth Hotel in Michael Carpenter. The fresh oven baked mini muffins were still warm and the platters of fruit were a welcome taste-bud-drooling-delight to the hungry riders and road crew. We thanked Michael with a rousing three cheers and a framed Midi Smiddy poster signed by the riders. It was on the roll-out from here that the first hint of what was to come for the remainder of the day appeared its ugly head. The westerly wind was now upon us in the form of a cross wind as we were heading south to Warwick. Two hours later we rolled into Clifton with the seven young ladies relegated to the front to lead the peloton into O'Shanley's Irish Hotel. The wind was tough but except for one occasion where the group splintered we still rode as a cohesive group. The pub has been our stop for four years and each rider is treated to a pot of Irish stew. Apparently the recipe has been in the family for over 100 years and it always goes down a treat with the group.
The Irish Spew Expression of Interest ride
Ten kilometres out of Clifton, still heading south and the wind-gods are not just awake but partying hard. Wind gusts of a million knots an hour forced the peloton to start a reverse rotation system, which sounds really cool and is supposed to help look after the outside riders punching into the wind in a two abreast stream of attack mode. In reality it still sucks and all riders are battered senseless by the buffeting winds no matter what we try. But that is riding and once again, while there was a lot less talk in the peloton, we all just knuckled down and did what had to be done to continue to move forward. So after ten-kilometres we get to the 12-kilometre go at your own pace section. Now the one good thing about this section into Allora is that a tailwind was promised -and delivered- for the entire 12km's. Due to the road turning East. This session is optional and while some choose to go to lactic-acid proportions to induce internal bleeding, others breathe a sigh of relief and use it to kick back and cruise into the finish. Ash 'Rocket Ship' Moor was clocked at 65km/h and definitely rolled in first after throwing down a few tacks to ensure Rowan was kept out of the hunt. Chappy, 'The Shepherd' was up there having a play as well and rumour has it that quite a few of the leading riders doubled tasted their Irish stew in their attempt to keep it down.
A true tale of a windy day in the life of the Smiddy peloton
From Allora to Warwick was 30km's of pure hell. The wind-gods were now absolutely sloshed and out to wreak havoc on any unsuspecting cyclists foolish enough to be out in the conditions. To give you an idea of how bad the wind was I want you to imagine you are on one of the first Virgin flights to the Moon; this will happen no doubt in the next few years if Sir Richard has his way. The jet space ship plane takes off and reaches Mach III; apparently this is really fast, like faster than 3000 km/h. Or to be precise; you see temperature affects the speed of sound, so at a temperature of 21 °C the speed of sound is 344 m/s. (metres per second) So for this temperature Mach 3 is 1032 m/s or 3714 km/h. Now you are feeling a trifle stifled and decide you need a breath of fresh air. You turn to your wife Marjorie and say; "Dear would you mind winding down the window?" She does as you ask and immediately the entire passenger cargo is sucked out of the window, lost forever and Sir Richard decides to turn around early to get home for dinner with his Wife.
Well the Smiddy peloton went through very similar circumstances today. True story!
Riders down!
Not five kilometres out of Allora, the wind buffeting the riders, a touch of wheels and two riders down. Niara and Brenton Thornhill had come to grief. Brenton was up like a flash and, as Rowan described it, used Niara as a cushion to break his fall, while Niara was a bit shook up and given some van time to recollect her confidence. To her credit, she was only out for ten kilometres and back out to finish the remaining few kilometres into the finish at the Horse and Jockey Motel. After the crash we decided to put eight strong guys on the front to rotate -which included Anna- then the remaining strong riders were placed on the right, while anyone struggling went to the left in the two abreast peloton. For the remaining 20km's we averaged 22km/h and nursed everyone safely into Warwick. An awesome team effort and spirits were once again on the highest of the high side.
Huddle by Oppy
Wayne 'Oppy' Oddy was given the honour of taking on the formalities of the huddle. Oppy was doing the ride in honour of his young Son who lost his leg to cancer last year. Oppy had a shocker of a day yesterday, requiring van time but always remaining positive and upbeat. The entire crew admire and respect Oppy and a better man could not have been chosen to lead the huddle.
Well I will finish with Sharky's top 11 highlights from today:
Rowan Foster wins the selfless award for giving up his wheel to Fabian Gonzalez, when we ran out of spares, so that Fabian could finish the days stage.
