The Tour de Chance formed a Remembrance circle in the shadow of the Australian flag in the village of Bungendore, gathering at 11am for a memorial to those who have fallen in war. KONA Group MD Glenn Dobson had personal memories of lost colleagues having served in Northern Ireland during the “Troubles” and the TDC group minute’s silence allowed a personal remembrance for each tour member, before a communal “Lest We Forget” saw the team break ranks. The ride resumed, but with a refreshed perspective. Steve Hickey nailed it when he said that Remembrance Day was also an appropriate point to remember those who are the inspiration for the ride, the interns of Fighting Chance. In their personal battles there is no armistice, but the support from the circle of friends extending from the Tour does make a difference. Although day Seven was classed as a recovery day of a short 74kms, it started with a stiff, steep and long climb out of Queanbeyan, a stern test for the overnight newcomers to the ride – Greg Rector, Tim Smeallie and Dan Powell – and a punishing reminder of the reality of the ride for the race-hardened crew. (One of the cyclists did have a major advantage however as due to the high carbohydrate diet we have all been consuming, nature was taking its course and nearly ‘blew’ him self-propelled up the hills!!) The cumulative effort of the ride – it is now at 989 kms in 7 days – took its toll with two riders taking temporary respite, one for knee pain, the other for extremely severe saddle sores. There were absolutely no offers to rub savlon into the rider’s premier-pharmacy.com/product-category/weight-loss/ ‘sore parts’ and hopefully they will be back tomorrow for the run home! It was a day of undulations and some steep hills as the tour headed for the charming town of Braidwood, midway between Canberra and the coast. There was a stop for a refreshing orange quarter (welcome back Nev Hedge) on the banks of the Shoalhaven River. It was a little upstream from the setting of Arthur Boyd’s famed paintings, but no less beautiful for that. Day 8 is 166 kms down to the coast at Kiama, so despite 1509 metres of uphill on the route, the net result is well and truly down, ending at sea level – thank you gravity, its about time. Tour fact : Based on an estimated combined weight for the riders of 1.8 tonnes, the 766m above sea level of the highest point of day 8 and gravitational acceleration of 9.8 metres per second squared, the kinetic potential energy of the team will be 13.5m joules. One joule is the energy required to lift a medium sized tomato 1 metre from the ground. I have no idea what any of this means however it sounds a lot and the group is looking for a very BIG fruit and vegetable shop. The KONA Group is Australia’s Leading Sales and Sales Management Training and Coaching company and provides customised training programs that include:  Sales Training & Coaching, Call Centre Training & Coaching, Negotiation Skills Training & Coaching, Motivational Speakers and more. So please help us make a difference to the young people at Fighting Chance and donate at https://tourdechance2016.raisely.com/glenndobson Alternatively contact KONA today on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to discuss how we can help you to improve your business results.