Eating their way to Sydney

Well the riding has come to an end for 2008, and a fantastic job by all involved to make it to Sydney in one piece. I know many of the guys and girls had to dig deep, especially on the hills. As the dietitian on tour I can appreciate the effort it took to get from Melbourne to Sydney in just nine days.

1200km with a total hill climb that adds up to more than climbing Everest. The riders each burnt an average of 14,000 kilojoules a day, and that’s just the part of the day spent in the saddle! Each day they also sweated out 5 litres of fluid. No wonder I spent most of the day telling them to eat and drink more.

And eat and drink they did. In a single morning (not including breakfast and lunch) the team went through 30 cereal bars, 18 coffees, 38 muffins, 13 bananas, 14 packs of lollies, 40 Gu sachets, and 49 litres of fluid. In this regard I have to say an enormous thank you to the girls from Canadian Kitchen for their fantastic catering - their passion for the tour matches that of everyone else involved. Thank you also to Kelloggs and Powerade who generously donated food and drinks. Without these contributions an event like this wouldn’t be possible.


As a sports dietitian, I can't tell you how good it is to work with such a motivated group of athletes as the Tour de Cure team. Their enthusiasm and willingness to learn was far beyond what I see in professional sporting teams, and is a credit to the commitment and passion they share for the tour and everything it stands for. It is difficult for the average punter to comprehend what these guys have put their bodies through over the last few months. For a group who normally only get to ride a couple of days a week to back up 9 days in a row, many of them the longest distance they’d ever done in a single day, is nothing short of inspirational.


Congratulations to all involved with the Tour de Cure. It was a fantastic week for me to be involved with such a great cause. I hope the donations continue to come in thick and fast, and you smash your targets. I hope you also learnt plenty about how your bodies work, and can take that back with you to your everyday cycling.







Until next year,
Alan McCubbin – Sports Dietitian, Recover Sports Medicine http://www.recoversportsmed.com.au/

Andrew (CSC) Thanks

CSC (my employer) became involved in Tour de Cure not long before the tour began, so the other CSC Vic BUG people and I had a week before the Melbourne launch to take up the opportunity to do a day's ride with the Tour de Cure.

It was obvious to me that the Tour de Cure riders had been planning and training for the ride for months, and had been serious about arranging the significant corporate sponsorship and their individual donations. I was left pleased to be representing one of the significant corporate sponsors - CSC, but conscious that I hadn't had to work on that part of the overall effort like the others, which is important for something like cancer that tends to touch so many of us when we least expect it.

So this is about my impressions of the way it worked - not so much the history of the day which was blogged by someone else right after the finish of the day's ride.

The organization was superb. Geoff on the road had safety and efficiency working really well, and Sam at all the stops had the arrangements and our movements planned. She had a great roster for the teams of riders at the end of each day, that seemed to give small but necessary tasks out for the smooth running of each overnight stop. The food from the mobile catering truck (Canadian Kitchens) was more than plentiful, tasty and highly nutritious. The porridge at the first of the two(!) breakfasts for the day was excellent, and the beef, beans and rice at lunch was also great!

The bike mechanics (Alex and Tricky Ricky) from King of the Mountain Cyclery were amazing. I had turned up on one of my sons' old Cadex road bike, and they gave it a check before I rode for the day. Their quick comment about the need for adjustment of handlebars and not needing to raise the seat were proved absolutely correct and left me comfortable and not sore at all at the end of the day. When I had a problem with my front derailleur, Alex's diagnosis took less a second or two, and his adjustment took under a minute. I could have done the same at home myself and maybe not got it right after an hour's fiddling! When people had flats they were fixed in a couple of minutes, and the two mechanics "towed" the rider back to the bunch whilst we slowed to maybe 20km/h. When Jack (my 15yo son, who was filling the 2nd CSC spot on the day) started to tire late in the ride they towed him back to the bunch a couple of times too. They were changing tyres for some others, and the occasional slowing for them to rejoin was never irritating - just a reasonable rest, and all the easier to chat to the other riders. This support from the King of the Mountain Cyclery mechanics was something that made the whole ride just work properly.

We cycled at a reasonably quick average pace - about 30 to 32 km/h on the bike computer average whilst moving, but quite often over 40 for some sections on the mostly flat terrain in the Latrobe Valley. For safety we needed to stay together as a group, and pushed on together in the afternoon as the Tour de Cure had a media appointment to keep on arrival in Traralgon. And media is important, when a focus of the event is fundraising.

I had not done a lot of bunch riding before and was impressed with the attention and correctness displayed by the group in communicating with hand signals and a small number of arranged shouted warnings to ensure safety. Many of those from Sydney had been doing extensive training for the tour - several averaging 500-600km/week for the couple of months leading up to the tour. I ride either 30 or 40 km each way to work most days, but feel I would want to do a few more longer rides in the lead up if doing the full distance.