Anna Tate, for chasing down four riders prior to lunch, to slow them down and bring them back into the safety of the peloton. When Anna asks male riders respond!
Oppy for completing the entire days stage today with no van time. A dream he wanted to realise but was unsure if he could do it. Well he did it and I am going out on a limb here and declaring he will finish all of the 220km final day three stage.
Niara for climbing back on the bike and nervously going to the back of the peloton to finish with the group. A courageous young lady.
Troy Anderson, for his work ethic and always on hand to help struggling riders out. Troy also emphasised that he gets the whole Smiddy experience and what we are trying to achieve. Which I know the vast majority of riders and road crew get as well.
Kieren Knight, our youngest rider at 15 years of age and struggled big time yesterday but still got through 80km's. Today he showed some real gall by clocking up 110km's. Tomorrow his goal is to beat that total and I know he will not only do it but smash it. Nice comeback mate and please remember you are to feel proud of what you have achieved after just taking up cycling this year. I hope to see you fitter, one year wiser and back to join the Smiddy peloton a new man in 2014.
The Smiddy peloton, for the teamwork, the camaraderie, the stronger riders looking after those that were struggling, and the struggling riders graciously accepting help, which in turns keeps us moving forward and not losing too much time on the road. I tip my hat to you lot!
Shak Knight, Shak is just seven years of age and is definitely the riders mascot. She wears a cool pink beanie, chews gum and has the beautiful attitude of a young adult keen to fit in with the group. She is just like her Mum and Dad; a bundle of energy and always running around keen to do whatever odd jobs need doing. She told her Mum that she was going to be Sharky's personal assistance for the three days! HOw lucky am I?
The seven girl rat pack; Antonia, Leah, Melissa, Cynthia, Nicola, Anna and Niara, are barely ever seen apart, they look after for one another and are so strong that they are putting some of us males to shame. Nice work ladies and I aim to see you all sign up for Challenge 2014 for the freight train express to Townsville!
Smiddy events always attract quiet achievers and they don't come any quieter than Stephen Heap Greg Ivers and Peter Corry. All no fuss riders, who just get on with the job, both occasionally going through their own world of hurt, but saying nothing, riding safe, concentrating and in return earning the respect of their fellow peers. Love having you guys in the peloton.
The Geevsey family are one unique and special breed of family. Chris is our lead car man, while his Wife Bridgette is helping out here, there and everywhere. But it is their children I am excited to tell you about. Jess, Jack and Georgia are all bike riders and all under the age of 15 and all busting to become the next generation of Smiddy riders. For now they are content with running around and doing everything possible that the riders may need, and doing it with an enthusiasm of a Jack Russel puppy! A joy to have on board and I know the riders will join me in telling you what a joy it has been having them on board.
The team dinner - No one goes hungry
Tonight's functions was held at the Senior Citizens Club. Each year outside caterers come in and look after the crew with a smorgasbord buffet. Each year no one goes home hungry. The desert buffet after the main meal had to be seen to be believed and went faster than beers at a footy reunion dinner.
Row works his magic once again
Tonight Row Man did his usual wrap up of the days events, day one journal was read out by myself with a bit of help from Georgia and Jess, who did a marvelous job reading out the rider and road crew comments. I was determined I would get more than a few hours sleep tonight and managed to get the bulk of the day two blog done prior to dinner tonight.
Row auctioned off one item, which was a day at the races in Warwick for eight people. He was not happy with the amount so phoned a friend, Robert Boyd, put him on speaker phone over the PA and shamed him into paying $700 for the item. Nice work Row! And to you Mr Boydy, I know you are reading this, and are now broke, but we appreciate it from the charity perspective. And no using this as an excuse to forget my birthday present mate!
Poor Jack story
I was put in a room by myself tonight, does that tell you something about me? Anyway Geevsey asked if his son Jack could share the spare single bed that was in my room, otherwise Jack was sleeping on the floor in his parents room. All was good with me but I feel for poor Jack. Stay tuned for my day three blog of how Jack got through a night of sharing with a Shark that can not only snore, talk in his sleep, fart and sleepwalk, but do all four things at once!
Shark turns 51 tomorrow so I am thinking I may give myself the night off tomorrow evening from blog writing but promise to deliver the day three blog on Monday.
