Betten On Bike: DAY 124 - 11TH AUGUST 2013 - RATHDOWNEY TO BRISBANE & THEN SAMFORD

Day 124 – 11 August 2013 – Rathdowney to Brisbane & then Samford

Cycling Stats: 140

Cycling Average: Again – no recording, because of course today is all about a fun group ride

Well this is it – last day for Walter in his quest to ride around Australia – and he’s just about done it and more fun and excitement as more cyclists are arriving for today’s ride and among them one of our sons, Sebastian. Unfortunately Samuel couldn’t come but will however meet Walter & the group at Samford.

Today Dominic, a Samford Velo cyclist is head support crew. Sadly Dom had a fall a few weeks back and has some cracked ribs so is unable to cycle. The group left and we agreed to meet at Jimboomba around 50kms away for a coffee at Maccas. The first part of the ride was along a fairly quiet stretch of the highway but as we drew closer to Beaudesert (30kms from Rathdowney) the volume of traffic increased significantly. The closer we drew to Brisbane the busier it became on the road. I stopped 20 kms past Jimboomba and Sebastian joined me in the van for the final sector into Brisbane. It was so busy after the quietness of the country roads we had been on for the past months.

The estimated arrival time in Samford was 2.30pm so I had time to go home first so I did & to met up with Samuel and had a bite of lunch. We had some friends who wanted to meet Walter in Samford which was truly wonderful and I was texting them to let them know the ETA. I left home earlier as I know how fast these guys can cycle especially in a group and yes I saw them at Ferny Grove which is about 10kms outside of Samford and they would arrive around 15 minutes earlier than 2.30pm. Walter told me that he really enjoyed the fact that his cycling friends had come out to join him for the last few days. He was humbled that they had made the effort to do this and is very grateful to them and the lovely friends who came to John Scott Park to meet us.

Walter was visibly very elated when I saw him ride in – what an achievement. The day didn’t end here. Some of the cyclists and some friends & our boys went for afternoon tea in Samford In the evening we were overwhelmed by the wonderful warm support of the dinner that had been organized to celebrate our return. And celebrate we did !!! Thank you to Dom and Wendy for organizing this & all the Samford folk who came – it was a wonderful welcome home for us !! It was a huge day, huge emotions and the completion of a dream for Walter and for us together an amazing experience which has brought us closer together, as together we have shared an experience of a lifetime. We are also very excited that our fundraising campaign for Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation has been so successful – that is very very gratifying – hopefully the funds raised will make a difference to those suffering from this cruel disease. We thank you all who have donated to the cause – your generosity & kind words of support have been so wonderful to read whilst we were on the road.

Evert, we have dedicated this ride to you and know you would be so very pleased by this and by what has been achieved in these last four months. And that your beloved wife Andrea was able to share part of this epic journey with us from Broome to Perth. Dianna, my niece I also thank – I so much enjoyed your cheerful company on the Katherine to Broome sector.

And now the hard part - to say goodbye to all those who have read my thoughts (sometimes a bit loopy, I know) through this blog. I hope that you have been able to experience and see and feel the beauty and enormity of Australia through my words and photos. I can honestly say its been a life changing adventure.

Last part is to give you Walter’s amazing cycling statistics for the entire cycling trip around Australia:

Total kilometers cycled: 13,428 kms

Total riding days: 81 days

Average distance cycled per day: 165.78 kms

Average speed overall: 29.5 kms per hour