“The sky is so big today” - Amba

So, here we are – in J2 aka ‘Katelyn and Tim’s Caravan of Courage’ and…… we are in the middle of nowhere. We are currently following the peloton and have picked up 3 guest riders who has all lost their desire to roll on – just looking back into the caravan section it may have also something to do with their conditioning… but I can’t be sure.

To wind back the clock a day/night - The Peoplebankers had quite a day yesterday setting up the breakfast and lunch stops and then getting to camp and setting up 20 tents, helping prepare dinner and just generally lending a hand where and when required. The whole crew were very tired after a long first day of riding (re the peloton) but everything went well and everyone was certainly in good spirits, but a little sore to say the least. Once we had wrapped up for the day we saw a good opportunity to let off some steam and so we all headed to the Lazy Lizard for a few icy cold treats.

The Lazy Lizard was exactly what you would expect of your typical outback pub – We were all certain that this was the pub off the set of the Crocodile Dundee film where our most famous Aussie actor walks in and delivers probably the greatest line in cinema “that’s not a knife, this is a knife”. The surroundings were outstanding and the Peoplebank city clickers certainly stood out amongst the locals.

This was not your usual night in the Lazy Lizard, our timing was impeccable. The Lazy Lizard was putting on a big night with Pine Creek’s biggest act coming to sooth our souls with his guitar and harmonica. We have absolutely no idea what his name is but just believe me when I say he was big time. Not only were we treating ourselves to a beer due to our hard work but the team came together to celebrate an unfortunate occasion - the birth Timothy Edward Brimmer 26 years ago. Katelyn organised the up and coming Shannon Noll to sing Tim Happy Birthday as she bought out a chocolate cake with candles – unbelievably nice gesture!

That wasn’t all, they had also arranged a pool competition - $10 large the buy in/Winner takes all – and with one vacant space an enthused Timmy B confidently put up his hand to step up and represent the City. Wow.. What a show – 15 of Pine Creek’s best local talent vs a young TB, bearing the weight of every city slicker in this fine nation, on his shoulders.

Game 1, 2 & 3 saw wins for the in-form Peoplebanker, which meant he was in the final, having beaten off 3 of Pine creeks most respected pool players. It was tough competition with each opponent trying all of the dirtiest tricks in the book but he pulled through. The final saw a win from TB, playing against a dead ringer of Gandolf, and as a result was awarded with the $144 in cold hard cash – we were now in danger…. BUT we made it out of there alive and were soon in our tents resting up for the day ahead – today!!

The cyclists today (Friday) are riding about 280kms! It is extremely impressive to see how well all the guys are going and the condition they are still in. One of the bigger guys – Hatsy - has lost about 10kgs (apparently a former 125kger [103kgs for the start of the cycle] and is now a string bean) and they rest who were all quite lean to start with, have likely lost a couple of kgs. With many riders in the peloton not of the same conditioning as the 6 Cycle riders, it has been very inspiring to see the treatment and attention they have shown to the guest riders who are struggling on the road – just now we witnessed one guest rider stray to the back, and then very quickly 2 of the 6 Cycles guys dropped back to ride either side of him and both put an arm each on his back to essentially push him up the climb. They are often leading the peloton, which we have learned is 30% tougher than sitting in the group and are constantly on the lookout for traffic coming both ways.

Just to note, they have certainly been very appreciative of our support.

More to come: