Day Eight - It's all Over

After so much planning and anticipation, it is hard to believe that our lonf awaited Surf Coast Adventure is now all over. Or it is for the members of Group 1. Group 2 will be completing their final ride tomorrow.
We awoke to a completely clear (and very cold) morning in Colac. After packing the car, we were underway by 7.30 am, and had not driven far before we were reminded of the hazards of early morning driving, especially when you are heading due east. The rising sun was shining straight into my face, making it extremely difficult to see the road ahead. If that wasn't hard enough, my car started warning me of the danger of black ice. The dashboard display told ne that it was 3C outside. Thanks goodness for car heaters.
Fortunately the traffic was almost non existant and we were able to quickly reach Geelong. That gave us a chance to have a coffee by the waterside, before the rest of the drive back home.
By 10.30 am we were safely back home and feeding multiple loads of washing into the washing machine. I kept thinking of the riders in Group 2. Although they would be fighting their way through the worst trail of the lot, at least they would have the pleasure of doing it on probably the very best day of the past week.
Looking back on the past week, I am very pleased that the arrangements pretty well all went according to plan. We had no bike failures, and no flat tyres. Considering some of the tracks we were riding on, that was something of a cycling miracle.
Considering that all of our riders are now in their 70s, and considering the challenging nature of the rides, I think that everyone can feel rightly proud of their achievements. It was not that long ago that people thought that playing lawn bowls when you were over 60 was a significant challenge. The good news is that we can remain very active well into our 70s and 80s.
This series of rides was our final chance to test our endurance before we head off in 16 weeks time for our 2023 European rides.Read more