Cheers,
Sharky
Friday 17 May 2013
2013 MIDI SMIDDY - DAY 1 REPORT
BRISBANE TO TOOWOOMBA
Distance: 210 km
Average: 24.6km/h
Climbing: 2290 metres
Descending: 1616 metres
Riding time: 8:32:13
Slowest speed up 22% gradient climb = 6km/h
Midi Smiddy turns four
Welcome to the fourth running of the annual Midi Smiddy which takes in a picturesque 600km tour of country towns encompasing Ipswich, Rosewood, Laidley, Gatton, Grantham Toowoomba, Pittsworth, Allora, Warwick and return to Brisbane over three days. 42 riders, which includes seven very determined young ladies, have honoured the team at Smiling for Smiddy by choosing to help us to raise valuable funds for cancer research through the Mater Medical Research Facility. This amazing group of individuals should feel extremely proud of together collectively raising close to $90,000 thus far. Once again we are fortunate not only to have the riders on board but our amazing team of 12 road crew. Without them this event would not be possible.
A tough first day
Each year that I write these journals I am affected emotionally by the suffering of the riders. Today was one of those unique Smiddy days that threw everything at us and the group did what every Smiddy group has done in the past when confronted with the same situation; They just put their head downs and soldiered on. There was no complaining, no dummy spats, but plenty of positive words and encouragement. Today, no matter how strong you were, each and every one of us, at some time, went through some very tough times on a day that tested us all. This is how the day panned out: The roll out from UQ Aquatic Centre saw a good contingency of supporters, UQ Swimmers, Cyc's Bike club and UQ Tri club join us for a hearty breakfast and a warm farewell as we departed right on time at 6:30am. It was a brisk 9 degrees at roll out and it warmed to no more than 20 degrees throughout the day. The challenges that presented themselves were the following:
Hills: Plenty of them.
Wind: Increased in strength throughout the day and seemingly in our face for the majority of the day.
Rough roads: Lots of vibrations and sore butts.
Mountains: Laidley Range- Gradient 6%, and then after 195km's, Upper Flagstone Creek Road, with the final kilometre to the top measured at 20-22%.
Our amazing road crew
Let me tell you this; We, the riders, are spoiled rotten by the energetic road crew who feed us three times throughout the day. For first time Midi riders it is always an eye opener rolling into these stops at 77, 152 and 180km's to see the rolling buffet of food prepared. The challenge is not to gorge yourself so much so that you can actually stay awake when remounting the bike. The crew do an exceptional job and even eight years as a veteran Smiddy rider I am still in awe of what they do. Not only their food preparation skills but the friendly manner in which they conduct themselves to make us feel extremely special. Thanks guys!
Fast forward to the climb called UPPER.
The climb we normally do is Flagstone Creek Road, but due to road works we were directed up a climb we will never ever forget, not even when we are dead, the memory will linger, forever afflicted to torture our lost souls for ever and ever. The climb is Upper Flagstone Creek Road. The word 'Upper' was obviously used as a joke to lure unsuspecting riders to see what was upper about this particular route. I can assure you from now until my passing the word 'Upper' will forever bring fear to my heart, a sweat to my brow and an extreme urgency to urinate. At first the route gently meandered through late afternoon sun-speckled fields, small hobby farms dotting the sides of the road and the occasional creek crossing that were thankfully dry. A few small climbs ensured and all were lured into a false sense of security. Five kilometres into the pleasant route we turned a corner and there it was; a wall! That is the only way I can describe it. In the growing darkness I took one looked up and had one immediate thought; "we need mountain climbing harnesses. All around me grown men began to cry, girls were screaming and the odd car that happened that way turned around and returned to Brisbane! I kid you not. Rowan, at the dinner tonight asked the question; "How many of you made it up the 'Upper' without walking, falling off and giving yourself a hernia?" One third of the 42 strong field raised their hands! Our follow vehicle, manned by Skip and Bob, were kept busy ferrying riders up to the top that had passed out or tossed their bikes in the bush and swearing on their grandmothers grave that a cow had appeared out of nowhere and stole their bikes.
The aftermath
Eventually the group were all together at the top, it was now dark, eight degrees, snowing and resuscitation of hearts that had stopped was pretty commonplace. True story! It was as if we had just survived Armageddon; the group, in that one climb, had just bonded like a Smiddy group does after five days on the Smiddy ride up to Townsville. It was breathtaking stuff and I was excited. I live for these moments, I could feel the raw energy of the group, we were all now part of the Smiddy family - I could not have been happier!
