It was a wet 5.30am pickup as Darryl took us all to UQ in the car - discussing whether we were excited or nervous. I put on some disco tunes to try and swing the mood in favour of excitement - not 110km of impending gloom and hazardous conditions. Our bikes had been dropped off the day before so had spent the night getting nice and accustomed to the rain. It was Ruth who got the text while we were still in the car from Jacqui Walters asking us if we would like coffee. This pretty much doubled the excitement knowing that she had woken up so early and come out in the dingy dark morning to see us off... with coffee. Fantastic.
 | |
| The all-important pre-ride lippy application |
 | |
| Leaving UQ |
It was pretty slow going at the start - slow enough for Ruth to not only notice her mum but go and have a chat with her too without losing her spot next to us... but things started to thin out soon enough and by the time we reached the St. Lucia hills we were able to cycle freely (albeit with some caution).
It isn't more than a kilometre before we pass the first rider with a puncture. After that, it seems we are passing riders on the side of the road doing running repairs every 5 minutes. As the kilometres tick by, the rain drops on the goggles I am wearing are more annoying than anything else. We start thinking about the first pit stop... when who should we see on the side of the road in her red rain jacket!? Jacqui Walters! It's a great boost seeing her out there in the middle of nowhere in an industrial wasteland in.. Darra? Oxley? cheering us on...Excellent!
1st stop, Oxley: toilet break, text updates, red frogs, dodgy muesli bar, interviews for the media crew and we are back on the road.
Half way to the second stop with the rain and cold settling in, the plastic bags I had put in between my socks and shoes started to take in water. Before I know it my feet are sloshing around in their own individual baths.
2nd stop, Springfield: text updates, quick chat with the Channel 10 representatives and the foot plastic bags go in the bin. Socks wrung out, back on the road. Plenty of good highway riding which eat up the kms. Just as well because we need to warm up.
3rd stop, Leichardt: 63km down and lunch! Wolf down food huddled under an umbrella with Phil, Claire, Oscar, Darryl and Mary. FREEZING COLD AGAIN! The pack-o-mac comes out. I don't care if it's non-breathable. In fact, non breathable is a bloody good thing.
Onwards and upwards with Pine Mountain between us and the next stop. Head down in the rain and cold. A green van passes full of cackling lunatics wearing wigs and shaking pom poms... oh no, wait - that's Emma, Cate, Michelle and Kirsty!!! What a boost to see/hear them screaming encouragement particularly at this point in proceedings. Ruth and Mel riding ahead on a windy bit of road and I hear lots of cheering and... whistling? cow bell? whatever noise that is, I imagine they must have passed our mob of supporters. 2 minutes later I go passed and there they are shaking pom poms and leaping about - BRILLIANT! Another rider pulls up and asks if one of those crazy women with the pom poms is Kirsty and it turns out Kirsty used to be her teacher. It takes longer to get to Pine Mountain than I remember. Finally the sign "Welcome to Pine Mountain". Welcome to Pain Mountain. Actually, I think I had built it up in my head to be worse than it was. All those Mount Coot-tha training rides paid off so when I clicked down to the little granny gear for the 2 or 3 really steep sections I felt like I was all over it.
One of those sections saw a lady fall off ahead of me but as I ride past, she and her companion are lying on the side of the road laughing and trying to untangle the woman from her bike. Then the green supporters bus slowly passes me yelling words of encouragement. Just what I need to get me up and over that big bloody hill!
 |
| Taken from Cate's Car while they were making lots of noise. |
 |
| Go, go go!! |
 |
| That yellow blur behind me is my fallen compatriots! |
Somewhere around here I hear what sounds like an empty bottle fall from my bike... only when it's too late do I realise it's half of my bike pump.We see our gang at the cheering station, then they pass us, then we see them again on the side of the road, then they pass us. Wow. It feels like they are with us all the way through Pine Mountain.
 |
| Ruth and Mel |
 |
| Mel under at least 5 layers |
 |
| Hard core supporters in the rain |
 | |
| Afro Cate checking out some of her photos... |
 | |
| Me bringing up the rear |
Onto the Brisbane Valley Highway hard shoulder with all it pot holes full of water. One lane of traffic each way with 100km/h speed limit. Thankfully some of the vehicles are sweep vehicles and supporter cars which slow the traffic somewhat. It doesn't slow the huge trucks coming the other way, though, thundering through the rain, spraying mist all over the road. Fernvale has never looked so good.
