Long Ride - Day 8



At home, happy, but I want to start again.

 Beechworth to Point Cook (398 kms)

When I woke on the final day of the Long Ride I knew something special was coming to an end, and although I was feeling a little weird about it, I was going to make sure that this was one of the best days.

With only 400 kilometres to ride I decided to have a little sleep in and woke at around 8am. I lyed in bed for a while remembering what the Long Ride was all about and whether it had made a difference to men's health.

After quickly packing the bike I went looking for a service station to refuel, can you believe that one of the prettiest towns you will ever see and tried to do so by not having a place to get fuel. After checking all of the in and out roads to the town I was about to give up when I noticed there was one that seemed to be right in the geographical centre of the town, in the strangest of locations. Anyway, I fuelled up, they only had low octane fuel, and with a bike already running lean, burping and farting on the over run, it was certainly going to be interesting.



I should've stopped here for breakfast.

 The first port of call was Myrtleford just around 30 kilometres away. A bigger town I knew at least there would be a decent cafe to get some breakfast for the final day. The bakery looked good, there was a few people there, and the smell coming from the place suggested it would be worthwhile. Was I wrong, the coffee taste like it was from a jar, and the ham and cheese croissant I ordered turned out to be a bacon and egg sandwich, the service was appalling, two teenage girls who were more interested in planning their weekend.

As I was getting back on the bike that's when I noticed the Fez Cafe across the road, I should've gone there. I'd seen this place once on Postcard's or one of those shows and it looked pretty good. Oh well, there's a mental note.

Back on the bike the place of significance would be Mansfield but not before heading towards Wangaratta through Milawa and Oxley, then turn left to start heading south. The roads up here were built for my type of bike, open with just enough sweeping bends to keep you interested and the scenery is some of the best around. Open farm land with plenty of interesting natural and man made landmarks,

Once in Moyhu I decided to stop and check the map to make sure I was on the right track and to see when the next fuel stop would be. It was here I had brainfade and as I pulled to the side of the road and put the stand down disaster struck. The stand either wasn't on firm ground or hadn't ;locked as it should. As I leaned the bike over it kept going, there was nothing I could do but to let it go and fall over. I sat on the nature strip looking at a 260 kilogram bike lying on its sided wondering how the hell was I going to lift it.

Somehow I managed and with disgust in myself I rode on, only to find I could no longer change gears, first and neutral was all I had. My bike has a heel gear shift lever, not that I ever use it, which had been bent in the fall and was fouling on the stand. I needed to pull to the side of the road and bend it back into shape, amazingly this was the only damage done so it was to Whitfield for fuel.

The whole way down this road I was cursing that I had dropped the bike, but thankful no damage was done. Whitfield is a picturesque town and essentially the end of the King Valley. IT would've been great to stop and enjoy some beautiful cheeses and even more beautiful wines, but time was against me know.



On top of the world ... the Whitfield-Mansfield Rd

 The only fuel I could find at Whitfield was again low quality stuff, but it had to do as I was about to take on the Whitfield-Mansfield Road another great bike road that these parts have. No sooner had I started heading into the hills that I saw bikes coming the other way, this road is so good that people even get out on week days to enjoy it.

This road essentially gets you out of the King Valley by winding its way over the surrounding mountains, you climb to ridiculous heights before plunging down the other side, in a serious of brilliant corners. As you reach Bridge Creek the road sweeps to the left and then continues on more or less flat ground until you reach Mansfield.

Mansfield would be the last fuel stop before hitting somewhere close to home, but of course there had to be a few stops on the way home. The reception in Mansfield was great, people were asking what the flag on my bike was and were ready for a chat about the Long Ride. The funniest thing was an elderly couple who asked and when I told them, the wife turned to her husband and said "see you silly old bugger, go and get yourself checked out" if the Long Ride has succeeded on getting this one man to get a check up then it was a huge success.



Feeling the serenity.

 The next stop was Bonnie Doon. Not only did I need to feel the serenity but I also had to see Lake Eildon overflowing with water, I never thought I would see this in my life time. It was amazing, the water was just below the bridge and trees were fully submerged. It was amazing.

Now on to Healesville, but not before a final stop at Marysville, the town so destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfire's just a few years ago. I'm sure all bikes riders will agree that you have to stop in Marysville and support the local community, they have supported riders for such a long time with their great roads and hospitality and now they have lost everything. It still amazes me that every time I've been to this part of the world since the bushfire's that how much of it has been taken away, but it is great to see the people are rebuilding.

I stopped at the Marysville Bakery and had one of their great pies and a drink before a guy from New Zealander came over looking at my bike. We soon turned the conversation to the Long Ride. He told me he his brother had passed away from prostate cancer and was very impressed by what we had achieved, he questioned the patches on my jacket and was extremely thankful to those companies that had shown support. I'm not ashamed to say that we both got a little emotional.

Just before I was about to take on the Black Spur, another gent came over to speak to me, he congratulated me for what he had just overheard, but then strangely turned the conversation to old diesel trains. What the?

This went on for at least 20 minutes, and every time I tried to get away he go back to something called the W45 V8 diesel, apparently it only produced around 1000 horsepower but had a beautiful sound. He told me there was one running still near Wollongong. There was no way I was going to tell him I was there just a few days ago. What diesel trains have to do with Prostate Cancer I will never know. But hey, this is what this ride was all about, getting out there and meeting people.

Once on the Spur I knew that this great thing was definitely coming to an end. As I reached Healesville it was almost cemented. One last fuel stop and then into suburbia. As the traffic began to increase I realised it was definitely over, while I was glad to be home, the ride could've gone on for a few more thousand kilometres.



So now you tell me!

 After 3100 kilometres, or 8 days on the bike, the Long Ride was definitely over. Along the way I have met some amazing people, made great friends. I've celebrated my 40th birthday, with people I barely know, yet feel a bond to them that will never go away. I've seen some stunning scenery and helped spread the word about this terrible disease which can be treated so easily.

After almost 59 hours of sitting on the bike my bum is quite sore, but was it worth it? Of course it was, and I would do it all again tomorrow. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and one that has helped make a difference to men's health.

Thanks to all of you, I have helped raise almost $9000 and the support you have given has been fantastic. To the businesses that came along for the ride: Saferay; Sorani Tiling Contractors; TMC (The Macintosh Corporation); and Ugly Fish, I hope you got something out of it. The donations you made were a huge help and I can't thank you enough.

In total the Long Ride 2011 has so far raised around $160,000, and this continues to grow as pledges continue to come in. You can all feel that you have been a part of something special, so thank you very much.

So what's next?

Well the next Long Ride will take part in early 2013 and will see the ride heading towards Cook Town in far north Queensland. This might mean a bike with a bit more comfort but we will see. Hopefully some of you will come along for the physical ride, and if not, then I hope you do continue to support the ride and be assured that every cent raised goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Again, thank you all for the support, and until next time ... here's up ya bum!