2011 Bottlemart Smiddy Challenge: A Sharky Wrap on Day 6
Clermont to Belyando Crossing - 177kms
The day Captain Kevvy ruled the roost!
Last night in Clermont was a bottler of a night. The locals were out in force and, along with some strong bidding from the Smiddy riders, we managed to raise a very pleasing $15,000! The night ended late at 10:30pm, the guys had ridden over 1000 kilometres and fellow Smiddy rider Katrina Cousins protested by refusing to listen to the last poem and promptly fell asleep while sitting bolt upright.
The next morning the riders and crew were rewarded with a sleep in; roll out was not until 7:30. This was pushed back to 8am as the sneaky Chris Geeves had a surprise in store for the group.
Captain Kev, who is our rear vehicle driver and in charge of our safety, was awarded the ‘Teamwork Award’ Smiddy jersey last night. This award normally is for the cyclists but, as Kevvy does such an exceptional job of looking after us, he was deemed a worthy recipient. Anyway, old ‘Cap’ was walking around in his jersey with his chest puffed out and clearly looking like a rooster on heat and ready to rumble. Geevsey then got up and announced that old ‘Cap’ needs a bigger rig to match his now largely inflated chest. Standing in the middle of the road Geevesy then made a signal and a 16 Tonne prime mover semi-trailer roared to life, rumbling up the street to collect Captain Trucky Kev. The steps were so high that the old fella needed to be lifted aboard but, once in the passenger seat Kevvy was on the two-way barking orders and living the dream. This vehicle then became our lead out vehicle for the next 10-kilometres and what a buzz it was for the riders and crew! When we pulled over for Kev to swap back down to his ‘reality vehicle’ we all thanked the driver with a rousing reception. Thank you also to Lock Burnett of Burnett Transport for providing the driver and rig.
Most of the ‘Truckies’ we come into contact with on the ride are extremely patient and this is mainly due to the constant chatter Kev has with every vehicle on the road with a two-way. Day 6 was also the day we welcomed back our old friend Peter Allonby, who joined us today for the final three days. Pete has raised in excess of $50,000 for Smiddy in the four years that he has been involved and we are very lucky to have him on board.
The big country opens up and our first day of crosswinds:
Days 6 and 7 are my absolute favourites on the road; the big wide open spaces that Australia is famous for happens from Clermont to Charters Towers, a distance of 400kms, with not a lot in between except for the Belyando Crossing Road House at the halfway point, which was our destination today.
The owner here is called Mandy and she has looked after us for the past five years. Last year her ex-husband, ‘Hogg’, who owned this place, passed away from cancer. Mandy selflessly looked after Hogg up until his passing and has stayed on and taken over ownership of the road house. Each year she donates all the food and accommodation for our overnight stay and we are extremely grateful for her support.
But I am getting ahead of myself; the day panned out like this –
Morning tea was 75kms into the journey and for the first time in six days the group was rewarded with what I like to call a’ decaf-cappuccino made with soya milk crosswind’. The sort of cross wind that resembled a pathetic cup of coffee with lots of froth! After five straight days of tailwinds any wind that was not blowing up our cracker was deemed slightly unpleasant and definitely not welcome. The group is so strong now that it can deal with anything Mother Nature throws at us but we have definitely been spoilt with that tail-wind and loving it!
Morning tea - A real treat
Rolling into morning tea, from about 1000 metres out, a strange form could be spotted dangling carelessly from tree limbs high in the sky. Was it a monkey? Was it an infamous Australian drop bear? As the group got closer it was decided it was very human-like and while one was moving about so frantically that the whole tree shook and the roots were in danger of becoming dislodged, the other remained stealth-like still in a pose that resembled an urban sniper ready to take pot shots at the group. It was of course two members of the road crew in Wybrand, photo man extraordinaire, shooting us with a telephoto lens strong enough to see the fly that had rested on my shoulder from a kilometre back, and Carol Parkinson, whose amazing ability to climb trees is only matched by her daring dangling acrobatic manoeuvre of hanging her entire body out the car passenger window while wildly thrashing her pom pom streamers while passing the riders.
Anyway we rolled into morning tea and all the riders were famished. The highlight of the stop was the bonus muffins provided for free by the local bakery in Clermont, which were gone before paparazzi Wybrand could take another 150 shots on speed mode of Chappo admiring his own muscular legs. Once again the road crew spoilt us rotten with a vast array of food and pampering to our every need and before we knew it the ‘Cap’ blew the five minute whistle and our allotted 20 minutes was up.
The long road to lunch and time to don the day bags.
The roads we travel upon for this part of our journey stretch for as far as the eye can see; pretty daunting really, but thanks to a shorter day of 175-kilometres, cooler conditions and the wind being not directly on the nose, saw the group still making great time throughout each stage. From morning tea to lunch was just 44-kilometres and in that time not a lot happened except the fact that road kill fill-ins for Schindlers List, Anthony Khoo and his two deputies, Aaron Jones and Elizabeth Parkinson, were bitterly disappointed with the road kill count. Khooey deliberately hired Elizabeth two days prior, putting in countless hours of training with her for this big day. To be perfectly honest it was a massive flop with numbers right down from previous years. After much discussion between Khooey and Deputies Jones and Parky they decided that, after 100 years of motor vehicles versus skippies, that they have learnt that cars hurt. Of course it had nothing to do with the lack of rain here for months; no vegetation growing close to the road also doesn’t help to attract the wildlife!
As per usual our lunch stop for today was in a clearing on the side of the road and was yummy, filling and made with love from our road crew. Prior to rolling out first there was the obligatory group photo atop of the dirt mound that has been there ever since Smiddy Challenge has stopped here these past five years. David Smiddy then asked all the riders to collect their day bags and we were to roll out to the next stop with them. David started this tradition last year and uses it as a small reflection on the first year when the original three riders rode 1500-kilometres over seven days carrying fully-loaded back packs as there was no Road Crew that first year. All riders took it in their stride, did what was asked and 20-kilometres later were allowed to drop them.