It was a good experience for the day, and we would like to have stayed for the evening's Cateogry Jersey presentation and dinner, but had to catch a train back to Melbourne. As Jack commented on the way home, "Everyone there was just so nice to be around". I'd think that knowing about this level of support and structure would make people compete to be involved in the future.
My dad (who did a couple of Around the Bay rides with me) died of cancer in early 2006, my father-in-law found he had prostate cancer a couple of months ago, and I went to a funeral on the Friday afternoon of the ride (day 5) for my next door neighbour Lou, a really nice old guy who lost his battle to cancer the previous weekend.

I don't think I am special in how cancer has touched me though, having seen the enthusiasm on Tour de Cure. It's not just some people out for an adventure - they are working at doing something good too...and finding a cure!

If you would like to make a donation to help this great cause please click on the link below. They are trying to reach $550,000 to go towards helping...

Men with cancer via the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia
Funds from Tour de Cure in 2008 will enable the convenor of each of the 73 Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia support groups, and their carer, to attend PCFA's inaugural national conference "Supporting Quality of Life for Men with Prostate Cancer" to be held on the Gold Coast over the 16th and 17th of November 2008. This conference will NOW bring together representatives of PCFA support groups from across Australia for the very FIRST TIME with some of the world's most respected authorities on the disease. It was Tour de Cure's 2007 donation that funded the national conference initiative. The initiative aims to create a forum of learning and education that will further work to find a cure.

Women with cancer via the National Breast Cancer Foundation
Money raised by the 2008 Tour de Cure is going towards sponsoring the 'Easie Evie' Robot throughout 2009. The 'Easie Evie' Robot can do in one hour what use to take 10 scientists two weeks and is the latest in breast tissue research and analysis. Through this the NBCF aims to identify better methods of detection and improved treatments for breast cancer sufferers, to improve survival rates and ultimately to work towards finding a cure for breast cancer.

Children with cancer via Camp Quality
A National Camp!!
The funds raised from the 2008 Tour de Cure will go towards the creation and implementation of a National Camp for children and their companions suffering with cancer.
This Camp will see children from all across Australia come together to experience the time of their lives! The destination for the 2009 Tour de Cure National Camp is a big secret!
The last national Camp was held in December 2006 and delivered laughter to
411 children and their companions.

CSC and Tour de Cure are on the rode to finding a cure for cancer!

cheers, Andrew Lavery (CSC Corporate Rider)

TDC 08' Reflection

This is the email that i sent to the members of the 2008 Tour de Cure. I thought it would be great to share with the entire TDC family a few of the highlights as well as a few special thank you's.

I'd like to take the chance to thank everyone involved in the 2008 Tour de Cure for an amazing experience. Coming into the tour as a relative unknown I was instantly accepted and I cannot thank you all enough for making me feel so welcome. The Tour is an experience that has definitely changed my life. Not only has it put things into perspective but it has given me a greater appreciation for the good people in the world (that's all of you). The final couple of days allowed me to think a bit about what the Tour represents and what the outcomes were. Although the fundraising outcomes were nothing short of spectacular, there were a couple of highlights that really showed the effect that the Tour has had on people.
Bowling and Putt Putt with the Camp Quality Kids was for me close to the best part of the Tour. What really hit home was that unless you asked, you couldn't tell who the effected children were. They all had the same great attitudes and zest for life and deserved to be here just as much as the next kid. I think we have all been given a great lesson in life by these kids, that no matter how bad things may seem, you are only as happy or as sad as you choose to be.
However, it wasn't just the kids that made the tour special. There are a few people who deserve special thanks.
Firstly to James, David and Unit. Thank you all for so publicly sharing your stories. You are the real reasons for the Tour and are what gave me inspiration during the though times. It takes a strong person to get up in front of a crowd and share what is a very personal story and I will never forget those moments. I feel honored to have been a part of your Tour de Cure and am proud to call you all friends.
Secondly to the riders who toiled through the toughest of days. Coming into the tour with a very abbreviated training lead up I personally felt the wrath of both Victoria's and NSW hills. Although I neatly hid my pain under my cool, calm and collected exterior, there were many times where I was most definitely in the hurt basket. Saying that, there were many other riders that did it a lot tougher than me. There were days that riders were forced to dig deep and it was these moments that provided inspiration for the rest of us to keep pushing on.
Thirdly to the support team. You guys are what makes the Tour what it is. Without your incredible efforts we would still be somewhere in Victoria with no money in the bank, no direction and frozen to the bone.
If someone were to ask me what the hardest job on Tour was I'd definitely have to say a support team member. While us riders had all the cycling to do (with sore legs and bums to show for it), the support crew had all the thinking to do (with blank faces and massive yawns to show for it). I was very happy to get to bed at the end of every day, while I knew that the support crew still had many late night hours ahead of them to ensure that when we woke up everything was ready to go.
Yesterday someone asked me how we all came together to form the Tour and it got me to thinking about the common link between everyone. While Gary, Geoff and Sam were the Tour founders, somewhere along the line each member of the Tour decided to give a piece of themselves to the cause. As Gary put it, Coming together is a Challenge, Working together is an Achievement, Staying together is Success. (sorry if I misquoted) The success of the Tour has really relied on each and every member and the results are a testament to the type of people involved. After some consideration I answered the initial question of the common link with that the Tour attracts a certain type of person. While we all have very different jobs, lives and personalities, we all share the desire to change the lives of those less fortunate than us. Its no wonder we all got along so well when you consider that the foundations on which we base our lives are the same. I feel absolutely honored to have been a part of the 2008 Tour and to have shared the experience with such a high caliber of person.
All that remains is to look forward to the upcoming TDC events with anticipation of a reunion with all of the out of state (and country) members.

