Take 2: Cape2Cape 2019

I worked out a new ride plan for Ed, just called him 10pm qld time and gave him his new plan and timing points/ fuel stops.
 
Thanks guys. Unfortunately I've called it and won't be finishing the ride. Just too fried and not helped by not being able to sleep when I got in last night (went to sleep just fine in full gear 30km out of town!). I was a mess when I rolled in and couldn't back it up again today on less than 3hrs.
Ridingthe last 300km of the Plenty hwy in the dark broke me, it was just brutal - completely unpredictable surface conditions and cattle everywhere.
Planning to more or less follow the route through to visit family but just of the clock. (Will leave spot on). Will probably pick up border run on way home.
 
"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry... " (Robert Burns)
Well done you three on some tough decisions on circumstances beyond your control.
That route sounds brutal Ed.
Good luck on completing the rest of your travels. Ride well.
 
It is a tough one - the ride itself is tough but it also has very little flexibility with logistics around opening times for fuel. Add to that the massive increase in risk and difficulty riding the plenty and great central rd at night and the timing becomes really restricted and very hard to recover if it slips. I still think it is doable but not by me today. Would be more than happy to share what we have learnt in the past two attempts with anyone wanting a go at it.
 
Put quite a bit of thought into this as I was going along today. I realised that even after the light day yesterday, it was still theoretically possible (from a time/distance perspective) to complete the ride in under 100hrs. Without going too far down the coulda/shoulda route, I think if I had played my cards very slightly differently i would still be in the game. Some good lessons for both this ride specifically and for my multi day rides generally I think. As i said above, this is still very doable, just needs the right plan and approach. Might have to do a bit of a debrief, lessons learnt thing maybe.
 
Couple of pics

67568730_1283506555164016_4115584795721859072_o.jpg


67739379_1283506608497344_7783514723663740928_o.jpg


68260028_1283506588497346_6100233597736714240_o.jpg


67774725_1283506628497342_6466015668616560640_o.jpg


67449483_1283506665164005_2452297751875026944_o.jpg


67474319_1283506695164002_1831165104855449600_o.jpg


68265469_1283506721830666_411190088630796288_o.jpg


67935887_1283506758497329_390135218347966464_o.jpg


67625818_1283506788497326_6201878564346789888_o.jpg
 
Fantastic shots Thommo except for the DR having a rest. It’s really hard work riding the top end. Next time mate!
 
It was the hardest thing I've ever done on a long ride to leave Thommo at Coen, but Ed and I knew the last thing he'd want would be to stop us having a go. Funny how you remember things. I left Tiger Bill to limp in after one FarRide in QLD many years ago and I was remembering how bad that felt as well. However, it was an easy call to go get Thommo once the ride wasn't on for me. Big thanks to Tack and Rhys for the lend of the ute.

Since my cancer treatment I've been functioning on reduced sleep. I've managed it o.k, but it is not ideal for multi day rides. I really want to have a go at a few of these, so I'm going to get a referral to a sleep clinic and see what can be done.

I'd like to have another go at this one but it might be a while before I can put all the pieces on the board for a proper attempt. The good things are what we've learned about this ride. Its definately doable, we just have to get the pieces aligned and run with the right plan.
 
Back
Top