October 24, 2008

Day 5 Gundagai to Wagga Wagga 86kms
















After our massive ride yesterday we thought that today was going to be a breeze. How wrong were we?????? The weather was perfect , the wind was only slight but our aching bodies were trying to tell us something. Talk about total fatigue. We both hit the wall at about the same time roughly 40 kms into the journey. We did not stop but is was a real struggle to meet our deadline for a media event in Wagga Wagga. We made it with only 2 minutes to spare with no real problems except for fatigue. However we did pep up on the 5km run from the event back to our accommodation feeling we may be OK for the 140km ride to young tomorrow.


A really busy day with the media. You would not believe what i did on ABC national radio on a live feed. I choked on a fly and coughed like a trojan. The poor interviewer laughed on air so much she forgot what she was talking about.





SOME INTERESTING FIGURES.


Craig has swallowed two flies


Craig has had 5 flat tyres


I have broken 21 spokes


Mal says 100 silly things per hour


The penny farthing averages 240 revolutions per km


Thats 147600 revolutions so far


We have had 24 radio interviews so far


We have had 12 TV interviews so far


We think there have been maybe a dozen news paper editorials



Also both craig and i have been attacked by a magpie.





The media has been really involved in the whole ride so far. Its amazing that thousands of cars and trucks beep there horns and yell comments in support of the ride. It really pushes craig and i along inspiring us to keep going strong. Sometimes when you are feeling very low and don't think there is any energy left , the simple sound of a car horn or a you can do it can make a world of difference.



When we finally arrived in Wagga Wagga today we urgently had to ride to the Sturt Primary School to meet a Local Councilor , the Asthma Wagga representative and the fantastic kids at the primary school.

We made a grand entrance at the rear gates of the school and rode across some grass and a basketball court to the under cover area to address the children. Unbelievable response as i came into their view. I kept looking over my shoulder thinking there was someone famous behind me but it was just craig. The cheering was deafening but made us feel fantastic. I met the councilor , the principal and addressed the kids with a talk about the bike and living with asthma. At the end of the presentation they surprised me with a bucket of money they had gathered together for donations. How cool is that?? The pic of the Wagga sign has three of us in it. The fellow in the yellow is councilor Ray Goodless from Wagga council who Represented the Mayor and rode back into the main town along side us.



I would like to send a special thanks to the RAAF in Wagga for raising funds and handing it to us along the journey . To Ron and Margaret from the Gundagai Tourist Park for supplying the softest bed on the trip to date. To Dave and Prue Downs from IGA Ashmont for their generous food donations. To Nicki Sewell for her tremendous efforts in the personal training in her Reactive-8 studio. Nicki , I am putting myself through the most horrendous and strenuous riding for hours on end ,and i could not have done a patch of it without your guidance and help. I can't believe how much inner strength and durability i have. There have been some incredibly low points along the way that i have been able to dig my way out of because of the level of fitness i posses.
Well we gave Sarah the night off due to the fact that the Asthma representatives from this area ( John and Margaret ) shouted us all out for a fantastic Chinese meal. They are both very generous people and we thank them both kindly.
Tomorrow is going to be huge. ( funny we say that every night , maybe because that's just the way it is ) 145km journey up and down some monster hills in what will prove to be another ten to twelve hour day . I am going to try not to think about it as i cry myself to sleep tonight.
As i sit here writing this thread Mal , Amanda and myself are laughing hysterically about absolutely nothing. I think we are all going mad !

Talk to you all tomorrow and sorry for yesterdays late blog . cheers

2 comments:

Maz & Court said...

Hi Guys, what a buzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!you guys sure are doing it tough! We are so amazed reading through your adventures of the day! Can you hear us? Thats our car horns honking for you and yes, thats us yelling too. Mick & Amanda, & your great support team, Craig, Sarah, Reg & Mal, what great Aussie spirit you have, & when the going gets tough......... you just keep going.........& swallow a few flies. Miss you heaps & can't wait until you are safely back home Love Maz & Court xx

Lynda said...

Oh my god! you guys are legends. Keep it up... you can do it. sounds like its been really hard at times but not so bad you cant still crack a joke or 2 Mick!!you Know my mum told me flies are a bit of extra protien...hope that doesnt put you over your RDI!! We are all really, Really proud of you. you're on the home stretch now! so hang in there lots of love The Gambrills xox