Andrew Tong | Triathlon coaching

Day 10 started wet, cold and windy although we were all keen to finish what we started. How many people do you know that have ridden from Sydney to Melbourne? I now know 24 of them! My stats for the day were 110k with 518m of climbing. This would normally sound easy but not so easy when riding into the cold rain and a solid head wind. Total stats for the 10 days was 1,436k, 15,821m of climbing and total ride time of 55 hours 47 minutes. Big thanks to all the fellow riders and all the support team who helped get me around.

The day started with breakfast at a local cafe and we were meant to go to a local park to launch the local Red Shield Appeal but due to the weather this was done at the cafe. We then made our final departure for Melbourne, along the way we detoured fire Packenham Salvos for a coffee and warm place for a few minutes and then lunch at Mordialloc in a local cafe, again our outdoor lunch was cancelled due to the weather conditions. We left Mordialloc for the MCG and despite still being cold and windy the rain had finally stopped. We all arrived at the MCG happy to finish our ride from Sydney to Melbourne. Hard to believe that it is over but glad to say I have done it.

As a group we have raised over $220k for The Red Shield Appeal but I am sure we can get more so please keep donating to my fundraising. Tonight we have a celebration dinner and tomorrow morning we go to the National launch of The Red Shield Appeal. Thanks all for you support it has been a great experience and please remember to give generously.

Some may think we have done it tough for the last 10 days, yes it was tough and challenging but we enjoyed the challenge and this is what we signed up for. We were fed (over fed?) multiple times a day, given hot and cold drinks, had a warm safe bed to sleep in and clean clothes. Many Australians are genuinely doing it tough and battling to survive. This is not something that they signed up for so please remember them. The Salvos try to help and look after these peoples needs and the only way they can do this is through the support and generosity of Australians so they need your Donation, not someone else’s but YOUR donation.

Today was the day that had put dread in most of our minds since signing onto the tour. We had an optional ride to Mt Baw Baw. Not that anything is optional when you are there and it may be your only chance to attempt this brutal climb you have to try. Total distance for the day was 170k with 3,562m of climbing. This was a brutal as promised with a tough 6.8k on very steep gradients to the summit. I am pleased that I attempted and completed this climb although I was absolutely spent after this effort and still had to ride some 70k to Warragul.

Apart from being tough it was a beautiful place to ride in the forest and an absolute pleasure to be there. There are many tired people on tour all looking forward to our final roll to Melbourne and finishing at the MCG. The forecast is for a wet day and we hope this forecast does not eventuate.

I will post a final update tomorrow and wrap up. Please keep donating to the Salvos and thanks for all the support. One of the photos below is the elevation graph of todays ride.

#RedShieldRide #RedShieldAppeal

Today was meant to be an easy roll after 3 big days in the saddle. A later start than normal had us rolling to the Sale Salvation Army to see their work first hand. I did have a chance here to tell the Sale Salvos as to why we are riding and what motivates us to help them. I tried to say it is a team and we admire and want to support the front line workers with funds to be able to help those in need. After our visit we started our roll to Sale. Keep donating to the Salvos where the money goes to the help the people that need it most.

The forecast was for us to be riding into strong headwind all day and unfortunately this was correct. We took constant rolling turns to share the load (unlike group B drafting behind their support car!) and were spread out across the lane trying to shelter from the wind when not on front. Needless to say the ride was not fast as it was extremely tough when on front. Total distance 102.4k and 517m of climbing. We did throw in a few extra K’s as we felt that anything under 100k was too short.

I am still working on my coffee skills and help out on the coffee machine at the breaks.

Tomorrow is a big day so I will spend the rest of today preparing physically and mentally for the penultimate stage and our biggest stage of the tour. #RedShieldAppeal #RedShieldRide

Easy they said! only half the climbing (elevation) of yesterday. When you have 880k in the legs from the last 6 days nothing is easy! Today it was wet at the start and then when the rain cleared up around lunch time we had a strong headwind to contend with. Nothing was easy today and we are all smashed! The last few hours were very tough with a few riders hanging on to the back of the pack. We had a much needed stop 20k from completion for water, Coca Cola and Bananas. Rolled into the Motel a very weary and tired bunch. We did stop earlier in the day at Lakes Entrance for morning tea where I have started to help with the coffee van to speed up the breaks and lunch at Bairnsdale.

Todays ride was 173k with 1,009m of climbing. That makes it 1,053.1k for the week 11,174m of climbing and 39h 55m of riding time. No wonder we are tired. Surely that is worth a donation if you haven’t already or maybe you are inspired to donate more? So we have 3 days left and around 350k of riding and a massive climb up to Mt Baw Baw on Tuesday.

I hope you are enjoying the updates today I have nothing left to say I am just too exhausted. Looking forward to an easier day tomorrow and hope that the weather is dry?

#RedShieldAppeal #RedShieldRide