These things take time

Your mountain is waiting

2011-10-06T17:36:00.001+10:00

Tomorrow is the big day, we head off at 6am. We're all hoping the weather is favourable, especially when you look at the ride profile.

Finally, I'm generally not a huge fan of motivational quotes, but I reckon this one is particularly apt.

graphics & comments | Quotes-DrSeuss Graphics | MySpace 2.0 Layouts

Don't forget, there's still time to donate and help Entoure support sick and disadvantaged kids. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/
See you on the other side.
cheers
gz

Two weeks off the bike, had to make do with running

2011-10-04T18:53:00.001+10:00

I'm back in Brisbane after two weeks away, two weeks of almost constant eating and drinking, two weeks without even sitting on a bike, two weeks of thinking about Mt Tambourine. Now only two days and counting, we're setting off on Friday morning on the Entoure Salt Cycle Classic, 400km in three days.
I did lobby hard (although ultimately unsuccessfully) for special dispensation to take my bike away on honeymoon. In the absence of riding I did a bit of running and managed to clock up just on 50km over two weeks, not a huge amount, but not bad. If it wasn't for this 50km I would have come home 5kg heavier instead of 2kg.
I must say running Bondi to Bronte and then laps of Hamilton Island for two weeks is a nice change from 5:30am river loops.
Hamilton Island is a beautiful spot and whilst small, has enough road to get a decent run in. One Tree Hill is hard work with the Garmin telling me it hits 20% at one point. At the top though, the views are spectacular.

I love running Bondi to Bronte. It's the perfect course: nice flat stretches, a few stairs, a bit of wind & perfect scenery. Topped off with a Nutella bagel and latte I can't think of a better way to start the day.
With only two days remaining I'm still working hard on fundraising with my target in sight. Please hit up my Entoure page to support the great causes. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/
cheers
gz

Mt Gravatt & Mt Cootha loop

2011-09-17T15:27:00.000+10:00

Today was shaping as my last "proper" training ride before the Entoure event. I'm heading off on a two week holiday and have been instructed that the bike must stay at home. With that in mind I was keen to join the crew for a ride with a reasonable level of challenge. I think we achieved that objective.
We had an eclectic group this morning with the Eagle pulling the pin due to red-wine induced trauma leaving a core group of five to take on the ride: "Real Ben" & Meredith (Brisbane cycling's answer to Torvill & Dean), Richard (newly nicknamed "The Pumper" for his love of the bike repair station at Garage), Condo and myself . We were joined by special guest rider, Mick, captain of Team Treasury.
Today's ride saw us head off from Southbank to Mt Gravatt to take on the 2km climb to the top. Whilst you wouldn't exactly call it a summit it's still a challenging steady climb. After that we headed out through Rocklea into a section of reverse River Loop and on to Mt Cootha for another climb. By the time we hit Cootha the sun was starting to make its presence felt. After climbing Cootha we were left with the best bit of the ride (apart from the coffee back at Garage), the descent. Descending down the back of Cootha is great fun as the steady gradient and twisting road make for a challenging drop. I reckon The best reason for riding up hills is so we can come back down them again.
The Garmin readout shows a meandering ride bookended by the two climbs http://bit.ly/q7lipb

I'm undecided about whether I will head out for a short ride by myself tomorrow. Otherwise I expect to be doing a bit of running over the next two weeks to keep the legs and heart rate working.
Please don't forget to support the Entoure Salt Ride by donating to support seriously ill and disadvantaged kids. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/
cheers
gz

Friday morning Love Ride River Loop

2011-09-16T08:27:00.001+10:00

Today was the traditional Friday morning River Loop starting & finishing at Southbank. Today's ride was billed as the Love Ride as the usual two peletons merged into one and were to ride a gentle pace together. The pace was gentle for most of the way, but a small breakaway formed at the end of the Corso for an assault on Cemetery Hill and Montague Rd for the ride home.
The weather in Brisbane at the moment is just perfect for riding. The Garmin readout (http://bit.ly/pO1vML) shows the temperature varying between 7 & 13 degrees over the ride. Perfect sunshine and mild temperatures make for a great morning hitout. It's also getting lighter earlier, which makes getting out of bed a bit less of an effort.
Today was my last Friday River Loop for a while as I'm heading off for two weeks. When I get back it will be time for the Entoure Salt Ride. Don't forget, there's still plenty of time to donate and support the event in raising money for seriously ill and disadvantaged kids. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/
Tomorrow Cootha & Mt Gravatt, my last ride for two weeks.
cheers
gz

Another challenging morning on the Corso

2011-09-15T08:10:00.001+10:00

It's another beautiful crisp, clear spring morning in Brisbane today. After opting for the sleep in yesterday I joined the team to hit the Corso for another session with Coach Boom today.
Today's session saw us utilising a shorter distance than Tuesday's ride, but at a higher intensity. The objective was to sprint from the turnaround point and then maintain the effort to the base of the climb at which point we could relax on the climb to the top, recover on the way back down before sprinting again to the turn mark & coming back again.

