Monday 22 October 2012

2012 Ride to Conquer Cancer

Well, today I'm very sore and very tired!  I spent the greater part of the weekend in the saddle taking part in the 2012 Ride to Conquer Cancer, Perth - a two day, 209km cycling event organised to raise funds for Cancer research in Western Australia. Each of the 1,200+ participants was tasked with raising a minimum of $2,500 for WAIMR, the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, located at the University of Western Australia.

I have to say, we did very well.  The total raised was just over $4.7million, far exceeding the minimum contribution of $3million.  And, as a bonus, we had a great time too.  I rode with two of my work colleagues, and frequently also with Peter Klinken, the head of WAIMR.  We didn't press too hard, but still managed good times.

My GPS log from The Ride
Day one was a 96km leg from Perth to Pinjarra along the base of the Darling Range.  It was warm and there was very little wind, a most pleasant ride in fact.  There were frequent rest stops, wonderfully managed by the Ride organisers.  Saturday night was spent at the campsite in Pinjarra, and was a pretty big party, with great food and music.  My companions and I opted not to partake of the free beer though... Day two still lay ahead!

Our Ride team: Jessica Midjaja, myself and Don Frost
Day two saw us returning to Perth via the coast.  From Pinjarra we headed NW until we hit Safety Bay, and from there it was all the way up along the coast to Fremantle.  This proved to be a bit of a slog, as a 16kt Nor'wester was blowing in and never swung around to the usual Sou'wester.  So we had to punch into a pretty vicious headwind all the way.  Turning Freo though was a joy, with the wind largely at our back all the way back to the finish line.  Crossing the finish line was a joyous occasion, and I celebrated with a nice cold beer and a delicious steak sandwich with my family.

Finished!!
Looking forward to doing it again next year, better organised and with my wife Amy in tow as well!!

Now, back to the regular programming of Glider talk...