Tag: charity

After a very funny Mexican evening in Nelson Bay and a belly full of Burritos to blow us home we set off yet again into a dawn of clear skies…   Today we had another ferry to catch across the river into Newcastle.  A brisk pace was set and off we went.  Little did Peter Eborn know it would be the day to take out the Black Hand award with multiple punctures and a stack when trying to take path space from big Stevie G… Newcastle held a few surprises,  over the hill to Bar Beach and onto Merewether.  The need to concentrate was paramount as walking obstacles proved highly distracting.  Just about as distracting as Byron Bay!!  Onwards – the beautiful Fernleigh bike path for 20kms before making Blue Wren Drive to Elizabeth Bay.  A significant milestone of 1,000 kms pedalled and the whisper came through that the fundraising target had been achieved.  A very satisfying stop for lunch at Lizzies of Elizabeth Bay. You will notice my bike in this photo.  From a distance it looks like an impressive Ironman Time Trial bike, however after 1,100 kms up close it rattles and squeaks and clearly it is in need of a new ‘engine’. After this event, in 8 weeks time it will be responsible for carrying me 180 kms in the Australian Ironman at Port Macquarie. One posed the question as to who rattles and squeaks the most – Bike or Rider??? The afternoon concluded with one more flat tyre for Peter E, this time a wheel replacement was in order and on we rolled into The Entrance and a private awards ceremony.  Not before one last post ride rehydration session. Start of day 10 came with a beautiful sunrise and 6.30am departure for the last time…   This was to be a day of reflection, taking it all in and thinking about what we had achieved. Strict ride instructions were issued,  “Stay tight boys, keep the PODs together, lets get home safely…   Did Pod One listen or was this one last chance for a 33kmph pedal… 39kms to Ettalong for the Ferry and our last bakery stop.   Off the ferry on to the Palm Beach route… this is training territory….  Newport Hill – Easy!… A stop off at Mona Vale Quality Meats for Rod and Steve to meet family and friends, then into Narrabeen to Tim’s house and a wonderful photo with his daughter Ashleigh. The inspiration behind Tim which led to this great event We are all getting very excited… Back on the training route to South Steyn Surf Club and the Group MANLY Photo to bookend the trip…  we had made it!  Manly to Manly… Up Lauderdale Avenue to the Spit for a group photo and waiting for the word from Paul to roll down Battle Boulevarde over the Spit Bridge and into final 100 m and over the finish line. Day 10 was a real mix of emotions – anticipation, satisfaction, accomplishment, relief, pride, gratitude, and a nagging sense of something between disappointment and loss from knowing that this journey was ending and that this group of 25 Fighting Chance 2014 team members would in all likelihood never be together again. But the sweetest sensation for me was seeing the faces of my family and those of the Fighting Chance members who we were raising funds for as we pedalled into Mosman – pure joy!!! I’m sure every one felt the same, one amazing crusade led by Tim, one fine pair of siblings leading Fighting Chance… One final group photo and a lovely way to say good bye… No more pedalling to do!!….. STATISTICS

• 1,109.3 kilometers travelled
• 9,013 meters climbed
• 44hrs and 9mins in the saddle
• 25.18kmph average pace
• sausage rolls eaten???
• Over $250,000 raised…

and a final note…. You can still donate…..   or even donate again at https://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/DobsonG THANK YOU ALL!!!! Glenn 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

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

After two quiet days on the road, day seven was always going to be the toughest day of the tour, a 152kms ride from Crescent Head to Taree. The build up last night involved all the correct nutrition of an athlete – a Chinese meal and a couple of schooners. This was a nice change to the usual steak and chips we have been used to during the tour. After a good feed all riders got there heads down early ready for ‘Big Wednesday’. We set off in the dark at 6.30 with a cool mist still settling in the valleys and no sunrise photo for the blog… Nev and Col provided Salami and Cucumber sandwiches, which led to many riders witnessed passing wind and belching for the first 25 kms!!! The morning had previously started well with Tim banging on the door of the young ones to wake them up and get them into shape early. This worked for the best part of half hour, when 20kms into the day the front support (Paul & Charles) misjudged a few turns and forgot to use the radios. Nothing too major, just a very confused nineteen riders. The last member of the young ones didn’t take to well to Tim’s early wake up. We rode on part of the Port Macquarie Ironman Triathlon course today past the camels and I thought bugger it, time to ride with the ‘big boys’ in the fast group, even though they are in reality quite light, skinny and a lot younger than me We took off and I put my angry race head on and averaged just under 30 kms an hours for 150 kms! I hit the lead of the front group when we got onto the Ironman course and absolutely hammered it Great practise for May’s Ironman – a 4km swim then a 180kms bike race followed immediately by a 42kms marathon Jordy, who already has had some issues on the road, came up trumps again. He managed to puncture his tyre twice within the first 60kms, the second puncture causing the biggest drama. Jordy was cycling with a bulge coming out the side of his tyre, when the wheel locked he thought it would be a good idea to pull over and find the problem. The team joined him and when Rod put his hand up to help with the flat, the front tyre on Jordan’s bike exploded, giving Rod a numb hand and sent Simon Noakes into the bushes with fright. The punctures held the third pod back quite significantly, however they are pretty used to that riding with Jordy. ‘Big Wednesday’ will mark a significant point in the Tour de Chance. All riders will have completed the biggest day of the tour, however, this does not mean an easy run into Sydney. The final 324kms will test us all with some very steep climbs (which with my size I always have to work extra hard on compared to the lighter smaller blokes) and this is where it is important that we keep our nutrition and recovery up (As I speak a few of the team are heading to the local RSL to ‘rehydrate’) Our riders love hearing messages of support from you and we also love your donations as EVERY cent us going to the people with disabilities at Fighting Chance Your donations are going to have significant impact on the lives of people with severe disabilities so please help us get as much money into an organisation that is doing amazing things. Come on guys three days to go, so send us a message! 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

