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Flight
Lieutenant Mark Koester, Flight Lieutenant Doug Slater,
Warrant Officer Terry Withers, Flight Lieutenant Grant Everett,
Squadron Leader Dick Haines, Squadron Leader Mark Tottman
and Flying Officer Marta Saunder prepare to depart RAAF
Base Edinburgh on their 1700km trek east to Newcastle.
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SEVEN
riders and support staff from RAAF Base Williamtown’s Surveillance
and Control Group have completed a 1700 kilometre bike ride from
Adelaide to Newcastle in a bid to raise money for several charities.
Flight
Lieutenant Mark Koester, Flight Lieutenant Doug Slater, Warrant
Officer Terry Withers, Flight Lieutenant Grant Everett, Squadron
Leader Dick Haines, Squadron Leader Mark Tottman and Flying Officer
Marta Saunder raised more than $3000 for the Royal Flying Doctor
Service, Legacy and the Neo-Natal Unit at John Hunter Hospital.
Money
raised came via collections at RAAF Bases Williamtown and Edinburgh
and generous donations from Boeing, BAe Systems, and Sverdrup.
After
driving from Newcastle to Adelaide, the team departed RAAF Base
Edinburgh under police escort on January 28.
With
two riders on the road at a time, the team rode through the Barossa
Valley and Blanchetown before completing the 247km first day’s
ride at Renmark on the Murray River.
The
following day riders travelled 250km across the South Australian-Victorian
border, through Mildura, and across the NSW border to Euston,
as the temperature soared above 40 degrees Celsius.
Day
three promised 214km of feature-packed scenery on the Hay plains.
The leg was significantly livened up by a close call involving
an emu and a favourable tail wind all the way into Hay. On one
35km leg of the day’s trip, riders averaged 47.5 km/hr.
The
275km stretch from Hay to Wagga was dominated by a strong cross
wind that significantly slowed the riders’ progress.
After
the longest day of the ride so far, the facilities of RAAF Base
Wagga, including real beds and mess food, were a welcome change
to stretchers and tents of the previous three nights.
The
next day’s ride from Wagga to Cowra took riders through 215km
of undulating terrain, as well as cattle on the road and a sea
of their waste products.
However,
the stage from Cowra to Richmond was undoubtedly the most challenging.
The 250km ride was relentlessly up and down, including many severe
climbs along the Bells Line of road through the Blue Mountains
from Lithgow to Richmond.
The
climbs, though, were rewarded by some 80km/hr descents as the
riders came down from the Blue Mountains.
The
final day of the ride involved a 228km trek from RAAF Base Richmond
to RAAF Base Williamtown via Wiseman’s Ferry, Mangrove Mountain
and the F3 freeway.
The
finish line was a welcome sight after seven days and more than
1700km in the saddle.
The
ride would not have been possible without the excellent support
provided by Flight Sergeant Greg Blanch and Sergeant Peter White,
who drove the vehicles, cooked meals, generally provided for the
riders’ needs, and even put in some time on the bikes.
Other
outstanding support was provided by accommodation cells and rations
stores at RAAF Bases Williamtown, Edinburgh, Wagga, and Richmond,
Spock’s Spokes cycle shop, and the Australian Services Triathlon
Association (ASTA) which provided the cycling uniforms.
