Our office is lucky to have a number of SERIOUS cyclists (as you can tell from the photo above). This made the annual Santos Great Bike ride a fantastic opportunity to wear matching lycra and ride for a great cause. We are proud to say that we all made it over the finish line unscathed (mostly) and most importantly raised over $3000 for homeless youth. As a team we did a grand total of 858km yesterday (like riding to Albany and back) in windy and hot conditions – all done with good humour and great banter afterwards. More importantly, we have raised many thousands of $’s for a very good cause. Some highlights :

• Tim – finished 3^rd overall – riding at a phenomenal 40km/hr pace and finishing the the 98km ride in less than 2.5 hours
• Paul – Stopped briefly to say hi to his kids and gave up the luxury of travelling safely in a peloton whilst taking on the easterly headwinds solo.
• Alden – cramping in his hamstring? – I am still working out how you do that on a bike!
• Ali – who completed the 10km in style with basket on the front and all.
• Rod – who completed the journey whilst carrying 20L of water – his own version of a handicap (Let me tell you what my friend, you can never be too careful with hydration…it’s a helleva hot out there.)
• Richard – 6 days in Bangkok and 4 hours sleep – the perfect preparation. But still made it in a very good time – well done.
• Oliver – who despite being savaged by a bee, continued on with no complaints and made it there.
• Adam – very late entry and joined in with aplomb, despite being almost being arrested by police for being on the freeway without the correct tags.
• Isis/Abbey/Lisa/Frank/Antony – first timers, great effort – all finishing with smiles.