Well Boys and Girls, this is it.
The last day to Thredbo. The last day we ride as a group and the end of what has been a remarkable journey of discovery.
As I pack the Bird I notice that there are a lot of long faces in the car park today and I dont believe that it's all from the zesty exuberance exhibited last night by everyone. There is a sense of finallity drifting in the air and it seems that everyone has caught a whiff. Don't get me wrong, it will be great to see friends and family when we get to Thredbo but that in itself signals the ending of an incredible event that, for various reasons, will take quite some time to absorb and recover from.
We wheel out of Lakes Entrance and enjoy the crisp morning air as we drift along the Princess Highway towards Cann River. There are many more bikes on the road than we are used to seeing (many heading to the Snowy Ride). By the time we get to Cann River we have met up with heaps of riders heading to Thredbo. We fuel up the Bird for the run up the mountain and are told by the servo attendant that the cops are really out in force this weekend. Duly noted.
As we pass through Bombala there a a few people out waving to the groups of bikes as they pass through town. Strange. I've been through this town many times and not seen that type of reaction to large groups of bikes. Tony, the poor fellow that fell of and broke his leg, lives here and he is picked up by one of the support vehicles for the ride up the hill, nice touch.
The ride from here to Nimmitable is through some lovely rolling open sweeper territory and although approached with caution dare I say that fun was had by all.
All of the Around Australia riders gather in Nimmitable and receive a police escort all the way into Cooma for a civic reception. Wow. As we approach Cooma the police take us via the sale yards so they could weed out those without "the yello sticker".
Now for the trip into Cooma itself.
I have never felt such mixed emotions in my life. As we rolled down the main street to the cheers and applause of hundreds of people I have never felt more welcome nor distinctly proud of our accomplishments as a group then in those first few minutes. That joy was however tempered with the fact that the end was neigh. To see people jostling to take a happy snap of the group or make their way through the crowd to find a friend or loved one was remarkible. About as soon as we pulled up Sue Walter made good on Aarons offer and gave him a hug that would take the life of a lesser young man. I believe that it was something they both needed.
I caught up with a couple of mates while there and told a couple of quick stories, but before we knew it the papers wanted photos of us all and then we were all off to Thredbo.
The arrival at Thredbo was much the same as Cooma only better, and worse. The adulation of the gathered masses was obvious and gratefully accepted but now came the undeniable and absolute fact that it was over.....no ifs, no buts. Man I have never been so happy to have a dark visor and when we finally rolled to a stop at the base of the Alpine Hotel I took a few moments to compose myself before switching the Bird off and ending the rumble that had been a constant companion over the past 15700km's, thats right FIFTEEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED or so KILOMETRES dimounting and giving my son one of those life ending hugs. WE MADE IT. We made it, A Lap Of The Map, no injuries, no real problems. There was obvious relief on the faces of some but more so I think by the friends and relatives of those on the ride.
From there we went up to the courtyard of the hotel where we had a BBQ and a few well earned drinks. To top it all off we were all presented with an engraved medalion by a child suffering from cancer, to commerate this, the first Around Australia Ride for the Steven Walter Foundation. I so dearly hope that what we have done provides not only many wonderful memories for us, the participants, but also provides a future for those we have sought to help, the kids with cancer.
After the BBQ Aaron and I get to catch up with my dad and step mum, our immediate family and a bunch of riding buddies and spend a fair portion of the evening telling tales from our adventure.
Oh, by the way, by the time we get home and actually complete the lap we will cover 16030km's. Really not a bad way to spend 6 weeks or so.
Thanks for coming along.
Copul8r
Marty.............................................
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