Challenge Accepted, Challenge Completed
(UPDATED WITH PHOTO) It’s now about 5.30pm on Tuesday 6th November in Melbourne, Australia, and the 2012 Betfair LifeCycle Challenge is complete. After a fairly hilly 177km ride from Mansfield, which started at about 4am, the cyclists started arriving in Melbourne federal square at about 1pm, to be welcomed by members of the backup team,
Day 9 and the Time Trial
The hills returned in Day 9, another long ride (213km) from Albury to Mansfield. Shortly after starting, the team passed from New South Wales into Victoria, the final state covered by the challenge. Today was the day of the time trial, which was measured over a 10km section of the route with an elevation gain
Day 8 – Smooth Sailing
Day 8, from Cootamundra to Albury, was another long ride at 222km. However, the terrain was much more amenable to long distance riding, mainly flat with some undulations. The weather was bright and quite hot, but with breezes, and most of the cyclists made the most of the day to improve their overall timings. The
Day 7 – Keeping up the pace
Day was a long 226km ride from Bathurst to Cootamundra, still in New South Wales, and the team set off in the cold at 5.30am which meant they were starting to get up about 3.30am. Day 7’s terrain was easier going, and the weather decided to be a slightly more accommodating, with the day becoming
At last, a shorter day
(UPDATED WITH INTERVIEW LINK) Day 6 was a little easier than previous days, at only 130km. The last cyclist arrived at the accommodation in Bathurst at around 4.30pm. Though a shorter distance was cycled, the day was still quite tough with some steep hills and undulations. The weather was hot but not stifling, and one
Day 5 – Heat and Dust
Day 5’s route (continuing through New South Wales from Muswellbrook to Mudgee) was slightly shorter than usual, about 170km, but very hilly. Also, the temperature was very hot, up to 34 degrees C, and the route included some off road and very dusty sections. One further participant had to retire today due to injuries, leaving
Day 4: Water, Water
(UPDATED WITH PHOTOS) Day 4, a 156km ride from Tamworth to Muswellbrook in New South Wales, started with the 24 remaining cyclists waking up at about 4.30am and hitting the road 2 hours later, heading out into a bitterly cold morning. The day eventually turned much warmer, and the backup team were concerned about dehydration
Day 3 and the Challenge Continues
(UPDATED WITH PHOTOS) Day 3, a long 208km ride through New South Wales from Glen Innes to Tamworth, has proved equally as challenging as the first two days. In contrast to day 2, the ride stayed on properly surfaced roads, and there was an overall height drop rather than a gain, even though the route
Not Everyone Will Finish
(UPDATED WITH PHOTOS) After the really tough climbs of day 1, the weather decided to add to the challenge on day 2 (220km from Warwick to Glen Innes). Bad weather meant that a significant off-road section of the route had degraded considerably, making cycling on the steep, rough terrain very difficult and causing the entire- 1
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