Long Ride - Day 7 - Alice Springs

Day 7 of the Long Ride was essentially a stationary day.  While waiting for the other riders to get in from Three Ways the plan was to organise four wheeled transport to get back to Melbourne.

This proved much tougher than first thought however, after ringing around Wicked Campers came through and provided a one way rental, something that they called the 'Love Machine' and which we quickly renamed the 'Love Bus'.

After a bit of a laugh and a quick look around Alice Springs we set off to meet some of my sponsors.

Alice Springs Massage Therapy was the first call and although I wasn't able to have a massage the support given by Fiona and her team was fantastic.  If you are in the area and need a massage make sure you go and see Fiona's team.

The next port of call was CentreShedWorks to meet Bryan Williams and his team.  Bryan had organised for the local Clontarf Foundations lads to cook us a breakfast the next morning.  Everyone was extremely busy at the workshop tidying things up when we got there, the effort they were going to was brilliant.

After a quick chat we set off back to the caravan park to meet the incoming riders.

Immediately there was uproars of laughter when they saw the 'Love Bus', it was well worth driving this unique vehicle just to see everyone look at it.

After a few cold beers we set off for Star of the Alice  function centre where Lisa Perry had put on a BBQ dinner for us. This place was absolutely beautiful, a real oasis in the middle of the desert, the backdrop of the barren hills was made it feel even more unique.

Star of Alice, a real oasis in the desert

Unfortunately not all of the riders turned up, again the Australian Defence Force riders decided to do their own thing, it seems that they believe the Long Ride is all about them and no none else matters.

This put some strain in Lisa financially and so the riders that were there paid, as well as myself covering a considerable amount of the cost, this money would've eventually gone to the PCFA so it was a little disappointing.  Not complaining though as this was a fantastic night, with great food, at a lovely venue.  It's something you should check out in Alice Springs or Reality Bites Catering.

The night finished with a few more beers and a couple of nice scotches.  The shoulder pain was eased as I slipped into bed and readied for a day back on the road.