The first day Smiddy huddle
Pulling into our accommodation at Jeffries Motel we waved goodbye to our police escort that were with us for the final three hours. The huddle was quickly formed, it was pitch black and the first huddle I have done where I couldn't see anyone. Except for "Pretty boy", who was shining as radiant as a heavenly angel... I had to release some of my excitement, I was bubbling over, a overheated radiator ready to explode; amongst mentioning the awesome road crew and how good we, the riders, performed today, I apologised for the 'Upper', explaining that on Google Maps it did not look too bad. But the one thing I will share with you is that for me to feel connected with a group of Smiddy riders it can take up to three or four days. Today the 'Upper' did it in just 20 minutes. When connected I will say to the group these following four words; "I love you guys."! I said it, I meant it, and I could not be prouder of these 42 inspirational and tough guy and girl riders. Even the ones that cried and lost their bikes!
Sharky's final words:
Well it is now midnight and I would like to thank my roommate Chappy, 'The Shepherd', for dictating the notes below; he read them out while I typed and we laughed out loud a lot. The lucky bugger went to sleep about ten-pm and I am assuming he is sleeping as I tap tap tap away on this keyboard. I know he will tell me tomorrow! Anyway I asked the riders and road crew to write ten words that best describes their first day out in the Smiddy peloton. Please enjoy and I will look forward to bringing you day two journal tomorrow on our 160km trip to Warwick.
If you have any messages of support for any of the riders send them to me at shark@smiddy.org.au and I will read them out tomorrow night in Warwick.
Thank you and take care.
Sharky.
Male Rider Comments
Peter Knight
Challenging, awesome, pushed to my limits, checked my prep for Tassie Smiddy in September.
Lee Smith
Beautiful saos and rice pudding, Spent. Shattered. Bloody wind! Hills -Groan.
Peter Corry
The toughest day of my life on a bike!
Burty
Love Row Man's comment up that hill - "Sorry boys"!
Fabian Gonzalez
Inspiring, exciting, humbling, exhausting, windy, legs, teamwork, support, selfless and painfull.
Chris H or Pretty Boy
Windy, inspiring, long, camaraderie, steep, friends, enjoyable, pretty boy, slowing and hole.
Mal Maddog
Embarrassed with self, disappointed with self, heartened, encouraged by others relieved, ready and keen for tomorrow.
Adam Kiyuna
My body hates me but that hill was sensational
Steven Heap
Overcoming barriers, resilience, friendship, challenge, mateship, monumental and shared journey.
Greg Ivers
Achievment, fun, frustrating, hurting, roller coster, scenic, amazing climbs, commending, support and encouragement.
Rowan Foster
Steady start, headwinds hurt and tired riders and what a final climb.
Brock Yates
Windy, hilly, windy, long, late, fantastic, rewarding, humbling, good times.
Shane Ritchings
That was bloody awesome and what a day.
Troy Anderson
F#%king Awesome x 5
Scott Manning
Cold, windy, long, hard, epic, record, characters, elation, rewarding and awesome.
Brendan James
Last climb and wind excluded, what a day!
Wayne Oddy
I struggled but it was a worthy challenge
Rob Kropp
Wowzers! That was possibly the biggest mental and physical challenge I have done. It has been a long 3 months preparing for that climb and the rewards and the success was worth it.
Brad Richardson
It was a pleasure climbing with Sharky. A memory saved for a lifetime.
Tom Hagenson
Tough, epic, challenging, inspiring, awesome, tough, funny farts!
Brenton Thornhill
Really really steep and the hardest climb I have ever done. Zig Zag and ridiculously hard!
Michael Brady
Oh my god! Windy, awesome, team spirit, good company and road crew.
Ash Moor
Today's ride: /length perfect: 10 out of 10. Suffering: Low/Medium 4 out of 10. Ambience: Great 8 out of 10. Support: Wonderful, 15 out of 10.
Mark Coman
Awesome and happy days! So pumped to clear that last hill without putting a foot down.
Sharky
For my 51st birthday I want a set of compact cranks!
Girl rider comments
Leah Cannon
Emotional, achievment, pain, teamwork, tired, determination, pride, finish, challenge and physical.
