Hi Shane, Annette and the Fineline Team,

 

I want to thank you all for your support during the period of gaining my motorcycle license, developing my skills and for being a major sponsor in my fundraising so that I could ride in Amazon Heart Thunder – Australia 2009. You were fantastic!

I have recently completed the ride, from Brisbane to Sydney, with a group of amazing breast cancer survivors. The 31 riders and 8 support van crew members came from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and the UK. It was the last Australian ride and the largest group that Amazon Heart founders, Meredith Campbell and Megan Dwyer, had ever taken on an adventure. I raised approximately $4,800 and collectively participants raised over $90,000 for breast cancer peer support programs.

Everyday of the ride was eventful, much more than I envisaged, but there a couple of standout days I would like to share, along with the photos as attached, a link to my Facebook photos which are presently open for the public to view at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=90247&id=1348805636&saved  a YouTube video of the end of the ride http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr6RJyGWaH4 and the Amazon Heart Thunder Blog site link at http://ahthunderblog.amazonheart.org/categories/AHTAUS09.aspx for more ride day details and photos.

Harley- Davidson was our official sponsor and loaned the group 20 motorcycles. Other riders either hired or bought their own Harley’s along for the ride. We had planned a practice day at Mt Coton Raceway the day before we were due to leave, but a huge storm system and flooding saw a state of emergency declared for Brisbane, and our practice was cancelled. Fortunately some roads were opened the following day, so we took delivery of the bikes, had a very quick test ride around the block, mostly in second gear, then headed out onto the highway. The large group was broken into 5 smaller groups. I was in group 1 and was the nominated group sweep so had some additional duties, such as securing lanes for my group merge. I did it on a Fatboy 1584cc; a bit of a step up from my own V-Star 650 Classic!

We left Brisbane on the tail end of a huge storm that literally caused the evacuation of a number of small towns along the NSW coast – exactly where we were going. Our organisers had a busy time checking that roads were open and planning alternate routes.

On day 2, Warwick to Lennox Heads, we rode straight into the storm cell, driving rain, wind gusts up to 100 km an hour, detours around roads covered with water, through flood water in one spot and across a temporary bridge at the bottom of a muddy gully. Of course we were wet to the skin shortly after we started riding. The highlights are still very clear; courageous women with no wet weather riding experience who just got on with what we had to do; we were welcomed with open arms by the wonderful people of Woodenbong who put on a ‘Biggest Morning Tea’ to meet us; and to top it off, we rode toward a huge rainbow in the black sky!! That night we put our leathers through the spin cycle of washing machines then packed boots and helmets with newspaper to soak up most of the water.

On day 4 we had a latish start after a promo event in Coffs Harbour. We had to back track to Grafton in order to bypass the closed Waterfall Way and get to Walcha that night. The road from Grafton to Ebor was amazing, very twisty like the Oxley Highway but without the traffic. By the time we got to Ebor Falls we were chilled to the bone but couldn’t afford more than a 20 minute break to chug down a bottle of water and a dry sandwich before heading out again. We rode past the sign to Armidale, and thinking that we were detouring because of road closures, I didn’t say ‘we missed the turn’. On we went toward Guyra for another 50 km before our leader turned around and we headed back!

By this time the stormy day saw an early dusk, and while hurtling along, I saw a wallaby bound out of the bush on my left and head straight toward me. I literally screamed, but kept an amazingly cool head! My first thought was that if I go down, I am going to take the rider behind me too. I drew on my MOST and Complete Road Riders training and just before the wallaby reached my left foot, I pushed the bike to the right and ducked away from it. The rider behind me locked her breaks and skidded! Although she was badly shaken, she fortunately stayed upright!

It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the Armidale turnoff, and even though we used the gerry can to give each of the smaller fuel capacity bikes a top up, the fuel didn’t last long. Half way to Armidale, bikes started to run dry. As a sweep I needed to stop twice with a smaller capacity bike rider as we waited in the dusk for a support van to return with more fuel. The group reformed in Armidale and rode to Walcha in the dark; a trail of red taillights ahead and white headlights behind snaking their way across the hills. We reached the Walcha pub just before 8pm and were welcomed by roaring open fires and a wonderful meal that had been kept hot for us by the concerned kitchen staff. What a day that was!

The following day we headed down Thunderbolts Way and got to a landside that was still being cleared by heavy machinery, then our ride captain had a fantastic ‘save’ when luggage slipped down under her rear guard and jammed the rear wheel. She was carrying one of the support van crew as pillion at the time so she did a great job to stay upright! At Gloucester the local breast cancer support group put on a great lunch for us and members of Ulysses, Mid North Coast Branch, came over to meet us. To see them meant so much to me and all the girls!

Each day of the ride was jammed packed, from the time we got up until we went to sleep. It gave us a shared experience, one that we will find difficult to explain to others. Here’s a quote from one of the women, Kathy, which I feel sums up some thoughts. “Despite the sometimes soggy riding, the camaraderie of the ride was amazing. Picture women from different cultures who all heard the same words, "you have cancer," and who all have struggled with the same issues. It was like there was one scar in that room that wound around the chests of all of us, linking us in ways that are inexplicable to anyone but another survivor. It was the common link that made the extreme weather and exhaustion of riding bring us closer together.”

What an adventure I’ve had! The ride of a lifetime with the most courageous and amazing women who will always be there to give each other their support and encouragement! Thanks so very much for helping make it happen.

Very warm regards, Julene