Saturday October 18 signalled the start of an action packed weekend of cycling in Melbourne and a small group of TDCers were there to soak it up and 'fly the flag'.
With many of the pro teams in town for the last stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, there was a real buzz in the air !
Team CSC was already well positioned with both the yellow and green jerseys on the backs of CSC riders Stuart O'Grady and Matt Goss in the lead up to the finale and given that they are a major sponsor of Tour de Cure, we were there to cheer them on.
Thanks also to CSC, Mal Heath and I had the pleasure of participating in a group ride with the CSC pro team on the Saturday morning and this was a unique chance to meet legends such as Stuart O'Grady and Brad McGee. We met at the Park View Hotel at 10.30am and after being kitted out in CSC gear, we set out for a few leasurely laps of Albert Park before arriving at the Belgian Beer cafe for a ales and some lunch. It was all great fun and we even got to catch up with some of the CSC staff that joined us for sections of this year's tour from Melbourne to Sydney. Barry and Sarah, in particular were in good form.....Sarah showing off her new bike as well !
Needless to say, Stuey went on to win the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and the champagne corks were flying ! Saturday night celebrations would have been a blast and even more 'over the top' because this was the last race for Brad McGee's professional career. Having enjoyed a long and very accomplished career, Brad now hangs up his 'cleats' but will take over the job of Directeur Sportif for the new team. Good luck Brad !
So it was a great day and after a nice meal at the London Hotel in Richmond we returned to the Hotel for an early...ish night's sleep before tackling 'Around the Bay in a day' the next morning.
Our thanks again to Choice Hotels, who generously provided accomodation at the Comfort Hotel Elizabeth Tower over the weekend. This was the second year in a row that we stayed at the Elizabeth Tower and Carol was once again a great host. Choice Hotels continue to be a strong supporter of Tour de Cure and this is very much appreciated.
It was hard to get out of bed at 4.30am Sunday morning, but once we got over the initial stupor, we were ready to roll ! Who said that the carbs from last night's beers would help !
The weather was a bit overcast but not cold enough to wear winter gear....phew. We were pretty happy about that as we headed down Swanston St to meet up with Dan and Mark who are contemplating riding in the 2009 TDC. So, off we went...the 5 of us.
We had opted for the 210km Sorrento return trip this year so instead of crossing the bay and returning to Melbourne via Geelong, as we had done in the past, we turned around and returned via the coast road.
It was an absolutely fantastic ride ! No punctures...thankyou Victoria, your roads are beautiful and so much better than what we are used to in Sydney.
After lunch and a coffee in Sorrento, we set off for the return trip and what a trip it was ! We hooked up with a couple of good 'bunches' who set a very respectable speed of approx 40-45km/h for most of the way. We were back in St Kilda by about 12.30pm. Dan made a great suggestion for lunch and we stopped at 'Racers' cafe for eggs, toast and coffee..beauuutiful ! You really get an appreciation for Melbourne's strong cycling culture as this cafe was dedicated to cyclists and had large hooks from which to hag your bike plus a replica of Cadels Ridley Noah proudly displayed above the counter.
That night I returned to Nimes for the Tour de France stage finish and met up with TDC riders Gary Bertwistle, Mike Bolt, Denver Beven and also Simon Martin and Shane who were all doing various trips to follow the Tour. We had a great dinner together and thought about our mates in Oz freezing to death on their early morning rides......ughh.
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