On Sunday I rode with friends in a charity event for the Amy Gillett Foundation. Amy was a member of the Australian Women's cycling squad and while they were training in Germany, a young lady who had not long had her licence, drove into the training group.
All sorts of riders participated from serious racing cyclists to five riders on this pink extended bike.
Most of the squad were hurt in some way. Amy was killed. This was the same year that our World Champion, Cadel Evans was prominant in the Tour deFrance a few years back. Since then, he has been a staunch advocate of the Foundation. He was on the ride Sunday in his World Championship Jersey.
Amy's husband, family and many friends organise this annual ride to promote road safety awareness to both cyclists and motorists.
After the ride we enjoyed calamari and chips washed down with a cool beer, Peroni of course, and the view, well there it is below.
The ride starts and finishes at Geelongs Eastern Beach, a great spot with a great view across Corio bay within Port Phillip bay. The weather was sunny in the mid 20s. I must do a story on Geelong as it has a rich history with some interesting architecture.
After the ride we were entertained by "real" racing cyclists in the Bay Criterium Series. Several of them use this as an early training program for their European campaign for 2010. Two of today's riders, Robbie McEwan and Baden Cook are past Green Jersey winners in LeTour.
I'm back at work now so I'll revert back to my weekly installments unless I get inspired mid-week.
Leon, I don't know much about riding bikes for such a long time but I remember reading an article in the LA Times about the Tour de France. The journalist had interviewed researchers and scientists... He wrote that one day of racing on the tour is the equivalent of running a marathon. Doing this for 3 weeks (whatever long it takes) is very much impossible unless you are using "help". He also wrote about all those muscle men who would never be that muscled naturally unless they had "help". Never the less, it is pretty amazing to see those guys climb mountains day after day. I don't mean to put down the professional racers who get very well paid to win and get sponsorships, but I really admire the non-professionals who have such a passion for their sport. I know you are one of them and you are doing it for pure pleasure, exercise and the camaraderie. I guess eating Sue's wonderful meals, you would have to find a way to burn the calories.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for Amy Gillett killed in Germany. I am sure she is very proud of all of you.
Those are very nice comments - yes the top level cyclists do come in for a high level of critism and due to the highest level of testing, the cheats are being caught. That's a good thing however the publicity isn't. I could go on for hours on the subject, but won't.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, the sport has offered me many friends and experiences since the age of 12.
And yes, Sue's passion for cooking helps keep up the energy levels.