One of the biggest challenges to multi day events is how to eat and drink enough to keep the body functioning under immense physical pressure, especially when you are on the move all of the time and don’t feel like eating. On an average working day most people burn around 2,500 calories. Yesterday I burnt over 6,000 on one days ride, which if I wasn’t eating on the bike and at each break, would create a major physical problem as my body would start to shut down Starting with a high carb breakfast I nibble every 10-15 minutes on bananas, power bars, meal replacement drinks like Nutrastart, muesli bars, Growling Dogs, veggie mite sandwiches, oranges, snakes and other delicacies. Then at each break I have tried vegetable pies, toast, smoothies, quiche, ham and cheese sandwiches, and more Today though I made the mistake of eating 2 sushi rolls which was a BIG mistake as, though high in carbs (fuel), they don’t digest well at 30 kms an hour. Cycling tip of the day – don’t ride behind a cyclist who won’t stop and throws up while pedalling! No more needs to be said Today is a 70 kms ‘rest and recovery’ day and we have arrived in Crescent Head after a relatively quiet day on tour. With time to reflect, the team have put together the best five moments of the tour for you to enjoy. 1, Two days in, apparently the six radios, two support cars, four support crew and nineteen riders was not enough to warn Yours Truly of a wooden bridge. The story goes that I rolled over whilst thinking about my nutrition routine when I get my front wheel stuck in between the wooden slats and fall off my bike nearly going over the edge of the bridge. 2, Peter ‘The Beaver’ Bevis, decides to introduce himself to the co founder of Fighting Chance, Jordan O’Reilly, in style. Whilst riding through beautiful country lanes surrounded by rolling hills and stunning crop fields, Jordan deciders to take a bite of his Carman’s muesli bar to give him a bit of energy to get through the last 10kms, at the same time Pete is trying hard to avoid the cow dung littered across the road, unfortunately Pete makes a slight misjudgement and rides straight through nice fresh cow dung which flicks up right into Jordan’s mouth. Apparently cow dung doesn’t compliment muesli bars in any way shape or form. 3, Pod One, a group that has come into their own over the last few days, made up of experienced riders who are eating up the kilometres on this tour. Being up at the front, they spend the majority of the time with the front support crew who are on hand to give out directions. After a stop in Macksville Tim speaks with the front support crew and informs them that the riders will not need directions saying “if anyone gets lost here they deserve to be lost”. As we head off the front support crew stops off at Woolworth’s to get the shopping done for a bbq that evening, only to look around and see a group of six riders circling the woolies car park trying to find their way. 4, Greg Rector drew first blood for the cause today, however not in heroic style. With only 5kms to go a bridge appears for Greg to overcome, after hearing stories from Glenn Dobson, Greg decides that it might be best to walk it. This also proved to be a problem, Greg jumps off his bike walks across the bridge only to fall over in front of a car that stops within feet of Greg. Luckily Kim was on hand with cameras to capture the moment. 5, Finally, nothing can beat Kim’s tremendous effort with his waterproofing. The irony of wearing a high vis, waterproof jacket to dinner in a pub was there for all to see when the moment Kim was peer pressured into removing the jacket, The Beaver Pete Bevis dropped his full, cold beer all over Kim. Well done boys. The team will need your messages of support more than ever for tomorrow, a 152kms ride is in front of us, going from Crescent Head to Taree. Please connect with us and keep sending your messages of support and donations as we get through the second half of the tour. We look forward to seeing you at the Summer Festival at the Spit Reserve in Mosman to welcome the riders home at around 1pm Cheers, Glenn 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

Hello All, At last it has come down to the day of the ride.  We are 19 cyclists (I hesitate to say athletes) cycling 1100kms in 10 days with a support team in 2 vehicles. All good, right? I mean what could possibly go wrong?? I am pleased (and somewhat surprised) to report that we were pretty much on track from the start, with just a few minor hiccups but nothing overly concerning. One of the team missed his flight to Brisbane (great start fella!!), another needed urgent bike repairs when he drove into his driveway with his bike on the roof of his car and forgot about a low hanging branch (!!!) – as I said, what could possibly go wrong? But despite all this it was pure joy and some sense of relief to see the Team in Manly, Brisbane yesterday working thru the final bike checks and confirming the ride logistics before we got up at 4.30 am this morning. After a breakfast of a banana and a bottle of Gatorade we set off, with the media and an ABC film crew recording our departure We did have a slightly inauspicious start as we were locked in motel car park and couldn’t initially get out Then on leaving the car park one of the team got a flat tyre, however after that all we had to watch out for was pot holes, dead kangaroos, traffic and fatigue Riding in groups of 5 the rest of the day was a great success and very organised, with a total focus on safety (The absolute opposite to a typical Ironman triathlon   training ride!) 95 kms and 5 hours later we arrived in Miami just south of Surfers Paradise and went for a swim. A good finish to the day’s exercise Tomorrow we ride 120 kms from Miami to Ballina Stay tuned 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