Best Wishes to you all,
Garrick Transell
Proud to be a 2008 Tour de Cure Member

TDC 2008 AWARDS

What a Tour...........So many highlights, memories and outstanding performances by the TDC team (Riders, Support, family and friends)

Celebrating our success and recognising individuals and the Team of the Tour was no easy task. Each and every TDC'r raised the bar in 2008! As we sit on $473,843 on our target of $550,000 the Tour de Cure has raised $877,000 in just over 11 months. WOW! Our first Tour began May 28th 2007................It is humbling to have such support from those directly involved, our corporate partners and each and every donor out there who has believed in what we are doing and financially committed to help find a cure for cancer.

The 2008 Tour de Cure Category Jersey Winners are:

Yellow – Phil Mouret (Team CSC)

Pink – James Buttelman (Team Boost Mobile)

Blue – David Campbell (Team Ella Bache)

Polka Dot – Alex Malone (Team Ella Bache)

Congratulations guys! We hope you will all be back in 2009 to defend your jersey!




The 2008 Tour de Cure Team of the Tour
TDC Team of the Tour is judged on the following criteria where teams were ranked 1 – 7
• Fundraising as an average per team member
• Fundraising on tour
• Team work & spirit of the tour
• Above and Beyonds (postcards nightly / rider etiquette / initiatives of PUP / PR & Ideas of Gary)
• Riding on Tour

THE 2008 TEAM OF THE TOUR is:

Team O’Sullivan Pullini

Lead by
* Amy Copcutt
And team includes
• Garren Cronin
• Gary Bertwistle
• Malcolm Heath
• Tom Hogbin (Pup)

Team O’Sullivan Pullini was a clear cut winner thanks to their incredible dedication to each of the judging criteria which directly reflect the values of the Tour de Cure. Congratulations guys! We hope you will all be back in 2009 to defend your title!

Phenominal result for 2nd place = three way tie between
• Team Icap
• Team CSC
• Team Boost Mobile

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Uncle Pup

FINALLY!

We in the Hogbin family only had to wait an extra 8 days, but I can very happily announce the arrival of my first nephew-

Baxter James was born at 11:36am and weighed in at 3.53kg

After all my belief and willing for the birth to occur whilst on Tour, Pup is now an uncle!
Woohoo!
I'll be up to visit the newest edition of the Hogbin clan on Anzac day and will be sure to give him the right advice on sporting equipment... Cannondale all way!

(Uncle) Pup

Video Blog Day 2 - Delayed

DAY 9 - WOLLONGONG to SYDNEY

Our final day and the weather appeared to have finally caught up with us! It rained through the night and none of us could really complain seeing as the last 8 days had been almost perfect! Who would have thought on the day we left Melbourne and they had the worst storms in decades that we could miss that all together and even benefit from the tail wind on our longest day. I would like to think it was Karma helping the Tour de Cure

Our traditional final dinner in Wollongong was celebrated with family and friends, sharing stories about the incredible journey we had had these past 9 days. The Max and Amy slide show had mouths agape and tears streaming from riders and loved ones. The friendships formed over the 1137km already ridden will live on long after the final pedal is turned in to Fox Studio's. We had some amazing stories shared with us on this trip from those close to us and those we touched. To quote Drew McAlister’s song (which we sang loud and with a tear in our eye on our final night) "it's the thought of you that drives me on" " no matter where the road may lead".............Not a truer word spoken!

As usual our fantastic caterers "Canadian Kitchens" (canadian_kitchens@bigpond.com) severed up a treat for our final push in to Sydney. With only 112km to ride today the girls spoilt us with Bacon and Eggs on muffins on top of our usual 3 course breakfast buffet. It is going to be strange waking up to no CK smiles and coffee being handed to you hot and ready to strengthen our tired bodies.

I was honoured to again wear the Yellow Jersey on the final day in to Sydney. Pulling on the yellow jersey was like pulling on a superman outfit. Ready to leap tall buildings (Stanwell tops) at a single bound.........I am sure Andrew in the Pink Jersey, Sam in the Blue jersey and Tom in Polka Dot Jersey felt exactly the same way.

A final briefing and a quick thank you to Mary at the Comfort Inn Fairways who not only hosted all 38 riders/crew but our families and our final dinner. With 8 days of safe riding behind us my focus was on getting all 36 riders and crew to Sydney in one piece. I must apologise to those who I barked at on this tour, my comments were only made out off concern for everyone's safety.
















