Mick's Charity Ride: July 2012

Wow! It’s such a strange feeling having no mobile/internet coverage for nearly a week. We haven’t seen a TV either so have no idea what has been happening in the world (although I did manage to find out who won The Block). I have so much to catch you up on so instead of messing around with the photos I think I’ll just update you then add in the photos at the end. Michael has now finished the ride; we had such a wonderful time and made some great friends along the way. I was really emotional driving into Karumba, I think everyone who rode the charity ride are the most amazing people there is no way that I could ride 780km in a year let alone a week. I am so proud of Michael and look forward to the next charity ride he participates in. Anyway I had better make a start as I have a few days to catch up on.

Day 3

This morning started on time as for the first day we didn’t have any fog. Pack3 (Michael’s pack) headed off at 7:45 on what was supposed to be an flatter day, not sure where they got this information from as there were plenty of long hills for the riders to climb. We stopped for lunch at the Undara Lava Tubes turnoff where some of the locals put on a fantastic spread for us and there were some speeches so that we could hear a little about distant education. After lunch the road conditions levelled out and the road made a gradual descent. We ended the day in Mt Surprise (and for some trivia for everyone the Mt stands for Mining Town not Mount as I always thought). Mt Surprise sits on the edge of the immense Undara Lava field caused by ancient volcanic eruptions in the McBride Plateau. It is also a stop for the Savannahlander railway and a designated fossicking area well known for gem quality topaz. The campsite for the night was on the rail siding grounds and as you couldn’t drive onto the grass Mick and I thought we would check into the local caravan park. The night’s entertainment started at 7pm with a snake show, fantastic! Would highly recommend anyone that stops in at Mt Surprise goes and see it, I don’t remember ever holding a snake but they are beautiful creatures and I am so pleased that I did it (I thought if a 3 year old girl could do it, I could J) After this we had a ‘No talent quest’. This was hilarious, my cheeks ached from laughing so much. Most of the acts were pretty good but some were just wrong but it made for some pretty funny stories. We headed off to bed after the show and at breakfast time we were so pleased we had chosen to stay in the Caravan Park as the campsite was opposite the pub and a lot of the riders didn’t finish partying until 3am. How they got back on their bikes and rode the next day is beyond me.

Day 4

Today was a 94km ride between Mt Surprise and Georgetown. It was a combination of narrow bitumen, rough edges, potholes, cattle grids and plenty of traffic including road trains. Most of the scenery was dry but as the riders climbed up the 15km Newcastle Range it was pretty spectacular. Michael took out the king of the range, as he was the first one up to the top. He is fairly modest about it but when he passed me about ¾ of the way up he still had a few riders in front of him so he must have put in the hard yards to pass them. The riders stopped for lunch at the top then after about a 2 hour wait…in the sun, they were able to go down the other side. It was a great ride down for them and most used it as a bit of a race. After having to pass through a heap of road works we ended up in Georgetown. Georgetown is renowned for its semi-precious stones including topaz, quartzl, garnet and sapphires. The show grounds where we stayed the night were pretty dry but covered in quartz crystals, it was incredible no matter where you looked the ground was glistening in the sun. It was so hot, which turned out to be a stroke of luck as the showers were cold and I’m talking take your breath away cold! We all headed for the pub at about 3:30 where an auction was held to bid for a rider to participate in the Calcutta race. Two riders from each pack were auctioned then they raced a 1km track around the block. The field was full of experienced riders including an ex Australian Champion but a 16ish year old boy from pack 6 took the first place followed by a Japanese rider who normally sits back in pack 5. Bet that dented a few prides! After the race the locals put on a parade for us, which was a bit of fun, lots of lollies thrown off the back of trucks. Early night again as tomorrow is the longest leg so far.