4th stop, Fervale@90km: All i want is a hot drink. Someone tells me they are doing tea. I go up to the volunteers dressed in big coats bobbing around to keep warm behind crates of cold juice and muesli bars...hopeful smile "are you doing tea?" cue: laughter....
Shoulder slump. I thought it was too good to be true.
There is not one part of me that isn't dripping wet and cold. Legs are stiff. Michelle is calling me and directing me under the shelter of a building... where Emma, Cate and Kirsty are also waiting with a tray of coffees and hot chips and towels and blankets.
 |
| Intense chip and coffee conversation |
I feel a bit emotional. It is the best pit stop ever!
There is some discussion regarding the arrival of the second group of supporters, Celia, Jacque and Jacqui who, according to reports, had only just left Brisbane. They are coming up and staying for the night in a cabin somewhere near the campsite. Someone drops a hint about there being a spare bed in a cabin in Esk. I try not to think about it too much.
It's very hard to leave. But with all that hot coffee and those salty chips fueling us, the end feels like it's finally in sight. 18kms to go. Easy peasy.
God that road goes on for ever. Volunteers on the road telling us to slow down, ambulances up ahead, be careful. Cars still whizzing past. One of them is Cate's.... I thought they were heading back to Brisbane!? Apparently not!
Excellent! You beauties.
I don't remember this hill from last year. Looooooong hill. Where's the bloody turn off? Come on.... around the next bend.... over this next crest...nope....wait...here we go. The adrenalin starts to pump as I cross the highway and on to the road that leads to the dam. I talk to Don with the soup-strainer moustache. "Those bloody hills are a killer!" "I know! nearly there now," I say "500 metres tops- this is the last hill" I say as I speed ahead in anticipation. Hmm seems a bit more than that.. hmm that wasn't the last hill. He's probably cursing me right now. Finally FINALLY the camp looms and the PA is blaring with music and and MC announcing the arrivals of the riders.
 |
| Just what I wished for - our gang waiting for us at the finish line |
It's all a bit overwhelming. Cate, Kirsty and Michelle and Emma welcome me. I did it and I am so relieved! No crashes or falls or punctures! No time to think about that now - here come Mel and Ruth!
 |
| Triumphant! One down one to go. Now where are the showers? |
 |
| Time to text Darryl/Bron |
As we pick up our luggage, I notice my sleeping mat is soaking. I wander over to the tent and peer inside; a long wet night awaits with an unknown tent mate but all I can think about is a hot shower. The waterproof lining of my pack-o-mac raincoat has disintegrated. Every other layer is stuck to me like glue. After what seems like an eternity, I finally immerse myself in quite possibly the most welcome, toasty warm shower I have ever had.
Warm, dry and in denial about the night ahead, we head to the tent to meet the gang and have a drink. Soon enough, Celia, Jacque B and Jacqui W arrive swelling our posse to 10. It wasn't long before we got the official offer - not one but THREE spare beds in their cabin in Esk. Eyes light up, excitement, toothy grins all round. Suddenly, it was all we could do to wolf down our food and get the hell out of there. Cate, Kirsty, Michelle and Emma headed back to Brisbane in the big green supporters bus while Ce, Jax, Jacqui, Ruth, Mel and myself played "duck" in Jacqui's 5-seater every time we passed a policeman. Although we didn't bother so much for the camp steward directing traffic who was wearing what looked like a toy policeman's hat.
It rains all night while we stay warm and dry and thinking about what could have been. Jax and Jac go exploring in the caravan park and find a telly that they switch to the Bledisloe Cup - much to the chagrin of the grey nomads in the room.
 |
| Actually, we're lesbians. Now turn on the rugby. |
The 5am alarm kicks us into gear. Not the most solid of sleeps but definitely better than the alternative. Time to head back to camp for breakfast. People are already drying off their bikes and readying themselves as we arrive at camp, slip on our WET shoes - mmmm nice - and dive into a huge cooked breakfast.