A big thanks to Sky Dive the Beach who kindly donated two midweek jumps over Wollongong to help the Tour de Cure fund raising. www.skydivethebeach.com.au
I did the jump a couple of months ago and can highly recommend the thrill!
















Wollongong to Sydney certainly rates as one of the prettiest rides we did. The suspension bridge south of Stanwell Tops is a must see for visitors to Sydney. Not quite the Great Ocean Road but still a stunning view of the coast line. I will post a couple of pictures which Anthony from pearsephotography.com.au took when they come in. Seeing Ant perched on the top railing of the suspension bridge as we snaked towards him was a sight. The winds where strong and his balance looked precarious at best.


Final King of the Mountain Points were eagerly fought out on road to the Stanwell Tops. A 1.4km climb at approx 15% grade was the final category points for the 08 King of the Mountain! Mike Bolt showed that his 8 days of sand bagging in the bunch had left him in good shape for this final attempt. Loey (Cough cough how sick am I REALLY) showed that 65kg's climbs much better than the Units 84kgs. Now I was not there for the finish but I was told that Alex Malone (AKA WonderBOY) looked comfortable as he held off a late charging Mike Bolt and ever present Garren Cronin. His fellow KOM Shop mechanic RICKSTER (also 60kg's if a kilo more) came in 4th to Loeys commendable 5th (or 3rd if you don't count the 2 semi professional riders). Nice work Alex........KOM champion for 2008

A delicious final lunch atop Stanwell Cliffs with soaring hang gliders and a meat buffet fit for a king got the TDC crew ready for the final ride in to Sydney. Steven Lo joined us and with the GPS telling us we had 22km to Bundeena for the Ferry we gave ourselves 75mins to ride the 22km and enjoy the scenery. The road in to the national park was one of the best................ until we passed a sign at the bottom of our climb telling us there was 23km to Bundeena. A quick check of the clock and it was 12.17 and we had to be at Bundeena for the 1pm ferry............YIKES! The bunch had split on the decent in to the national Park and the gap only increased as those feeling strong after 8 days and 1175km climbed easily whilst others found the going tough. I had to share this photo with you. To me it typifies the Tour de Cure Spirit, values and commitment fight to find a cure for Cancer!

This picture was taken on day 6 but exact same image could be seen by SAM and Robyn in the support car as the TDC family pulled together to help those struggling to reach the top of the climb and make up time to the lead bunch as we all sprinted to make the Bundeena ferry in time. I am pleased to say that we made it with just minutes to spare. Nice work Josh, Alex, Denzel and Garrick!

Thanks to Bass and Flinders Ferries who kindly donated out Ferry trip to Cronulla.

A quick coffee in Cronulla and some eager fundraising by PUP who may have found a golden source and we were almost home.



A drop in to Sydney City Lexus to say thanks for their continued support of the Tour de Cure and the Camp Quality Yellow Jersey and we were ready to finish this amazing journey. Mark Ferguson pulled out the big guns and organised a news crew to film our welcome home..................The streets were lined with family and friends, banners and blow horns, tears and hugs as rode in to Fox Studio's. It was great to be home!



Stay tuned for the final Awards BLOG...........Will be posted tomorrow!


Cougar............Signing out for 08!

Day 8- Nowra - The Gong

Waking in Nowra we were faced with a leisurely start before the shortest leg of the trip at 75km. Departing the hotel we were lead out by the Tour Princess Sam, decked out in cocktail dress and high heels on the back of a Fat Boy Harley.

First stop was Nowra High School to talk to Year 10 students about the ride. Nowra High School lost a much-loved member of staff last year to cancer. Geoff talked up a storm, and when he asked who had been affected by cancer, more than three quarters raised their hands – further confirmation about the far reaching effect of these 250 different conditions collectively known as cancer. Many of the kids took it upon themselves to donate their pocket money to the Tour de Cure which was phenomenal! So in exchange we left some boxes of Kelloggs Nutri-Grain and K-Time bars for morning tea.

The major points on offer today were courtesy of a K.O.M hill sprint on a nasty little pinch in Geroa. The major contenders had organised at the front of the pack in anticipation of the contest, however once the attack commenced Alex “The Russian” Malone swept by from the back of the pack and dominated to take out maximum points. Garrin, carrying a severe cold claimed second ahead of a hard-charging guest rider, Tim Morris of CSC (not the pro-tour squad…) Obviously the strongest effort was from Mike Bolt of team ICAP who lead out and whilst wearing the pink jersey supported all whilst sacrificing the potential selfish points grab.

Minnimurra featured a number highlights!! Arriving in Minnamurra, we rode past the amazing students of the local primary school who lined the street to cheer us on! You’re all fantastic and made our day!! This was followed by a typically amazing lunch in the park on the waterfront, and coffee and scones donated by the Minnamurra General Store (voted best coffee in the region!!), in addition to the $350 they raised in the last week for the TdC.

Minnimurra also featured some gutsy grabs for extra donations from the Pup – firstly a swim/run/swim/run/swim across the lagoon within 3 mins for a nifty fifty, followed by 9 scones consumed in 2 mins after a massive serving at lunch. All in all, nearly $200 raised and a lot of amusement for all!

