Day 5.....Our longest Day!

Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie 175 km’s

Day five opened with a stunning sunrise and an easy spin in crisp conditions to Sawtell for a sensational breakfast at the Surf Club Café with the Coff’s cycling locals. It was a truly superb setting and the highlight was meeting the charismatic Marco and his antique woollen jersey with newspaper lining………old school!

Leaving Sawtell we rejoined the Pacific Highway and the heavy traffic. We enjoyed some varied road conditions en route to Macksville with extensive road works on the way. The ladies from the local Breast Cancer Support Group had prepared a delicious morning tea for us and this was enjoyed on the river bank as we road into town. The food was so amazing that many of the team wrapped up the various slices in foil to augment our Gu for en route nourishment.

We next broke our ride for lunch at East Kempsey. Whilst there Geoff received a call from a woman who had seen us ride by and got Geoff phone number off the Tour De Cure website. On hearing that we were taking lunch in her own town she raced down to catch up with us and make a donation. Her generosity struck a cord with the TDC team and was a fine example of the community support that we have enjoyed on our journey down the North Coast. On leaving our lunch spot we were assisted by the local Police who stopped traffic to allow the TDC Peleton and support vehicles to cross the Highway.

Shortly after lunch (60km later) we turned onto a secondary road and had some much more relaxed cycling through beautiful country for the rest of the day’s ride into Port Macquarie.

Day 5’s long ride in testing road and traffic conditions saw the TDC riders and safety/support crew perform brilliantly. Dave and Eric once again in the lead car dictating the route, calling the hazards and trying to cause as little disruption to heavy traffic flow. Robyn, another amazing effort driving the sweep car protecting our backs whilst making concise professional calls on the 2 way describing overtaking traffic like an experienced Air traffic controller. The riders worked smoothly calling countless hazards and road debris, changing from single file to two abreast as road conditions frequently changed. The efficiency of the pack saw us achieve an average speed of approx 31km/h for the day. “Hard core Euro Cool” was the call from Dave Cottee and for those that don't know DC this was one hell of a compliment

Sails Resort Port Macquarie was a welcome respite from a long day in the saddle. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Spinnaker’s on the wharf taking in a beautiful sunset over the pool looking out over the Hasting River…thank you Walter for hosting our team!

Category Jerseys

Pink ‘New Idea’ jersey was awarded to Geoff C for his unflagging support in ensuring that all TDC’ers “look the business” and perhaps inspiring leadership our longest day

Craig Cairnduff received the Intelligent Investor Polka Dot jersey for focus on making the distance in style. Craig was so ‘In the Zone’ that at one stage he was heard to say “Can’t talk…. pedalling”. It was rumoured that a strong supporting factor to Craig’s worthy win is that he is the captain of Team Sydney City Lexus who once again were the powerhouse of the Peleton.

The YELLOW Myer jersey for outstanding attitude went to Kate Cosgrove for brilliance in being Kate and maintaining morale, drive and safety in the middle of the pack.

The BLUE Pratt Foundation jersey for ‘Guts’ was won by Dave Lo who had bravely gambled his self esteem and reputation at last night’s award ceremony whilst shamelessly lobbying the selection committee for “any jersey, just give me a bloody jersey”. There was also some talk of a very impressive display of determination and courage in completing the day’s solid ride in fine style and surpassing the 160 km milestone.

Signed:
Marty and Geoff from Team Lexus..........the team that worked hard on the front all day!