The ‘go at your own pace’ 15km Hog Challenge Trophy
Last year road crew member Shane Craig came up with the idea of a perpetual shield in honour and remembrance of Hog. Each year the fastest male and female names will be etched onto Hog’s shield and then it remains here at the road house for all Hog’s and Mandy’s repeat customers to see. This year the honour of getting onto this shield went to Craig Mitchell and Lucie Richards. Both Lucie and Craig were excited and humbled to be given the privilege of being on such an important shield. I can still see Hog’s enormous smile and hear his beastly guttural belly laugh. He was a great man with a generous heart and I feel fortunate to have met him.
A night with just the crew
I love the big community nights that we have at Nanango, Eidsvold, Biloela, Blackwater and Clermont. But tonight is our night to be with just us. We have formed lifelong friendships by this stage and we have earnt the right to just hang with 60 very, very special people.
Maria and David Smiddy lead the Smiddy huddle, the swags were pulled from the truck and one very gifted rider gave an amazingly thorough lesson on how to erect a swag, which was appreciated whole-heartedly by the group.
Mandy and her helpers once again cooked up a bush tucker worthy of a king’s ransom. With full bellies and a few rounds of beer we began our nightly festivities as the stars and moon conquered the setting sun to welcome in a calming semi darkness. Rowan always begins with his daily wrap and he has this amazing ability to share happenings of the day in the funniest of ways. He never fails to elicit a laugh from the group and make everyone feel gold.
Next, a strange fella they call ‘Sharky’ got up and awarded the category jersies; tonight the ‘Inspiration’ jersey went to Brendan Foster and the ‘Teamwork’ jersey went to Lucie Richards, both for being absolute legends.
Next up was Schindlers List. Anthony Khoo, filling in for the great man Andrew Schindler, who is taking a year out from Smiddy to go overseas to do a university degree in Road Kill Adaptation, informed the group about the emerging trend of diminishing road kill numbers in Northern Qld…
Then our Mechanic Jimmy Accomb did ‘Jimmy’s List’, a rundown of the daily mechanicals. But, as all the bikes are running so well, Jimmy is now riding every stage instead and ‘Jimmy’s List’ has now been dumped!
Each night a rider speaks and tells his story as to why they do this ride. Tonight was Damian Windle’s turn and he told his story of his fight with Leukaemia. The group are in awe of the nightly speakers as it takes great courage to share these stories.
Lastly we read the journal from the previous day. Tonight this was done by Aaron Jones, who co-wrote it with the Parkinson family and if you are reading this then you will already know it was an excellent read. Tonight we were lucky to have live music and a huge thank you goes out to Jono Flemming and his partner Alex, who played some amazing bush tunes. Thanks also to Julian Flemming, Smiddy rider and brother of Jono, for encouraging Jono and Alex to travel hours to get here.
Thinking of you!
To fellow Smiddy riders who couldn’t attend this ride due to illness in their respective families; Brad Scriven, Gavin Smith and Tim Russell, the entire group are thinking of you and we all miss you dearly.
I hope you enjoyed this yarn and I look forward to writing a few journals on my extended trip this year four days after Smiddy Challenge, starting September 14 to October 3 when I attempt to knock off stage four of the 7in7 of my seven year journey around Australia.
Finally to finish with each rider was asked to describe their Smiddy Challenge experience for the past six days in one word, please enjoy their responses below.
- Martin Wood: Friendship
- Kate Warren: Special
- Chris Geeves: Special
- Perry Beebe: Pain
- Rod Hughes: Rewarding
- Peter Barnwell: Energised
- Mark Sharky: Friendships
- Peter Knight: Fortunate
- Andrew Parkinson: Epic
- Kent Beasley: Life-changing
- Raymond Smith: Fantastic
- Katrina Cousins: Amazing
- Sue Stevenson: Amazing
- David Colahan: Sensational
- Paul Dawson: Rewarding
- Mark Gaviglio: Phenomenal
- David Agudelo: Motivating
- Russell Conway: Inspiring
- Tony Ganter: Euphoria
- Lucie Richards: Amazing
- Justin Carney: Magnificent
- Rose Stritzke: Challenging
- Lachy Joyce: Inspiring
- Dick Thornton: Sensational
- Wayne ‘Westy’ Smith: Honoured
- Ryan Chapman: Sensational
- Rowan Foster: Re-invigorating
- Kathryn Parkinson: Heartfelt
- Brendan Foster: Long
- Julian Flemming: High Pressure
- Tim Limmer: Emotional
- Wayne Wetherall: Inspired
- John Leyshon: Unbelievable
- Peter Lavery: Testing
- Robert Boyd: Spirit
- Craig Mitchell: Fantastic
- Gavin Bryce: Reflection
- Natalie Gordon: Brilliant
- Mark Trembath: Rewarding
- Gavin Herholdt: Fun
- Peter Dawson: Memorable
- Aaron Jones: Enlightened
- Elizabeth Parkinson: Rewarding
- Peter Allonby: Awesome
- Damien Windle: Exhilarating
- Maria Smiddy: Spiritual
- David Smiddy: Fantastic
- Kevin Enchelmaier: Awful
- Lisa McFadyen: Unforgettable
- Lesley Ray: Reflective
- Carol Parkinson: Amazing
- Allan Parkinson: Awesome
- Rebecca Knight: Inspired
- Kay Smoothy: Wonderful
- Wybrand De-Toit: Tiring
- Jimmy Acomb: Red Raw