Alex The Russian often tells us (and occasionally shows us) just how good he is on and around bikes. However today he displayed further proficiency in a less than cool area, known as “The Hubbard Tattoo”. Apparently in a lapse moment he stumbled and scored the finest hubbard tatt of the Tour. Sorry Alex, you’ve stuffed up

The final highlight was Vaughan attempting to clip in whilst completely motionless on the grass at lunch prior to departure. This resulted in him very quickly being completely upside down, on his back with the bike in the air, still clipped in. Seemless, and you’ve stuffed up too (no damage done, just dented pride and total loss of respect in the peleton.

For the second time only in 1060km, our fearless and nearly faultess lead drivers made a wrong turn!! The missed exit on the highway lead to some hairy and amusing reversing, apologising, but no harm done and very quickly we were on our way in the right direction.

We arrived at the lovely Comfort Inn Fairways in Wollongong, had a quick unpack, stretch, swim and headed off to meet a bunch of Camp Quality kids for a round of Putt Putt and swings on the driving range. We paired up with the kids, agreed on the prizes (ice creams, and the variety chosen was almost unanimously “the most expensive one!”). As golfers, the TdC riders are fantastic cyclists and the greens at the local Putt Putt proved too much for us bunch of hacks and we happily paid up. These kids were inspirational – some of the stories were humbling in the hardships these young people and their families deal with on a daily basis. By the time you’re reading this, Keely, 11, who has already had 5 brain operations on tumours, has just started another bout of Chemo. Her attitude was “It kind of hurts, I’ll probably lose my hair again, but it grows back…”

While we write, Pup is sitting behind us. A person walks in, puts their hands over Pup’s eyes. Pup’s first guess is Renae, which results in much laughter. So Pup checks the hand and watch and declares it must be a female. However, on turning around, he finds his old man and TdC veteran Ian Hogbin standing behind him (with apparently hairless and beautifully manicured hands). Welcome for the final day Ian.

So right now we’re looking forward to spending the final night together and a fantastic day tomorrow into Sydney. The forecast is thundery showers, heavy at times. We’ve had such fantastic luck with the weather, hopefully our luck holds for just one more day.

Cheers,
Team ICAP

Day 7 - Welcome to the 1,000km Club!

Batemans Bay – Nowra

Distance 120 odd clicks
---

Day 7 from Batemans Bay to Nowra (120 odd clicks) was another cracker for Team TDC.

After a massive 4 days (where many riders had ridden back-to-back personal bests for the past few days) we welcomed a bit of a sleep in and a late kick off.

Huge thanks to Charlotte and Bec who drove in from Sydney & Canberra respectively to provide much needed Osteopath support to the riders. Also joining us was Megan from Kensington Physiotherapy who will be dishing up the Physiotherapy - huge thanks again! (We actually have a selection of Deep Tissue Massage, Osteopath Treatment and two Physiotherapists to choose from - were in better hands than the Australian Olympic Team!).

Today’s riding was a bit of a mixed bag – some beautiful scenery mixed in with a bit of traffic and some rain – but overall another great days riding.

A highlight was being met at on the outskirts of Nowra by a bunch of Harley Davidson riders for a quick photo opp with the local press and an escort into and around town.

After arriving in Nowra some riders took the opportunity to do an additional 15km loop to knock up 1000km in a week – a huge achievement!

Tomorrow we have a gentle 85km to Woolongong and then onto Sydney!

Congratulations to today’s Jersey winners;
Pink - Breast Cancer Foundation - For Support - Mike Bolt
Blue - Prostate Cancer Foundation - For Guts - Brad Peake
Polka Dot - Focus - David Lo
Yellow - Camp Quality - For Attitude – Josh McBride (at last!)

Team CSC

Day 6 - Welcome to the Hills

We awoke to a beautiful clear morning from the Comfort Inn at Merimbula. Overnight, National 9 News anchor Mark Ferguson drove four hours to arrive at 1am to join us for 2 days of the Tour as one of Camp Quality’s patrons.

Over our usual hearty breakfast one of our riders Brad shared a story of a friend who passed away overnight from skin cancer and Brad asked us to dedicate the ride to him - Gary. This yet again brought home the reason for why we're all doing the ride and motivated us to complete days like today ............

Geoff sent us off with the promise of a ‘few hills’ for the majority of the day and he didnt disappoint ....200 metres into the start we saw our first climb that had the blood pumping and the legs and arm warmers coming off as we ascended 3kms - straight up into the beautiful Merimbula forest.

The following 80kms along the coast was nothing short of breathtaking as we rolled through beaches and inlets with crystal clear blue waters and true blue Australian camping grounds and a sense that everyone was on holiday. Unfortunately in between all the breathtaking views was hill ... after hill ... after hill ...

The group broke in to two again - with the natural hill climbers taking the lead. Team O'Sullivan Pullini once again dominated in many of the hill sprints and Garren led the pack whilst enduring a head cold. Alex and Rick from King of the Mountain set a nice steady pace for the the second group took leading us through the rolling hills and some of the steep never ending climbs.

