Following the first two hard days in the hills and then the headwinds, the third day of riding 200km from Chinchilla to Roma was always stacking up to be tough. The Peloton departed from Chinchilla at 7.30am in brisk, sunny 8 degree temperatures. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Passing through cold seam gas country over the first 70km was fitting for what the bunch had to do over this leg – ”dig deep”. That they did. They rode strongly as a group with the V8 engine out the front (ala the 8 strongest riders), two gatekeepers in the middle and the remainder of the bunch in true Peloton formation.
A solid day of riding over fairly open terrain saw a number of riders starting to really hit their pain thresholds over the first two 70km stints but with great teamwork and camaraderie emerging, the whole bunch continued to dig deep, all making it to the finish line in Roma as one tight bunch at 4.30pm.
Not only did the Peloton’s group dynamics help to get every rider through the day but so did that of the support crew – what an outstanding job the crew do each day in making the ride as safe and as comfortable for the riders as possible. From making sure food is available for riders at every stop within 10mins of them arriving (and what an amazing spread of home made cakes, sandwiches and cookies, fruit and drinks …are served up every day!) to washing kits each night and making sure all hotels are ready for the big group’s arrival, Shelley, Teresa, Carmel, Erica and Mark do a sensational job. Fittingly, a few riders have described the experience as ”being treated like Pro’s”. Huge special accolades go out also to mechanic Trevor for making sure bikes are finely tuned and groomed each day, paramedic Evan for ensuring riders are always delivered safely to The Peloton and have medical support if required and Oscar and Luke, drivers from Lindsay Transport who in the big truck lead riders and crew safely on the journey.