Niara Oliveira
Amazing effort but a lot of headwind. Proud of myself and great bunch of people.
Antonia Bigault
Nervous, exhausted, challenged, sore, emotional, draining, brainfog, extremely tired, proud. Sick!
Anna Tate
I blame the tyres!
Melissa Crossman
Windy X 8, Sagwagon
Unnamed rider comments
1.Awesome, epic, comma, exhilarating, euphoric, challenging, rewarding, friendly, hospitable, enjoyable and fantastic.
2.Experience, fun, 210km, mountain, yummy, cold, hot, enlightening, eye opening and exciting.
3.Teamwork, helping, cold, hills, early, tired, 3:30, food, yummy and ten
4.Long, fun, tiring, exhilarating, inspiring, cold, stressful, emotional, friendship and love.
5.Friendship, support crew, emotional, teamwork, yummy food, encouragement, headwind, cramp, mountains and laughs.
6.Proud, crazy, friendship, love, respect, sadness, grief, kindness, empathy, philanthropy.
7.Dry, not hot, last climb-group bonding, awesome road crew and love saos.
8.Inspiring, satisfying, pride, hard, perseverance, hardwork with an inspiring bunch of people.
9.We all suffered together and we all pulled together to finish!
10.Tough mental and physical challenge with a fantastic group.
11.Smiling for Smiddy = BS and grimacing Clydesdale and more like it.
12.I have never chewed my handle bars until today
13.Too early, too cold, too hilly, too fast, too chatty, too hard, too hot, too windy, too steep. GREAT DAY!
Road Crew Comments
Bob Cage
Drive, food, drive, lost, food, drive, drive and drive.
Wybrand
Extremely grateful to be behind the lens and not on a saddle today, the range sucks!
Jo
Inspiring, heartwarming, brisk, delicious, fun, friendship, funny, insane, grateful and love Jo.
Skippy
Broken spokes, punctured tubes, gap up the middle of peloton - great
Liam
Wind, big finale, wall of shame or walk of heroes.
Carlene Sparke
Insane, thinking of Tika (Fur Child) Booze and how much pain you guys are in!
Jimmy Acomb
High heartrate workout while brain was in limp mode
Distance: 210 km
Average: 24.6km/h
Climbing: 2290 metres
Descending: 1616 metres
Riding time: 8:32:13
Slowest speed up 22% gradient climb = 6km/h
Midi Smiddy turns four
Welcome to the fourth running of the annual Midi Smiddy which takes in a picturesque 600km tour of country towns encompasing Ipswich, Rosewood, Laidley, Gatton, Grantham Toowoomba, Pittsworth, Allora, Warwick and return to Brisbane over three days. 42 riders, which includes seven very determined young ladies, have honoured the team at Smiling for Smiddy by choosing to help us to raise valuable funds for cancer research through the Mater Medical Research Facility. This amazing group of individuals should feel extremely proud of together collectively raising close to $90,000 thus far. Once again we are fortunate not only to have the riders on board but our amazing team of 12 road crew. Without them this event would not be possible.
A tough first day
Each year that I write these journals I am affected emotionally by the suffering of the riders. Today was one of those unique Smiddy days that threw everything at us and the group did what every Smiddy group has done in the past when confronted with the same situation; They just put their head downs and soldiered on. There was no complaining, no dummy spats, but plenty of positive words and encouragement. Today, no matter how strong you were, each and every one of us, at some time, went through some very tough times on a day that tested us all. This is how the day panned out: The roll out from UQ Aquatic Centre saw a good contingency of supporters, UQ Swimmers, Cyc's Bike club and UQ Tri club join us for a hearty breakfast and a warm farewell as we departed right on time at 6:30am. It was a brisk 9 degrees at roll out and it warmed to no more than 20 degrees throughout the day. The challenges that presented themselves were the following:
Hills: Plenty of them.
Wind: Increased in strength throughout the day and seemingly in our face for the majority of the day.
Rough roads: Lots of vibrations and sore butts.
Mountains: Laidley Range- Gradient 6%, and then after 195km's, Upper Flagstone Creek Road, with the final kilometre to the top measured at 20-22%.
