About a month ago I embarked on my next challenge with gusto. Unfortunately it was because of a mate's injury that I got one of the fifteen spots to ride from Adelaide to Melbourne.
This charity ride, organised by Marg Noonan, is for the benefit of the Neurosurgical Unit of the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. More than 18 months ago Marg had a serious fall, and in gratitude for her recovery thanks to the treatment at the above unit, she hopes to raise $50,000 which will allow the hospital to purchase specialised equipment to further enhance its treatment of neurological injuries. In participating in this ride, I hope to help Marg meet her goal! Please visit the site at www.headride.com and also make a donation via this site, in support of our ride.
The actual ride is taking place from the 22nd to the 29th October, but in effect the journey has already begun. In eight days we will be covering in excess of 1000 kilometers, meaning that on some days we will need to cover about 180km. Parts of the route are quite flat, but traversing the famed Great Ocean Road means that we must also be prepared for some steep climbing. All of this implies that I have to get fit within the finite time before I wing my way to Adelaide on October 21st!
Although I am not unfit, I have some hard work to build up to the event. Up until the end of July, I had only been cycling about 150km per week. (I explained this to myself in that I had to get used to the hilly terrain of Sydney's eastern suburbs; in Melbourne for the same effort and time, my distance would have been quite a bit higher.) In order to be adequately prepared for the Headride, I need to get my weekly distance on the bike to be closer to 400km! Over the last two weeks I managed to exceed 300km by a margin, and at this point I am happy with that! Thankfully, that days are getting longer, and therefore I think I will be able to put in the time required to meet the 400km per week goal.
Over the next 6 weeks I hope to provide a journal of my Road to Melbourne!
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