Riding for Glen Johanesen today an old friend of Barry's (support crew).
Friday, 11 January 2013
Day 11 photos
Wodonga to Eurora
Riding for Glen Johanesen today an old friend of Barry's (support crew).
Lunch break at a truck stop!
Arrival in Euroa - bikies on roadies and bikers on Harleys
Riding for Glen Johanesen today an old friend of Barry's (support crew).
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Day 10 Wagga-Wagga to Albury- Wodonga
Yay!!! Back on the bikes again!! Fire conditions had improved overnight but there was still a fair bit of smoke hanging around. The morning was cool, at 0600 it was only 15 degrees - pretty chilly, not what we have gotten used to, so we had our arm warmers and vests on for the first hour or so.
Today we rode in memory of Melissa Strange, the cousin of Ange from Bendigo Bank in Wagga and in support of Ralph Hawkins, one of the regional managers of Bendigo Bank. It was an honor to ride for them today.
Today's trip south was heaps easier than what we have ridden so far. ONLY 130km (that's so short hahaha). A fast, flat road, with no wind, very little traffic, in pretty good condition. The temperature was gradually rising and hit 33 degrees whilst we were riding! It got hotter later, after we had stopped to do some fundraising and got to about 42 degrees. It's pretty hot right now in fact - it's 1840 and its still 32 degrees. Anyway, we honked along the road and got to Albury by 1130 - total champs, we smashed it! Wal from our support crew joined us on his bike for the last 30 km into town, it was nice to have someone else in the pack!!
We also smashed the fundraising in Albury, cruising the streets with our tins and on the windtrainers again outside the Albury Bendigo Bank, in 1 hour we raised close to $ 1700!! We love these country cities. We then crossed " the border" from NSW to VIC with an escort from the Wodonga Fire Brigade. We're now in Victoria! We are now being really looked after by the Wodonga Firies, both career and volunteer! Firie hospitality is amazing. Being a firefighter is like being part of one big family. Firies can't do enough to help each other out. We really hope that some of the guys we are meeting will come to Hobart or to Launceston so we can look after them as well as they have been looking after us.
Off to do some more fundraising soon, apparently Thursday night is a busy pub night - suits us, you know how Firies love to drink beer!
Forecast for tomorrow is hot and we are heading to Euroa - about 160km of a pretty flat road!!
Em
Today we rode in memory of Melissa Strange, the cousin of Ange from Bendigo Bank in Wagga and in support of Ralph Hawkins, one of the regional managers of Bendigo Bank. It was an honor to ride for them today.
Today's trip south was heaps easier than what we have ridden so far. ONLY 130km (that's so short hahaha). A fast, flat road, with no wind, very little traffic, in pretty good condition. The temperature was gradually rising and hit 33 degrees whilst we were riding! It got hotter later, after we had stopped to do some fundraising and got to about 42 degrees. It's pretty hot right now in fact - it's 1840 and its still 32 degrees. Anyway, we honked along the road and got to Albury by 1130 - total champs, we smashed it! Wal from our support crew joined us on his bike for the last 30 km into town, it was nice to have someone else in the pack!!
We also smashed the fundraising in Albury, cruising the streets with our tins and on the windtrainers again outside the Albury Bendigo Bank, in 1 hour we raised close to $ 1700!! We love these country cities. We then crossed " the border" from NSW to VIC with an escort from the Wodonga Fire Brigade. We're now in Victoria! We are now being really looked after by the Wodonga Firies, both career and volunteer! Firie hospitality is amazing. Being a firefighter is like being part of one big family. Firies can't do enough to help each other out. We really hope that some of the guys we are meeting will come to Hobart or to Launceston so we can look after them as well as they have been looking after us.
Off to do some more fundraising soon, apparently Thursday night is a busy pub night - suits us, you know how Firies love to drink beer!
Forecast for tomorrow is hot and we are heading to Euroa - about 160km of a pretty flat road!!
Em
Day 9... Fire
Day 9 Yass to Wagga-Wagga
Unfortunately we were unable to ride our bikes from Yass to Wagga, there was a fire burning near Yass and local authorities advised us not to ride. The fire was out of control and the winds were unpredictable, we would've been riding into a potentially very dangerous situation! So Ben, the publican from The Australian Hotel in Yass lent us his mini bus and we drove to Wagga. We were very disappointed about not getting on our bikes but we had to put our safety first and lucky we didn't ride as the fire was burning fiercely again during the day and the whole area was smoke-logged.
So we got to Wagga early and had heaps of time to fundraise with the amazing crew from Wagga Bendigo Bank. With their BBQ, riding on our windtrainers and tin rattling we raised close to $1,800!!! !