Our amazing road crew
Let me tell you this; We, the riders, are spoiled rotten by the energetic road crew who feed us three times throughout the day. For first time Midi riders it is always an eye opener rolling into these stops at 77, 152 and 180km's to see the rolling buffet of food prepared. The challenge is not to gorge yourself so much so that you can actually stay awake when remounting the bike. The crew do an exceptional job and even eight years as a veteran Smiddy rider I am still in awe of what they do. Not only their food preparation skills but the friendly manner in which they conduct themselves to make us feel extremely special. Thanks guys!
Fast forward to the climb called UPPER.
The climb we normally do is Flagstone Creek Road, but due to road works we were directed up a climb we will never ever forget, not even when we are dead, the memory will linger, forever afflicted to torture our lost souls for ever and ever. The climb is Upper Flagstone Creek Road. The word 'Upper' was obviously used as a joke to lure unsuspecting riders to see what was upper about this particular route. I can assure you from now until my passing the word 'Upper' will forever bring fear to my heart, a sweat to my brow and an extreme urgency to urinate. At first the route gently meandered through late afternoon sun-speckled fields, small hobby farms dotting the sides of the road and the occasional creek crossing that were thankfully dry. A few small climbs ensured and all were lured into a false sense of security. Five kilometres into the pleasant route we turned a corner and there it was; a wall! That is the only way I can describe it. In the growing darkness I took one looked up and had one immediate thought; "we need mountain climbing harnesses. All around me grown men began to cry, girls were screaming and the odd car that happened that way turned around and returned to Brisbane! I kid you not. Rowan, at the dinner tonight asked the question; "How many of you made it up the 'Upper' without walking, falling off and giving yourself a hernia?" One third of the 42 strong field raised their hands! Our follow vehicle, manned by Skip and Bob, were kept busy ferrying riders up to the top that had passed out or tossed their bikes in the bush and swearing on their grandmothers grave that a cow had appeared out of nowhere and stole their bikes.
The aftermath
Eventually the group were all together at the top, it was now dark, eight degrees, snowing and resuscitation of hearts that had stopped was pretty commonplace. True story! It was as if we had just survived Armageddon; the group, in that one climb, had just bonded like a Smiddy group does after five days on the Smiddy ride up to Townsville. It was breathtaking stuff and I was excited. I live for these moments, I could feel the raw energy of the group, we were all now part of the Smiddy family - I could not have been happier!
The first day Smiddy huddle
Pulling into our accommodation at Jeffries Motel we waved goodbye to our police escort that were with us for the final three hours. The huddle was quickly formed, it was pitch black and the first huddle I have done where I couldn't see anyone. Except for "Pretty boy", who was shining as radiant as a heavenly angel... I had to release some of my excitement, I was bubbling over, a overheated radiator ready to explode; amongst mentioning the awesome road crew and how good we, the riders, performed today, I apologised for the 'Upper', explaining that on Google Maps it did not look too bad. But the one thing I will share with you is that for me to feel connected with a group of Smiddy riders it can take up to three or four days. Today the 'Upper' did it in just 20 minutes. When connected I will say to the group these following four words; "I love you guys."! I said it, I meant it, and I could not be prouder of these 42 inspirational and tough guy and girl riders. Even the ones that cried and lost their bikes!
Sharky's final words:
Well it is now midnight and I would like to thank my roommate Chappy, 'The Shepherd', for dictating the notes below; he read them out while I typed and we laughed out loud a lot. The lucky bugger went to sleep about ten-pm and I am assuming he is sleeping as I tap tap tap away on this keyboard. I know he will tell me tomorrow! Anyway I asked the riders and road crew to write ten words that best describes their first day out in the Smiddy peloton. Please enjoy and I will look forward to bringing you day two journal tomorrow on our 160km trip to Warwick.
If you have any messages of support for any of the riders send them to me at shark@smiddy.org.au and I will read them out tomorrow night in Warwick.
Thank you and take care.
Sharky.
Male Rider Comments
Peter Knight
Challenging, awesome, pushed to my limits, checked my prep for Tassie Smiddy in September.
Lee Smith
Beautiful saos and rice pudding, Spent. Shattered. Bloody wind! Hills -Groan.
Peter Corry
The toughest day of my life on a bike!
Burty
Love Row Man's comment up that hill - "Sorry boys"!
Fabian Gonzalez
Inspiring, exciting, humbling, exhausting, windy, legs, teamwork, support, selfless and painfull.
