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LINKS IN THE CHAIN – BIKE RIDE Second Half 27 May 2001 From Rockhampton to Gladstone is a fairly short ride compared to the first three days. A mere 107 km. I noticed a lot of Australian and US Marine vehicles around, this was due to Exercise Tandem Thrust being conducted at Shoalwater Bay Training Area. At the turn off to Gladstone the ride became easier due to the lack of wind and the road to Gladstone being more downhill than up. 28 May 2001 Gladstone to Gin Gin took me thru Miriam Vale and some of the larger undulating hills along the Bruce Highway. Total distance was 160 km. Along the way I was passed by numerous Army vehicle convoys returning to Brisbane from Shoalwater Bay, most drivers would give a blast of the horn and a wave, receiving encouragement is always a nice feeling, made all the better when it is received from total strangers. Whilst the climbs were not very large they did wear me down and I plodded into Gin Gin. After checking into the motel, a long hot shower helped relieve the soreness. 29 May 2001 Departing Gin Gin for Maryborough was a chilly affair with the temperature being ten degrees. For those who live further south this isn’t too bad, but coming from Townsville, it was rather cold. I pulled out the arm and leg warmers and it made a lot of difference. I was able to discard them about an hour later as the sun heated things up. Not far out of Childers I had to pull off the road as a house was being moved and was still wide enough to cover the entire road. After riding 115 km I arrived at Maryborough. It was here I was visited by Jenny Grimshaw who had also ridden a Link in the Chain and it was interesting to hear how she and her companions had planned and completed their ride. 30 May 2001 Maryborough to Nambour was the section I was dreading due to the large climbs just out of Gympie, however I was pleased to be informed by Jenny Grimshaw that the road had been rebuilt recently and the climbs were lesser than what I had already ridden near Gin Gin. The ride 150 km and I was still feeling pretty good at the end. I can only assume that the legs were used to riding the distances and the rear end had moulded itself to the shape of the saddle enough for it to no longer cause me any bother. 31 May 2001 Nambour to Brisbane. The final leg. It was this leg that I finally had some company of fellow cyclists. The first was Jeff from Ranges Cycles who we met at the Big Pineapple. It must be the competitive instinct, but the pace picked up to an average of 27 kph from the usual 22 – 24 kph. Once back onto the Bruce Highway it was off to Caboolture to pick up the second rider. We finally caught up with Lynn and Josh Burke at the BP Station on the Bruce Highway. Josh was another Links in the Chain rider who had ridden from Brisbane to Canberra. He was unable to be in Cnaberra on the 9th May 2001 as he had to be in Melbourne on that day. I was very grateful to have both Jeff and Josh accompany me on the final leg into Brisbane. We covered the final 109 km in fairly quick time and arrived at Enogerra Barracks just on lunch time. After the usual finish photos we moved down to the local Subway for lunch and chatted about the ride etc.I would like to thank Corporals PJ Smith and Stuart McGregor who accompanied me on this ride as my support team. |