Day 8 dawned misty in Taree and we had already left by 6am. Gotta 2.30pm ferry to catch so we left focused on no slips ups and no one late… For Pod One things usually go according to plan, but today…. not quite. It started with the call to rollout at 6.00am and “where’s Eric?…” Not sure but it soon transpired that Eric was doing something that he should have done a little earlier… Out of the darkness looking quite embarrassed he appeared and 5 minutes later we were off… straight in to a lung busting hill We settled down to push some miles out of the days ride – into the single file pace line on the Pacific Highway, grinding hard, then bang!! Damo has punctured again… Not a great experience at 30kph Puncture repaired off we hit a lengthy rise on the Highway… pace line pulling… Tim Smeallie doing email on his iPhone and woahhh!!! over the handle bars he goes Big Stevie G and Graeme just avoid riding over his bike and Tim himself…. We pick him up out of the roadside debris, dust him off, give him some HTFU tablets and establish nothing broken with bike or rider… That was a close call.. no more riding, listening to music and doing emails for Tim before we get back to Sydney. Today was turning into a real hard slog backing up from yesterday’s long 152kms pull into Taree.. All groups pressed on making serious dents in the schedule headed for Bulahdelah. Off the highway and onto Wooton Way and a very serious hill climb One big hill was the warm up for the real thing, and then we charged into the segment known on Strava as Wooton Top Half… A hard grind and over the summit and down into Bulahdelah nearly 2 hours ahead of schedule. So what did the boys do while they relaxed… Stevie G got a hair cut and manicure! I filled up on a veggie pie and Chad fell off his bike in a car park!! Back on the bikes and 15kms of dirt track riding (NOT a great experience when you are riding a Triathlon Time Trial bike) to the Bombah Point Ferry and then 27kms into Tea Gardens for the ferry to Nelson Bay. Highlight of the trip for me was standing up in front of all passengers on the ferry and passing the hat round as the passengers donated to our great cause

“How Much?”

Coming to you from the Halifax Holiday park in Nelson Bay… Time to hit the rack, refresh the legs and be ready for some pedalling first thing tomorrow. Getting close to Sydney but still a couple of instalments to go… Get organised and be down at the Spit in Mosman on Saturday to welcome us home. The highlight of the Fighting Chance Summer Festival. We aim to arrive around 1pm… Oh, and ‘Go Souths!’ A great win from the South Yorkshire Rabbitohs To donate please go to https://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/DobsonG Glenn Dobson is the Managing Director of the KONA Group and raising funds for Fighting Chance, a charity that supports young people with cerebral palsy and other severe disabilities. For more information on KONA’s sales and sales management training and coaching courses in Sydney or Melbourne Australia, or how you can donate to our Brisbane to Sydney ride please call 1300 611 288 or email glenn@KONA.com.au