It didn't take long before the hardcore riders dropped me and I ended up riding alone in between groups. Putting in the effort when there's no one with you to share the load or inspire you on is a good mental challenge.
Whilst the Garmin readout doesn't look too exciting (all the back & forward riding) http://bit.ly/oVdKlz it was a really enjoyable, and taxing session.

Tomorrow is a leisurely River Loop so that should give the legs a chance to recover a bit.
Don't forget to hit my Entoure page to donate to the cause of helping seriously ill and disadvantaged kids, that's why I'm doing all of this. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/
cheers
gz

Cemetery Hill & The Corso

2011-09-13T08:25:00.000+10:00

It's a beautiful morning this morning in Brisbane, the kind that makes you feel glad you got out of bed. That's something I very nearly didn't do this morning. When the alarm went off at 4:20 I was tempted to text the boys and pull out of this morning's session. I felt I had a legitimate reason, running the Bridge to Brisbane on Sunday my legs still felt a bit stiff.

Luckily for me I didn't take the soft option, but dragged myself down to the base of Cemetery Hill for Boothy's (http://www.boomtimecyclesystems.com.au/) Corso sprints. After an hour of bashing myself up on the flats I felt a million bucks. Reckon I'll be suffering by about 7pm tonight, but right now I'm energised and ready for a huge day. The Garmin readout isn't too exciting, basically just going backwards and forwards, but worth a look anyway.
http://bit.ly/nOIeWH
Tomorrow - Cootha

Don't forget, the reason I'm doing this is the Entoure Salt Tour, 400km in 3 days raising money for seriously ill and disadvantaged kids. Would love it if you can support a worthy cause. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/

cheers
gz

The best looking lycra in Kingscliff

2010-10-12T22:40:00.000+10:00

It’s Tuesday night and we leave on Friday, bright and early on the Entoure Kingscliff Challenge 400km riding in three days to raise money to support critically injured children.

While there’s still a question mark over the weather forecast there can be no question that the Team Enhance riders will be outfitted in the most aesthetically pleasing lycra in the tour. I take pleasure in unveiling the team kit for this tour.

A big thank you to our team sponsors: Intebuild, Consolidated Properties and La Dolce Vita Caffe. These three companies have generously lent their support to our fundraising efforts for the Day of Difference foundation.

Keep an eye out for us as we roll down the coast.

Please support me on the Entoure Kingscliff Challenge. 400km in 3 days for critically injured kids.

http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/

See you on the road.

Five days to go & keeping an eye on the weather

2010-10-10T22:45:00.000+10:00

We’re only five days away from this year’s Entoure Kingscliff Challenge and the anticipation is building. On Friday morning we leave Brisbane for the ride to Kingscliff and to say I’m a bit nervous about the weather is somewhat of an understatement.

It’s been raining pretty much non-stop for most of the past week. Certainly this weekend has been a complete write-off. I was really hoping to get a couple of decent training rides in, but to no avail. Yesterday was supposed to be a double Cootha loop and this morning was due to be a Redcliff loop. However, the weather put paid to that. I’m not made of tissue paper and generally don’t mind riding in the wet, but the constant heavy rain has made it pretty hazardous on the roads, and with a week to go before the big ride, I’m not keen to risk it. I know a few of the guys were scheduled to ride the Gold Coast ride today, but that was cancelled yesterday due to the forecast.

However, it’s not been a total write-off. After a fairly heavy gym session this morning I’ve been watching the Commonwealth Games road race tonight. Great to see Allan Davis pick up the gold medal after last week’s bronze in the World Championships. The World Champs & Comm Games have thrown up a couple of great races over the past week and it’s certainly been inspirational watching the pros go about their business.

With less than a week to go we’ve collectively raised around $175,000 so far with a target of $250,000. This money will go to supporting the Day of Difference Family Support Program. We certainly appreciate the generous support of all of our sponsors and I’m looking forward to keeping my sponsors updated throughout the weekend.

As a fundraising initiative Team Enhance organised a special screening of Wall Street Money Never Sleeps last Monday night. It was a great night down at the Blue Room Cinebar at Rosalie. Thanks to Gemma & the team at Blue Room for helping to organise the night and thanks to everyone who turned up on what was again a stormy night in Brisbane. I watched the original Wall Street on the weekend beforehand just to refresh the memory. It certainly made me feel quite old, remembering watching it first time around back in the 80s.

Anyway, back to the weather, I’ve been watching the long range forecast for Kingscliff and it looks like an 80% chance of rain on Friday. Whilst this might make the ride down a bit slippery, it’s still shaping up as a great weekend. I can’t wait.

See you on the road.

Please support me on the Entoure Kingscliff Challenge. 400km in 3 days for critically injured kids.

http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/

It’s been an eventful week – 3 weeks to go

2010-09-24T22:42:00.002+10:00

We’re officially three weeks away from this year’s Entoure Kingscliff Challenge & there’s plenty happening.