The Bendigo guys were awesome, they made us very welcome and put on some food and drinks for us!! Thanks guys, it was great to meet you. We stayed at Turvey Park Fire Station and once again the on shift crew really looked after us! Thanks heaps Turvey Park crew!!
Back on the road tomorrow!!
Unfortunately we were unable to ride our bikes from Yass to Wagga, there was a fire burning near Yass and local authorities advised us not to ride. The fire was out of control and the winds were unpredictable, we would've been riding into a potentially very dangerous situation! So Ben, the publican from The Australian Hotel in Yass lent us his mini bus and we drove to Wagga. We were very disappointed about not getting on our bikes but we had to put our safety first and lucky we didn't ride as the fire was burning fiercely again during the day and the whole area was smoke-logged.
So we got to Wagga early and had heaps of time to fundraise with the amazing crew from Wagga Bendigo Bank. With their BBQ, riding on our windtrainers and tin rattling we raised close to $1,800!!! !
The Bendigo guys were awesome, they made us very welcome and put on some food and drinks for us!! Thanks guys, it was great to meet you. We stayed at Turvey Park Fire Station and once again the on shift crew really looked after us! Thanks heaps Turvey Park crew!!
Back on the road tomorrow!!
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Day 8 Moss Vale to Yass
Wow!! It was a tough day on the road today for the Headin South riders! We had 165 kms to cover mostly on the Hume highway - not fun to ride on at the best of times, let alone today. We rode in 45 degree heat, 60 km/hr gusts and a mad headwind all day. It was certainly a test of toughness!!
In the end we had to resort to riding in behind one of our support vans to try to get some respite from the constant headwind.
There was a catastrophic fire danger rating today in the area we were riding into, so we were very mindful about what was going on around us. We arrived safely in Yass, not yet affected by any of the bushfires. Although since we arrived one has started about 30 mins out of town and we can smell the smoke. There are fires going all around. There is a bad one near Wagga-Wagga which is tomorrow's destination. At this stage it looks like we are going to be unable to ride to Wagga - it will be too dangerous and many of the roads are closed. It's terrible to hear that already some homes have been lost in NSW. We are thinking of all those people being affected by the fires and those Firies working hard to bring the fires under control.
On a positive note, we have had an amazing day of fundraising in two country towns - Goulburn and Yass, the members of the community have donted generously. Especially Yass - in one pub, The Australian, we filled up a whole tin!! The publican and owner, Ben, gave us the pub's swear tin - all of it, plus $150 plus a free nights accomodation for us all - so we can have a comfy bed instead of sleeping on matresses on fire station floors. Thanks Ben at The Australian- you're awesome!!
Big thanks to Yass Fire Brigade for letting us leave all our gear in their engine bay and for supporting us, especially whilst they have been so busy fighting the fire only 10 km away from town. The guys from Yass Brigade are a great bunch!! Cheers!!
Not sure what is happening tomorrow, it depends on the fire situation.
Take care all our family, friends and colleagues in Tassie - thinking of you all the time!!
Em
In the end we had to resort to riding in behind one of our support vans to try to get some respite from the constant headwind.
There was a catastrophic fire danger rating today in the area we were riding into, so we were very mindful about what was going on around us. We arrived safely in Yass, not yet affected by any of the bushfires. Although since we arrived one has started about 30 mins out of town and we can smell the smoke. There are fires going all around. There is a bad one near Wagga-Wagga which is tomorrow's destination. At this stage it looks like we are going to be unable to ride to Wagga - it will be too dangerous and many of the roads are closed. It's terrible to hear that already some homes have been lost in NSW. We are thinking of all those people being affected by the fires and those Firies working hard to bring the fires under control.
On a positive note, we have had an amazing day of fundraising in two country towns - Goulburn and Yass, the members of the community have donted generously. Especially Yass - in one pub, The Australian, we filled up a whole tin!! The publican and owner, Ben, gave us the pub's swear tin - all of it, plus $150 plus a free nights accomodation for us all - so we can have a comfy bed instead of sleeping on matresses on fire station floors. Thanks Ben at The Australian- you're awesome!!
Big thanks to Yass Fire Brigade for letting us leave all our gear in their engine bay and for supporting us, especially whilst they have been so busy fighting the fire only 10 km away from town. The guys from Yass Brigade are a great bunch!! Cheers!!
Not sure what is happening tomorrow, it depends on the fire situation.
Take care all our family, friends and colleagues in Tassie - thinking of you all the time!!
Em
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