Day 5

Riders departed on time again today, they have a 146km day ahead off them and it was already warm first thing in the morning. By the time the riders stopped by the Gilbert River for lunch they all looked exhausted, so pleased that I am driving in the air conditioning. I spend so much time sitting on the side of the road waiting for riders to pass, the packs are pretty spread out and if I wait for all 6 packs to pass I’m often sitting there for an hour or more. I’ve rigged up some pretty wild looking shelters just to be able to sit outside of the car. After lunch the riders rode onto Croydon, what a beautiful town this is, so much history. When it first settled in the 1880’s it was a large pastoral holding covering an area of approximately 5,000 km². Gold was discovered in 1885 and by 1887 the town’s population had reached 7,000. One of the highlights was visiting the Croydon General Store which has continuously traded since 1894, it is still set out like an old store and has a great museum to wander around. It’s just a sleepy little place but everyone was so nice and it’s all so clean and well kept. We checked into a caravan park so that we could do some laundry, it was a great little park and for the first time in all the caravan parks I have ever stayed in there was free washing machines! The management are fantastic and I would definitely recommend them if you are heading this way.

Day 6

Today is the longest day of the ride, the riders are riding 151kms but luckly for them it was fairly flat. Today has been the hardest day for Michael, he’s had a rash on the back of his legs which we think is a reaction to the sunscreen used on all the drink trucks. He decided to take a Phenergan last night, so this morning he’s legs look so much better but he has a bit of a ‘Phenergan hangover’. The riders rode straight past the campsite and into town to have a beer at the Purple Pub in Normanton. The story goes that when the new owners were renovating the pub they ran out of money. Someone had some spare purple paint so thus it ended up painted purple. We were so excited when we finally made it to the Rodeo grounds as there was power! Apart from when we stayed in Caravan Parks along the way we have been powerless. We were also able to camp under trees which really helped with climate control as yet again it was hot and dry. I went along to the Kid’s club to take some photos this afternoon, Lee who runs it each day does such a wonderful job. She has heaps of activities for them to do and the kids seem to really love being there. Tonight is our last official night on the ride and there is a B&S Ball held in town for anyone who wants to kick their heels up. Mick was just too exhausted so we choose to have an early night.

Day 7

Today is a short ride only 78km to the finish. We set off a little later than normal and headed into Normanton to have pack photos taken in front of the Crocodile. Cyrs the Croc is the largest crocodile ever captured in the world. She was a saltwater croc and measured 8.63 metres. She was captured by a hunter called Krystina Pawloski in July 1957 in the Norman River. After the photos were taken the riders set off out of town towards Karumba. I on the other hand got to ride in the escorting Police car so that I could take some photos from the middle of the road. What an awesome experience, I won’t go into speeds we reached for you but I’m fairly confident I will never travel at that speed again on the road! So much fun I was like a kid in a candy store! I haven’t had a chance to check the photos out yet but hopefully they are good. I was dropped off at the second drink stop so the Dirty Boys photographer could have a ride so after taking a few more shots on the roadside headed straight into Karumba. I met up with Michael’s parents and his twin brother and his wife at the pub whom had driving up to Karumba to see Mick finish. It was so lovely to see them all, especially Geoff and Georgie as we haven’t seen them for a couple of years. We had about an hour’s wait but it was a great sight to see all the 170ish riders riding into town in one pack with the police car in front. Karumba is a spectacular place to finish the ride, the beach looked picture perfect and a lot of the riders carried their bikes down to the sand to have photos taken. We finished the evening at the Sunset Tavern, Karumba turned on a fantastic sunset for us and everyone was able to let down their hair knowing that they didn’t have to get up the next morning and ride, or in my case take photos.

The rest of our time off will be spent heading home. We are having a day off in Karumba with Dick, Sjaan, Geoff, Georgie, Jack and Diesel (the dogs) then a night in Cloncurry, two nights in Longreach so we can see The Hall of Fame, a night in Charleville and then home.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us on the ride, Michael’s official total was $1187.00 and to date the ride itself raised a staggering $72 756.85. As I said before we have met some wonderful people and hopefully will keep in touch with them. Thank you too for reading our blog and I am sorry that it’s taken a while to update it. I hope you enjoy the photos that I am attaching to the bottom of the blog, I have taken thousands so have only sorted out a few for you to see. Will see you all soon, love always Bec and Mick xxx

P.S. Having issues downloading photos so will publish these and try again soon