The day heated up and numerous bottles of Powerade were drunk by every rider and those that collected the daily statistics counted over 78 GU's and 50 Kelloggs Bars consumed during the ride. And those at the back of the pack were kept amused with the dancing and singing antics of Cromo.

The last 15km's into Moruya (for lunch) felt like 60km's and hunger complaints were heard drifting through both packs of riders. The girls from Canadian Kitchen didn't disappoint with a fantastic Mexican feast which lasted about 5minutes - with riders pushing each other out of the way..... followed by Pavlova. It's not until days like today on the bike when you realise how important a good meal is to keep you going. We are indebted to the girls for keeping us well fed with nutritious meals at every stop.

Lunch finished way too soon with all of us knowing that there were 30kms left to 'climb' as we had been warned about the upcoming 'killers' ... and they weren't exaggerating. We finally rolled in to Batemans Bay and many of us were stoked to see friends and family waiting for us and who also stayed on for dinner and the Category Jersey presentations

Category Jersey Winners tonight were ....

Pink - Breast Cancer Foundation - For Support - The Canadian Kitchen Girls - Leisa and Mel
Blue - Prostate Cancer Foundation - For Guts - Garren Cronin (and his bee sting)
Polka Dot - Focus - Rick Horvat (who is sitting here helping me write this now ... still focused)
Yellow - Camp Quality - For Attitude - Mark Ferguson ( Channel 9 News Anchor)


As we sit here typing this feeling worn and weary I know that each rider had to put in a big effort to get through today but we feel it was the most rewarding day of the tour and nothing compared to what many cancer patients have to go through every day. We hope this small effort increases awareness in the community and makes the road to finding a cure that much closer.

Signing out Team O'Sullivan Pullini

Day 5 - Mallacoota to Merimbula

After a solid 400+ km over the previous 2 days and early departures, we had a leisurely start to Day 5 with breakfast at 8am. We awoke to a gorgeous sunny, clear and almost windless morning.
Following brekkie, our new black Body Torque jerseys were presented to the team down by Lake Mallacoota. Then we gathered for some model team photos before heading back to pack the Avis truck and Lexus cars. We said a big farewell and thank you to Cath Turner and the ladies at the lovely Mallacoota Hotel Motel, before finally rolling out at 10am.

Thanks to a solid morning by Robyn Canner Massage a few more bodies were back in shape for the start of today. Which was just as well, because the first 23kms out of Mallacoota were pretty hilly and a lot of us took a while to warm up. But it was gorgeous scenery and everyone enjoyed the beauty of the morning. Lemo was even willing to pay for it - $40 flew out of his jacket as he sped down one of our descents. Thankfully Garren stopped to pick up $20. If anyone happens to find $20 on the road from Mallacoota to Genoa just donate it to TourDeCure.com.au! The peloton then turned onto the Prince's Hwy and shared the next 50km with some very accommodating logging trucks….although one truckie stopped to pass on some rather animated advice to our champion lead drivers Evo and James. Of course, all constructive feedback for our safety – thanks mate!

Pretty much from then on, it was single file through the hills, some of which proved to be a little testing for some sore legs. The pack split into 2 with Pup and Brad leading the charge for the front markers (Doing Team Ella Bache proud – great work Brad), with Josh, Denver, Rick and Alex looked after the second pack. With expectations of morning tea around the 50km mark, we were all a little surprised to still be riding at 70km….now with empty water bottles and little food remaining. However, we were rewarded for persistence at 72km when we found the Canadian Kitchen Catering girls and filled up on Orange & Poppy Seed muffins, margarita pizza and plenty of Powerade.

A mere 30km more brought us into the gorgeous town of Merimbula. But not before a very testing 14% (ie really steep), 2km climb about 10km out split the pack once more. While a few of us battled our way up King of the Mountain line honours went to Garren, with Gary Bertwistle a close second.

We filled up on pasta for lunch before heading up to our Comfort Inn for chores, stretching and some recovery time. A big thanks to the KOM boys who every afternoon tweak the bikes in preparation for tomorrow’s big day.

Today also proved costly for Gary ‘Unit’ Holland. Our star yellow Camp Quality jersey wearer, Amy, bet Gary fifty bucks he couldn’t stay at the back of the pack for the whole day. Sure enough, he was back in the front few after only 23km!

Evo and Lemo had to take a little detour via Permbula District Hospital, for suspect chest infections (or a bad case of Man Cold). The doctor and nurses on duty were fantastic and both boys were treated with some tender loving health care.

Our evening meal of Paella and Pasta was provided by Merrimbula Comfort Inn. We then sat back and enjoyed two days of photos from Max and Amy’s slide show. The category winners for today were:

Yellow Camp Quality (attitude) – Marty Pearce
Pink National Breast Cancer Foundation (support) – Geoff Coombes
Blue Pratt Foundation/Prostate Cancer (guts) – Evo
KOM Morph Polka Dot Jersey – Robyn Canner

Everyone’s trying to get to bed early as we have another big day tomorrow – close to 200km. Renae has got half the team out chatting up the town tonight for some much needed funds to help fight cancer. So if you see the team out there, empty your pockets and please given generously – especially to Team Ella Bache!!

