Home from the GSR 1200

I have many great pictures from the Great Southern Randonnée, a 1200K ride held last week in Australia, much of it along the spectacular Great Ocean Road, through the Otways National Park and the Grampians Mountains. Here's one of my favorites because it has three of the folks I got to spend time with. I'm pictured with Capn Ende, Australian rider Andrew Bragg and  SIR legend Vincent Muoenke. We spent hours and hours together, and their camaraderie made this event very special. I shared lots of road time with Oz riders, including Wayne and Phil and Brian, and other U.S. riders, including Seattle riders Mark Thomas and Rick Blacker, Santa Cruz rider Tom Russell, and the unstoppable machine that is Spencer Klaassen, who finished despite ugly cracks in his down tube.

The Audax Australian club really knows how to throw a party. The volunteer support along the route was a model for 1200s everywhere, and our host families opened their homes to us and took the sting out of the travel, before and after the ride. A big thanks to Peter and Simon and their families for making our stay so incredibly comfortable.

I'll post more about the event, but I wanted first to give thanks where thanks are due: to my fellow riders who pointed out the Southern Cross at the Macarthur fireside control; to the ride organizers who served up a challenging route and also looked after every detail along the way; to the incredible volunteers who made banana splits and homemade chicken soup or dished out entertainment under the flapping Hopkins Falls tent; and to our host families who made sure our stomachs, or glasses, were never empty. Cheers!

P.S.: Here's a GSR video with interviews by Mark and Spencer. You'll see a couple NC Rando jerseys in there as well:



GSR 2012_Deeper Water from Cath Stephensen on Vimeo.