THE STATS
Trip 180km, Av Speed 30.8kmph, Max speed 76kmph , Height climbed approx 2000 metres, 5.6 hours effort.
Elapsed Distance : approx 1000km

THE RIDE
The ride proper started at the new Parliamant. The sun was out and there was definitely an air of prufundo excitimento. Pictures were taken by the press. A member gave a speech and told us what fine voting citizens we were. We all sang the national anthem and rode off in a blaze of skyrockets with a band playing. Perhaps Im exaggerating but certaiunly the exitement was palpably tangible. We then had to do 2 laps of the Parliament.... Of course you know what happened dont you? All the excitement had got the gun riders into a froth and a frenzy and the next thing you knew our laps had become a Criterium of Olympic proportions...

Having the camera car escorting us didnt help...

Did the Bandits take a back seat? No way hosay. 160 kilos to go. With our heart monitors already beeping at the max.. No Problem. Lets get into it !!!

Whizzz out onto the highway we shot. Everybody hammering to get up the front of the first peloton behind the camera car. We were there mate. Big Time. Handing out big bags of carrots to the pretenders. A flash of blue and white.

After Queanbeyan it got a bit toothy. But our blood was up. No restraint. If we blow up we blow up. But we will go down hammering. Heck those hills were huge but being with the front pack definitely was a buzz.

Wazza kept looking back for PB...... Nowhere to be seen. Hill followed hill. Lots of standing up trying to keep in the pack. And then suddenly. HE was there. THE PUNISHER OF MOUNTAINS was with us. PB cruised up... Armstrong style. Gave a grim little grim. He seemed to be saying "Nice try Waz" and then eeeeaaaassssed away. Luckily I was with the Furious Four (refer Guest Article below) and hung in there. Doing 50 kmph on the flat. On a 160 km ride. Madness. But no one could pick up that very heavy gauntlet laid down by PB. That hairy goat.

The Bungendore stop arrived just before I blew my bung out.

PB and Waz left with the front group. A few pretenders went straight thru but we mopped em up. The more hills. Damn. I blinked out some sweat and he was gone. The Punisher had dotted out.

More hammering ensued with the Furious Four. But Was waz with the very hard men. Tried to rotate. Hit a hill and blew all gaskets and valves. Watched them unsucessfully persue the Punisher into his beloved hills.

It was truly awesome to see the big guns in action at the froint. These are strong boys to be sure. But the Punisher was there showing them, that at 57, they were still only boys. Boys with their toys packing carrots.

Lunch was a Chinese affair in Goulburn. Went down very well ...Fortunalely no gastric upheavals and Mandarin coloured yawns on the road.

Waz and PB left abruptly to get a jump start on the Furious Four. But that only got them even more excited. PB again cruised off into the distance after the third hill. Phew there were a lot of them today. The post lunch distance was 60 kilos (we thought) and the Furious Four whipped past after 10.

They caught PB and he hung on. However they were in a stern mood. And with only minor hills, alas, The Punisher got his carrots handed back to him.

Waz had a lonely 60 kays which turned out to be 80. A banana saved the poor man and he got in 7th about 10 minutes after the front group.

What a ride....

.

COMMENT OF THE DAY
"The wind is a westerly today. That means, er, for the riders, ummmm, that the wind will be coming from the west"
Phil, the super organiser tripping over his words trying to explain the effects of the wind on our ride

THE PROTAGANISTS

APB
The Punisher was simply awesome. Your scribe had some close examination of his awesome form today. The mountain goat is a freak of nature. Examination of speedos revealed that PB was averaging nearly a kilometer hour faster than yours truly. A big difference. Good to see someone handing out vegetables to kiddies half his age...

AL PRESIDENTE
A man in still in pain. But at his competitve best today. A screaming knee did not dull that sharp edge. I only just got into the shower before him. That shows you how close he was to the front. Sprinted the last 4 kilos. Couldnt help himself.

CLIVE
The Mystery man had an off day. Insisted on getting lost and then riding all over the countryside to find lunch. His b*tt gave him heaps. Not happy but made up good time after finding the lunch spot..