Day 4 (Biggest Ride Ever)

Our 5am wake up call had Lake’s Entrance greet us with a balmy 4 degrees and saw team choice in a word of pain. A horror night on laundry duty ended at 10:30pm with the erstwhile and legendary “Evo” of Team Boost our support crew finishing off so we could get some much needed sleep. The team was pleasantly surprised to hear that the forecast hail storm had blown over a few hours earlier.

Due to the distance (210km) and 5 large climbs (totaling over 2000m collectively) the decision was handed down to split the group into two teams. The first group rolled out at 6:30am with the second group, chomping at the bit, being released at 7:00am intent on mowing down team 1 before the morning tea break at 60km’s in. After some dubious navigation by the first team the contest was declared a dead heat (by Lowy in the first group).

A quick stretch and hydration tutorial by Alan at Recovery Sports saw us roll out at a respectable pace of 27km/hr whilst taking in the beautiful scenery on the road to Cann River. (Insert movie )Our first major hill climb saw Ricky Horvat giving Charmaine (a less experienced rider) some advice on climbing technique, only to have her take his advice and fly past him on the next hill!

2 climbs and many km’s down saw the local traffic pick up. All in all the riders were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the road as well as the friendly waves and smiles, not to mention the occasional air horn.

Stopping at Cann River for lunch our amazing caterers from Canadian Kitchens again made sure that every one of our 140km’s worth of energy was replaced. We were joined for lunch by some fantastic locals who generously donated all they could and uplifted spirits amongst the riders and crew. A few of the riders took the chance to get some remedial work done from Robyn aka house of pain. It seemed that the ‘few’ riders was in fact just Andrew “Lemmo” Lemon, who needed the entire Boost Mobile support crew to tend to his aches and pains.


After lunch the riders were again split into 2 groups for the remaining 77km climb into Mallacootta. Team Choice sent 3 of its members into the first group who ended the day with an average speed of 30km/hr (quite incredible considering the 2000m+ of climbing) Of note in the first group to leave lunch was some fantastic banter including a song adaptation which rung out “sweet home Mallacootta, where the Powerade is blue.” The scenery along the trip into our destination was nothing short of breathtaking with long sloping hills which were painful on the legs but easy on the eyes. Funnily enough there were similar reports of a trip full of singing from the second group to leave lunch. It must have been all that was capable of distracting the riders as the final 77km’s seemed far longer than the first 140km of the day.


Upon arrival the entire team congratulated each other on an incredible day and given how big it was, the energy and elation took everyone to a higher place. The Caterers hit town to get supplies and were stoked that Foodworks Mallacoota came to the party with boxes of bananas, lollies and juice to the value of $350.The evening’s events were just as colourful with the Cougar (Geoff Coombes) going to extremes to spur the locals in the pub into donating over $1000. A fantastic day ended with some light (painful) massage in preparation for the trip to tomorrow. Merimbula, here we come!

Wild Wednesday

We would firstly like to start our blog by thanking Geoff from the Quality Inn La Trobe Convention Centre in Traralgon for not only providing superb accommodation, but by donating dinner to the whole TDC group - Fantastic Hospitality and generosity!


The morning started somewhat unusually by the riders collecting sample cups from Allan of Recovery Sports and then returning them charged with urine for analysis of our hydration levels. We were all surprised with how dehydrated we had become, with the worst result being 1 litre down. This meant everyone made a mad rush to increase their water intake, which subsequently meant that the first 70km's of riding was littered with 'comfort stops', this somewhat slowed us down, but we were all well watered!

On a day that became known as 'Wild Wednesday' due to ferocious storms that lashed much of Victoria we managed to weave our way through the Gippsland countryside with nothing but a solid northerly wind which at times made riding difficult.

A Herculean effort from The Unit and Crommo made sure that the rest of the TDC group (including the cars) were able to ride 171km smoothly averaging over 31km/h in winds gusting up to 40 knots.

For lunch we stopped in the beautiful town of Bainsdale where a group of riders smooth talked (Denver) locals into generously donating to this great cause.

The last leg of our ride took in some great country side but also provided some tough riding due to the wind. All riders and crew had to dig deep to ensure that we all arrived safely into Lakes Entrance.



All sprint points were dominated today by team Travelforce with Crommo 1st in the first sprint, Steamboat first in the second sprint with Crommo finishing second and Marty pulling away from a poultry Josh in the third and final sprint of the day.

Category Jersey winners for today were as follows;

Yellow for attitude and spirit: Denver
Blue for guts: Kate
Pink for support: Alex
Polka Dot for focus: The Unit

Signing off - Team Travelforce

Day 2 - Cranbourne - Traralgon

Day 2


April Fools Day – 1st April.

