The 210km stage two ride from Jamieson to Bright started under clear blue skies, albeit slightly colder than the perfect conditions of day one. While the riders got down to business and tried to get the blood flowing in their legs the Media team had a much more eventful start to the day. In the time before morning tea they-

  • almost hit a wombat
  • nearly got the media van bogged
  • saved an injured turtle from the side of the road from being squashed
  • nearly lost the drone, then managed to save it when the video feed was lost and the battery indicator hit 1%

They did get the sprint point flags up today (After accidentally taking them down before the second group on the road passed through), only for the faster group to go down the wrong road and miss the flags entirely!

#UltimateCharityChallenge2018

For the riders the stage had 3 defining elements- a harder than anticipated 5km KOM climb at an average of 7%, an 11km descent at break-neck speeds topping out around 90kph and then 110km of hot, windy and truly testing conditions as we made our way ever closer to our destination.

While the fastest ascent on the KOM climb was again Willem, with Sean’s handicapping system in full effect the new KOM competition leader is George, who was 3rd up the climb today and has shown just how powerful he is on all forms of terrain.

The Sprint competition leader changes hands to Mike who showed a fine turn of pace although with triple points up for grabs in the faster group (due to the flag and navigation mishaps) tomorrow’s stage may again see this change hands.

Sam win’s today’s ‘Ingers Spirit of the Peloton’ jersey for his efforts to ensure the group 2 ride captains received a well-earned break from the front of the peloton (while totally unrelated, we also owe Sam a beer after he kindly shared a Sheaf stout with the Blackchrome team this evening!)

Some more acknowledgements from the stage go to-

Mary’s homemade meatballs- an delicious meal that had everyone going back for more

Neville from Orange Sky’s ongoing hard work and dedication to providing as much support to the riders as possible. We are all truly thankful to have him on the ride with us.

Group 1 rider and Movember employee Cyril for the incredibly informative talk on men’s health and also to Kevin for having the courage to tell his story

The media team have now started amassing a great range of photos and videos that will be showcased at the end of the ride.

With ‘only’ 170km tomorrow the stage is the shortest so far, but with plenty of climbing and the possibility of rain anything can happen! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update of stage 3!

To make a donation to the team supporting Movember, Orange Sky Laundry and Bicycle NSW Environmental Trust click the links below.

Donate on behalf of:
Alex
Brett
Mark
Travis

Charity Partners