Thank you all for all your support and sponsorship, without that, it would have been so much harder for us to achieve our goal. So I just wanted to give you an update on what happened this last weekend.

My wife and I are so very pleased and proud that we did this ride...straight after the ride mind you we both were mentally and physically shattered and the thought of ever doing the ride again was a definite no.

It was the hardest thing we have ever done.

But as the bruises and the pain wears off you come to realize the enormity of it all. Our 'TEAM

ALBATROSS TOURS' raised over $23,000 dollars and all up the ride raised $5.4 million dollars!!!! 

ALL these funds go directly to the Cancer research. NONE are sidetracked in administration costs. Now that's impressive.

Here is just a little of what we felt :
Day 1 - 112 kms.
We were in the saddle for over 8 hours, cycling into a very strong head wind with very little flat ground....the hills seemed relentless. We felt completely drained when we got to camp around 4.30pm having started at 6.30am. No way could we have predicted this. The endless hills the wind.

Day 2 - 112 kms - all the way back again.
The greatest irony is the horrible headwind from the day before completely disappeared. So the hope for tail wind was not to be. I did my hamstring near the end of day 1 so was in 'noticeable'pain on the way home, but determined to finish. Julie-anne's knees were giving up and she could no longer sit on the saddle so had to ride side saddle from the lunch stop... not easy and also very painful- but together we made it to the finish line, with the help of brufen and panadol.

We would not have made it if not for the tremendous support from our fellow Albatross Tours team mates, Simon, Gary, Kevin and Mark.  Thank you guys so very much.

As well as the fantastic support crew from the volunteers that numbered in the thousands all along the road cheering you on, to the signs saying 'thank you and we are so proud of you' at just the right places when your body was screaming and you thought " I can't do this anymore".

It still makes us emotional  to remember the loneliness when you are riding and there is not a rider in sight - then you see another rider, who says to you as they pass..."well done, come on we can do this." We did not get off the bike at all going there...we challenged every hill and achieved it - but coming back though I must say the muscles told me 'no let's walk this monster of a hill'.

If you were down, there was always someone there with a hand to help which made us again see such similarity in a tiny tiny way to what the people suffering from cancer must go through. My wife sees cancer in her every day work but to be part of wonderful group of people all shapes and sizes, all with their own reasons for doing the ride, and to be able to 'give back' will always rest close to our hearts.

From the pit crew who were always smiling and so willing to help in any way to the sweep teams that followed us in their cars to the end always just 50 meters behind and always so very positive, we thank you too. To all the people with their yellow flags on the back of their bikes signifying cancer sufferers or survivors out there doing the hard yards yet again...but always so happy and positive we thank you.

We proudly rode in last. Shattered and elated. But we can now be up there with the queen as the last supporting motorcade consisted of 2 police bikes, 3 volunteer sweep team bikes and 2 support cars following us! Lights were flashing, horns were sounding and hundreds lines the finish gantry. What a buzz.

Thanks you for your donations. Together we saved lives this last weekend.