About 20 minutes later, we are full and ready to go. Our 3 cabin angels wave us off and the MC announces us over the loud speaker as we head off up the hill and out of the camp. The time is 6.40am - nice and early. Good! There are clouds in the sky but they seem a bit thinner than yesterday...
The mood is definitely lighter than yesterday. People are chatting and giggling, passing with comments of encouragement and it's not so "heads down, get moving" as it was. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's that we're on the return journey and probably for some it's saying goodbye to a leaky tent and a wet bed. (Not us though!).
1st stop already (Fernvale) wow that was easy oh wait we've only come 13kms. Onwards and upwards... Pine Mountain Road next... Is that....SUN??? I strip off the jacket and reveal the the full Wonder Woman costume in all it's glory. It's like unleashing my powers! The sun breaks through the clouds and Pine Mountain doesn't seem so bad. I get over all the big hills without having to resort to the granny gear. There follows a pattern of passing people going up hills and then getting passed by the same people on the descents. We make a bit of a joke of it "see you in a minute!".
"I think we've broken the back of it" Mel says at some point - for me, a psychological turning point akin to "it's all downhill from here" perhaps a little premature being as we are only a third of the way through but I grab it and run with it all the way to Leichhardt.
2nd stop Leichhardt. (40km down) Toilet break, red frogs, check phone - Celia asking where we are.... I reply just leaving 2nd stop. Not long after we are on our way, we spy those tell-tale green pom poms and Lo and Behold it's Celia, Jacque and Jacqui roaring on the sidelines like three women possessed - and then breaking out some cheerleader moves. It's quite difficult to ride straight when you are doubled over laughing.
.JPG) | |
| Inefficient cheer squad selfie |
The 40km long ride in between Leichhardt and Springfield is made much more interesting by the three of them riding by in their car and shouting their support - and then hopping out and doing their little cheerleading routine which they had evidently had some practice doing. The weather is really starting to warm up nicely and the sun is shining. Onto the highways which really help us get some distance under our belts...
...pedal pedal pedal... until finally FINALLY the sign for Pit Stop appears out of nowhere and it's very welcome.
3rd stop Springfield (80km down) we grab some lunch and relax on a grassy hill in the sun. We are all pretty sore and tired now. We discuss the remainder of the ride - there is one stop in between us and the finish line but it seems like we don't really need it. 37km left to go - let's just push on through! Just knowing there is one leg left to go is a real boost. All we can think about is the finish line.
The rest of the ride is counting down - noticing the growing familiarity of the surroundings. Stopping on the side of the road at the last stop only to have a slurp of water and check out the "13.4km to go" written in chalk on the road. Glimpsing Mt Coot-tha, recognising street names and as we rode through Sherwood and Indooroopilly and St Lucia, the comfort of being so close to home and knowing those hills so well, I may have got a bit emotional! We are all pretty close to eachother - Mel in front, then me, then Ruth, but we meet up at Carmody Road to regroup and apply some lipstick in true Wondie style.
After that , it's the sweetest 800m you could ever ride - flat smooth road with the lane blocked off. There's a slight hiccup with a car reversing into our path from the car lane. We let out streams of "what are you bloody doing?" "Get out the way!" etc etc... Luckily it did manage to move just in time for us not to have to stop. Then we could see ourselves on the big screen as the long lens camera tracked our approach. The woman on the PA recognised the costumes and announced us by name over the line.
I heard a call out to my right and there were Darryl, Donna, Nell and Katina - then as we pulled up out of nowhere came Ruth's family and Mel's family.
Surrounded by friends and family, the champagne flowed and there may have been a few tears too. It was a huge effort by all involved - 3 riders plus ALL of last year's Wonder Women, each of whom were with us in one way or another on the ride, plus our families and friends and colleagues, raking in over $11,000 for the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Fingers crossed they kick cancer's arse soon.
In the meantime, we might put our feet up for a while!