Chris H or Pretty Boy
Windy, inspiring, long, camaraderie, steep, friends, enjoyable, pretty boy, slowing and hole.
Mal Maddog
Embarrassed with self, disappointed with self, heartened, encouraged by others relieved, ready and keen for tomorrow.
Adam Kiyuna
My body hates me but that hill was sensational
Steven Heap
Overcoming barriers, resilience, friendship, challenge, mateship, monumental and shared journey.
Greg Ivers
Achievment, fun, frustrating, hurting, roller coster, scenic, amazing climbs, commending, support and encouragement.
Rowan Foster
Steady start, headwinds hurt and tired riders and what a final climb.
Brock Yates
Windy, hilly, windy, long, late, fantastic, rewarding, humbling, good times.
Shane Ritchings
That was bloody awesome and what a day.
Troy Anderson
F#%king Awesome x 5
Scott Manning
Cold, windy, long, hard, epic, record, characters, elation, rewarding and awesome.
Brendan James
Last climb and wind excluded, what a day!
Wayne Oddy
I struggled but it was a worthy challenge
Rob Kropp
Wowzers! That was possibly the biggest mental and physical challenge I have done. It has been a long 3 months preparing for that climb and the rewards and the success was worth it.
Brad Richardson
It was a pleasure climbing with Sharky. A memory saved for a lifetime.
Tom Hagenson
Tough, epic, challenging, inspiring, awesome, tough, funny farts!
Brenton Thornhill
Really really steep and the hardest climb I have ever done. Zig Zag and ridiculously hard!
Michael Brady
Oh my god! Windy, awesome, team spirit, good company and road crew.
Ash Moor
Today's ride: /length perfect: 10 out of 10. Suffering: Low/Medium 4 out of 10. Ambience: Great 8 out of 10. Support: Wonderful, 15 out of 10.
Mark Coman
Awesome and happy days! So pumped to clear that last hill without putting a foot down.
Sharky
For my 51st birthday I want a set of compact cranks!
Girl rider comments
Leah Cannon
Emotional, achievment, pain, teamwork, tired, determination, pride, finish, challenge and physical.
Niara Oliveira
Amazing effort but a lot of headwind. Proud of myself and great bunch of people.
Antonia Bigault
Nervous, exhausted, challenged, sore, emotional, draining, brainfog, extremely tired, proud. Sick!
Anna Tate
I blame the tyres!
Melissa Crossman
Windy X 8, Sagwagon
Unnamed rider comments
1.Awesome, epic, comma, exhilarating, euphoric, challenging, rewarding, friendly, hospitable, enjoyable and fantastic.
2.Experience, fun, 210km, mountain, yummy, cold, hot, enlightening, eye opening and exciting.
3.Teamwork, helping, cold, hills, early, tired, 3:30, food, yummy and ten
4.Long, fun, tiring, exhilarating, inspiring, cold, stressful, emotional, friendship and love.
5.Friendship, support crew, emotional, teamwork, yummy food, encouragement, headwind, cramp, mountains and laughs.
6.Proud, crazy, friendship, love, respect, sadness, grief, kindness, empathy, philanthropy.
7.Dry, not hot, last climb-group bonding, awesome road crew and love saos.
8.Inspiring, satisfying, pride, hard, perseverance, hardwork with an inspiring bunch of people.
9.We all suffered together and we all pulled together to finish!
10.Tough mental and physical challenge with a fantastic group.
11.Smiling for Smiddy = BS and grimacing Clydesdale and more like it.
12.I have never chewed my handle bars until today
13.Too early, too cold, too hilly, too fast, too chatty, too hard, too hot, too windy, too steep. GREAT DAY!
Road Crew Comments
Bob Cage
Drive, food, drive, lost, food, drive, drive and drive.
Wybrand
Extremely grateful to be behind the lens and not on a saddle today, the range sucks!
Jo
Inspiring, heartwarming, brisk, delicious, fun, friendship, funny, insane, grateful and love Jo.
Skippy
Broken spokes, punctured tubes, gap up the middle of peloton - great
Liam
Wind, big finale, wall of shame or walk of heroes.
Carlene Sparke
Insane, thinking of Tika (Fur Child) Booze and how much pain you guys are in!
Jimmy Acomb
High heartrate workout while brain was in limp mode
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