I approached the Blue Lizard ride with a good deal of confidence, drawn from having done the 25th Anniversary Sydney to Melbourne ride three years ago.
There’s a certain sort of nervous excitement around the initial gathering. What will the weather be like? Who else is on the ride? Which group will I end up riding in? How will my muscles and especially my bum hold up?
It was great to meet Colin, Levi and Roger again, all who had been on the 25th Anniversary ride. Levi, amazingly was only 11 when he did that with his dad. Now 15, he dreams of one day owning a bike shop and café in Sydney and it wouldn’t surprise me if he pulled it off. Colin’s story was one that had reduced me to tears when I first heard it. A life ruined by drugs, he was now clean and thanking God every day for that gift and using his energy to raise money for the Bible Society. Roger who rides a recumbent (affectionately known as the flying lounge chair) has previously ridden with his wife Edna, but she was taking a break this time. Geoff who was backing up as roadie again – he too had served on the Sydney – Melbourne run – what a champion. So it was great to have some familiar faces. Then of course you gradually meet new folk. Paul who’d been a CMS missionary in Russia, Greg a fellow Anglican clergyman who I hadn’t met before, Paul, Principal of Richard Johnson College who I’d met once or twice.
So it’s out with the mattress (most people have blow up camping mattresses for which special electric pumps are provided– I chose the self inflating type which most bush walkers use. The size of the bull ants marching across the floor wasn’t terribly inviting, but they didn’t seem to bother anyone during the night.
Jim’s alarm sounds at 6:30 am. Plugs are pulled on air mattresses and people are quickly into action as the rule is that you have to have packed all your bedding and loaded your gear into your assigned support vehicle before Breakfast. The foodies have breakfast prepared, so once the church hall is totally cleared of everything, grace is said and then we tuck in.
Jim assigns people into various riding groups and on this particular ride there are 4 ranging from the seriously testosterone charged riders to the ride and chat cyclists. Not that it really matters too much as there is freedom to change groups at any point in the ride so long as you inform the team leader.
Day one was a ride to Boorowa about 130 km’s away. The start of the day was cool and cloudy with a bit of moisture in the air, though it did clear up as we road along. It does take a while for people to settle into their rhythm and the blokes especially seem to be a bit like thoroughbred horses out to make their mark. It seems that you have to get day one out of your system before people settle down and become sensible. Day one was quite a challenging ride with plenty of hills to keep the heart pounding. Jim never talks about the hills much – he always minimizes their severity but it was certainly good to arrive safe and sound and have day one under your belt. There’s nothing better than a lovely hot shower after a day in the saddle. Then it’s free time in the afternoon until dinner.
Sometimes dinner is provided by the local churches – usually members of the local Bible Society auxiliary. It’s a great time to enjoy old fashioned country hospitality and for the good local folk to hear a bit about the days ride. Usually there’s a bit of a re-cap. What was good about the day and what was challenging before we have a bit of a sing and short devotion. This year we worked through the gospel of Luke throughout the duration of the ride.
Lights out is 9:30 and quite frankly, most of us are pretty keen to hit the sack anyhow as we know it will be an early start in the morning and rest is a very important part of looking after yourself. Initially you don’t usually sleep that well. It takes a bit to adjust to the mattress and we’re usually in church halls, school halls or the local basketball centre or some other sporting facility.
Days 2 and 3 from Boorowa to Cootamundra via Young, then Cootamundra to Wagg Wagga were the best days of the ride weatherwise. The sun was out and we had a pretty healthy tail wind. The Canola fields were spectacular and I remember commenting a couple of times to my fellow cyclists, “it doesn’t get much better than this!” There was even a large group from the Anglican Church at Cootamundra making us feel very welcome at the end of a great day!
Each days routine is pretty similar and you get into the swing of things pretty quickly and learn where to put your stuff, so it’s easy to find when you need it. The weather for the remainder of the journey wasn’t very kind. Indeed we had to turn back 16 km’s into the ride from Narranderra to Leeton due to an electrical storm. Even that was providential as it was the only day of the ride that was possible. Narranderra to Leeton isn’t very far, so we were taking a longer route to make the journey 110 km’s, so by the time we arrived back in Narrenderra to hot sausage rolls from the bakery and then departed again on the shorter route to Leeton we did about 50 km’s less than planned. However, after we arrived at Leeton and had our showers, it pretty much rained the whole afternoon.
Leeton to Temora was a stinker. The wind was feral, though fortunately behind us or on the side. I remember an hour into the morning ride with the gusty rain pelting the side of my face that is was so cold, I felt like I had a toothache. The whole day was pretty miserable. We weren’t able to find shelter for lunch and got caught in a rain squall. I remember crouching beside the trailer behind one of the support vehicles and the wind being so strong that it was blowing the rain horizontally over the top of the trailer.
It’s interesting that most of us don’t really like the hills, (except for a few strange people) but they do break up the ride whereas when it’s all flat you tend to get a bit bored.
The last couple of days were a bit more up and down and I remember riding into Gunning for morning tea on the last day. It was freezing and I checked the weather on my iphone to discover there was a Sheep Grazing weather alert – no wonder we were feeling the cold.
Arriving back in Goulburn was wonderful. There’s a tremendous sense of elation and satisfaction at having completed the ride and I was certainly very glad to be out of the saddle. Even with two pairs of nicks on, by the end of the ride, my bum was feeling and showing signs of long days in the saddle. Others didn’t suffer quite so much – it’s all about finding a saddle that suits which in my case is a challenge because it doesn’t bother me during training, it’s just the constant days in the saddle.
After team photo’s and cheers all round, some were fortunate to get a shower and then its load up the bikes and head back home. It’s certainly nice to just put the foot down in the car to go up a hill!!
The good thing is you quickly forget the challenging parts of the journey and just remember the great experience, the pleasure of riding with a group of like minded people and the power of using the health, strength and energy God has given you to do something to help grow his kingdom. In my case through the generosity of family, friends and congregation members, so far I’ve been able to raise $11,500, however the fundraising website is still open if you’d like to make a donation.
As my dad said, “I’m sure your grandma would be very proud.”
Geoff Deutscher
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