Category Jersey Winners


Versol Lexus Camp Quality Yellow Jersey for Commitment: Vaughan Kerr for setting up the kickoff day activities at Federation Square and using his endless contact within the media and entertainment business to secure our place on morning television and radio.
Pratt Foundation Prostate Cancer Blue Jersey for Guts: Awarded to Max Walker for his tenacity and battle to get fit for this years tour despite endless overseas and local work commitments.
Morph KOM Polka Dot Jersey for Focus: Stuart Crompton for his endless bar raising when it comes to fundraising and anything else.
New Idea Breast Cancer Pink Jersey for Support : James Buttelman for his selfless support of rider on the roads by constantly ensuring the peleton was clearly visible to our fellow road users.

Day 2 started out with the pleasant surprise that the showers forecast for today last week had failed to arrive and we were instead left with blue-bird skies and a chilly 10 degrees for breaky. A special thanks to the team at the Comfort Inn Mahogany Park in Cranbourne for hosting us for the night and a putting on a wonderful spread!

We were greeted in the briefing by the news that Phil Mouret (Team CSC) had thrown the gauntlet down early with an amazing verified donation of 2000 Euros (AU$2943) from Verosol Europe, sending him smashing through the $35,000 mark in personal donations!

We were also greeted the news that a new publicity opportunity had arisen over night which meant 60km had been added to the day, taking the ride to 195km. This was received with a mixture of nerves from some and slightly lunatic excitement from others!

The Tour de Cure welcomed special guests Andrew Lavery from CSC and his 15yr old son Jack (whose training consisted of the ride to school and back a few times!) to come along for the ride today. The TdC peleton rolled out with a degree of trepidation but smoked through the first 50km; smooth, flat country back roads, no wind and fresh morning air allowed us fire along in tight formation at +40km/hr.

This stretch featured the first KOM (King of the Mountain) points opportunity: a nasty “Cat 4” (ie short 1km) pinch which allowed the riders to raise the heart-rarte. Garrin Cronin of Team O’Sullivan Pullini claimed the points cresting in front of a steaming Crommo (Team Travelforce) and Gary “The Unit” Holland of Team Choice Hotels. Clearly though the real General Classification hopes are holding back for later in the Tour, with Team ICAP keeping their lead rider Michael Bolt well protected in the back half of the peleton.

At morning tea Tommy “Pup” Hogbin took the opportunity to raise Team Travelforce’s funds with the local Senior Ladies and ended up with kisses from some of the town’s finest over-60’s! The combination of the Puppy charm and mentoring from “Obi Wan Denver” (full-time Mayor of Manly and part-time Jedi Love Master) obviously leaves ladies of all ages utterly defenceless…

Lunch at Yarragon featured 3 highlights – the food (obviously) and the generosity of the township and the 2nd Points opportunity – the Main Street Sprint.

1. Food: Java Curry with Beans, Vietnamese salad backed up with Mousse and Ice cream….
2. Generosity: Renae, Pup and Denver were again a cyclone of energy canvassing the local stores and came up trumps!!!! Firstly, with our truck up ahead containing the Powerade, the local Yarragon Milk Bar produced 2 cases of icy Powerade for the crew!!!! Then entering Annabel's Gift Shop, the team met a lovely lady named Mary who had lost her parents to cancer and currently has both her brother and sister ungoing treatment. Mary had set up a collection tin on her counter for spare change from shoppers and her own cash register to try to help contribute to finding a cure for cancer. She happily and VERY generously donated this to the Tour de Cure.

3. Main Street Sprint: The first Sprint points were located at the far end of the Yarragon Main street, and involved a 300m flat chat sprint from a standing start taken out by the reigning Australian and World Champion Bike Mechanic Alex “The Russian” Malone of Team Ella Bache showing uncharacteristic speed from a known climber to dominate out of the blocks leaving Cougar (CSC) and Unit (Travelforce) to argue over the minor placings

Upon being told that the altered route for today and 195km was actually an April Fool's Day prank, the tension within the bunch eased significantly (although some sicko's actually looked dissappointed...) We set off for the final leg into Traralgon and quickly the road surface on the break down lane deteriorated: The lead car worked hard with Evo and James clearing debris such as retread, rocks, and a full (yep, used) nappy, adding keeping Australia beautiful to TdC’s list of achievements. The KOM boys also worked overtime changing 8 tubes, 2 tyres and dragging cyclists back to the peleton time and time again as the gravel and glass took its toll.

Arriving into Traralgon, we were greeted by local media and the friendly team at the Quality Inn La Trobe Conference Centre. After a quick unpack the TdC stretched and relaxed in the sun by the beautiful central (and chilly) pool briefly before getting into the daily chores and joining some locals for dinner. In true form the cyclists were in bed by 9pm (aside from team ICAP who are probably still trying to complete this blog of the day's sensational events...)

Special thanks AGAIN to

Comfort Inn Mahogany Park, Cranbourne

The team at Yarragon Milk Bar, the finest milk bar in the Western Gippsland region!

Mary from Annabels, your story only strengthened our resolve to help find a cure

Team ICAP