PHIL
Nuggety rocked into the Hotel room with Al this arvo. His face shone like a man who had just got his nuggets unloaded. Was seen hammering at the start and continued in that vein through out the day. The hills were easy for The Nuggety One. The nervous nellie bike shakes have disapeared. We are seeing a new man. A man who is living his dream. The dream to go forth. Train honestly. Lay down the big kays. And then reap the dividends. Today he sowed and unloaded a big effort....

WAZZA
The flaming legs were on fire today. Waz brought out the big hammer today but got drilled in the hills....Great to see the Punisher and Big Hitters in close up action. Putting in an extra 20 psi (from 80 to 100) certainly helped. Had an unhappy romance with the Leppin water additive. Put in about 3 times the normal dose and nearly spewed after the first drink of the ride. Hung in for tea and continued to dilute the witches brew thru the day. Tasted good at the finish in the Hotel Room.

Big action of the day was at Wingella. Just after his bonk, the Waz noticed the shadow of a bird hovering over his. But Im doing 30kmph? Smash! My helmet was hit by a plummeting Magpie. Me and Maggie had an unequal duel for the next 2 kilos. Final score 3 - NIL to Maggie.

KERITH
Kerith (or KB) is the young ones replacement. She is also his mum. And PBs wife. And she races Porsches. So I have to watch myself. She took good dig pics. But not enough. Didnt take any notice of my hand signals to stop. Waved at me hammering down the hills in an obvious attempt to induce me to crash. Didnt take any pictures of me. But apart from that she was good.

Kerith was actually super helpful today. And full of grace. She had a big shadow to fill with Stus departure. We kept on commenting "Gee Im missing Stu" ... "He was good wasnt he?" ..."Such a nice guy", So helpful etc etc

KB is actually highly proactive. When a suitcase needs to be carried. She carries it. When a suitcase gets forgotten. She fetches it. If the suitcase is too far for the supersportsman to go over and get it. She goes and gets it. Quite fantastic really.

..

BANDIT GUEST INTERVIEW
[We will be trying to provide a guest interview on each remaining day....]
Today we feature THE FURIOUS FOUR. The mano o mano. Ask any one on this ride. Who are the big hitters. They will answer. These are the men. The Main Manne. Die lang asem harde manne met die crokodil tande ek se..

We also feature JOHN. Another old goat like PB. Hails from Brissy...A white whiskered will o the wisp of the hills. Made of leather and piano wire are these old blokes. Kicked my b*utt today. Only 6 others did it so you KNOW hes good. Rides a US Postal TREK OCLV. Wears very fancy Rudy Project sunnies and is definitely one of the very hard men on this ride. Waited for me on the hills. An all round nice fella. Onya John.

[A NOTE FOR THE ORGANISERS]
Geeeee Whizz, Phil and Susan have done a top job. You have to be on the ride to appreciate it. But heck! The Briefing, the debriefing, the feed stations, the maps, the road signs. The Scroggin. The Muffins. Those early morning coffees. And trying to do this where people are spread 2 hours apart. Tired, impatient, hungry riders. People of great grace. People very difficult to get annoyed with. With their outwardly laid back (Phil) and inwardly nutted and bolted (Susan) attitude. Thanks folks.

And the accomodation. Muy Bien. Many compliments heard around the table. Todays venue is another great spot.

Tomorrow we away to Otford. 125 kilos. Almost a rest day.............

Until the next time. Hasta la vista...

FINAL NOTE

EMAIL : Thanks for all those dozens of emails. Especially the funny ones. Too busy to reply at pres. Sorry. Have read em out to the other fellas.

PICTURES : Only doing a few at a time - will catch up when i get back. Plus put em all in the Gallery...

for any queries : please email :

bbchallenge2001@yahoo.com.au

ps : to see the latest news and pics go to
http://au.oocities.com/bbchallenge2001/index.html

or go to the Bandits Mega Site
http://www.baysidebandidos.com

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