Kent from Entoure and Ron & Femke from Day of Difference have been in Brisbane this week. They were up for a great initiative of Team Treasury, who organised a 24 hour wind-trainer challenge on the steps of the Treasury Casino. Members of the team cycled in shifts non-stop from 5am Wednesday until 5am Thursday. Being a bit of an attention-seeker I joined them for a couple of hours (coincidentally during the official media launch). The media coverage of the event was great with a story on the Channel 10 evening news and an item on the QUT News site.

It was a bit warm on the bike, but we certainly gained a bit of attention from passersby. The Jan Power’s Farmers Markets were on in the city and there was a huge crowd (especially queuing for German sausages). The boys are on school holidays and took the opportunity to work the crowd with the donation buckets while I was sweating away on the trainer. They did a great job getting donations. Although the lunchtime crowd was reportedly nowhere near as generous as the casino patrons during the midnight to 5am shift (go figure).

Thursday saw a few of the team captains attended a lunch where Ron outlined the Day of Difference Family Support Program. This is a really special initiative aimed at assisting the families of critically injured kids. The money raised from this year’s tour will go towards funding the program here in Queensland. More on this great initiative in a future post.

Kent has been down in Kingscliff today mapping the route and checking on a few logistical issues. By the sound of his email tonight he’s excited. It’s all shaping to be a huge event: over 100 riders on some challenging and scenic routes in South-East Queensland & Northern NSW. Bring it on.

Finally, thanks to prolific Tweeter Stephen Fry for alerting me to bit of a fun tool for creating a custom London Tube billboard ad. Check out the ad I created.

Anyway, off to bed now. I have a 5:30am Redcliffe ride scheduled tomorrow.

See you on the road.

Please support me on the Entoure Kingscliff Challenge. 400km in 3 days for critically injured kids.

http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/

Le Tour & Sportsmanship

2010-07-27T23:26:00.003+10:00

Like a lot of keen cyclists I’ve been watching quite a bit of the Tour de France. Whilst I was bleary-eyed from too many late nights in front of SBS for much of the month of July the Tour this year made me consider a few of the issues around the sport of cycling.

One of the things that really struck me was the etiquette and sportsmanship in the sport. The first few days of the tour were really eventful with a number of crashes and injuries and a lot of attention was given to acts of sportsmanship by the riders. The debate around whether Cancellara did the right thing by slowing the peloton at the finish of stage 2 and the arguments over whether Contador did the right thing by attacking when Schleck lost his chain on stage 15 generated a huge amount of discussion. The arguments for and against each of these acts generally came down to whether they were “the right thing to do”. These guys are professionals and there’s a lot at stake when these sorts of decisions are made.

In my relatively short time in cycling one of the things that has been pretty obvious is how cycling really is a community generally guided by notions of common courtesy. Showing consideration for other riders just seems to be the right thing to do. Everyone who rides will have a story about being offered assistance by a stranger in lycra when changing a flat or getting some friendly advice from another group of riders.

This camaraderie is one of the things I really enjoy about riding.

Last year’s Entoure Noosa ride gave me a good taste for this side of the sport. I’d never ridden in such a big group before and was pretty apprehensive about it. It didn’t take long before some of the more experienced guys were offering advice and trying to make everyone comfortable. There were countless examples of riders encouraging others when they were struggling and helping the guys having a tough time.

I’m really looking forward to riding to Kingscliff this year. Having done Noosa last year I know roughly what to expect and am confident I can handle it. However, I know a couple of riders in the same position as I was last year; nervous and apprehensive about riding such a long distance with such a big group. They needn’t worry, the peloton looks after its own.

See you on the road

http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/georgezd/

Gateway Bridge ride

2010-07-11T23:54:00.000+10:00

Registrations opened last week for the Entoure Kingscliff Classic. This October we'll be riding 400km over 3 days from Brisbane to Kingscliff and then Byron to support the Day of Difference. http://www.entoure.com.au/riders/kingscliffe2010/

I got my registration in and am looking forward to the event. The challenge between now and October is to get as many quality kms into the legs in preparation for the 145km-165km we'll be riding on day 1.

Weekends are the best time for me to get some decent rides in and today was no exception. Today was my first ride over the new Gateway Bridge (or the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge to be precise). The bridge has been open to bikes & pedestrians for a couple of months now.

We set off from Racecourse Rd and headed for the Gateway. The first challenge was finding the way on to the path. Maybe it's still early and the signage is incomplete, but it was definitely no easy task finding the entrance.

Once on the path though it's a nice steady climb up the rise to the peak. We passed a couple of pedestrians heading down carrying cameras, obviously up there to catch the sunrise. From the top the view is quite spectacular. The lookout at the top has a glass pane through which to look east. The rest of the way the wire fence is around 2m high on top of the concrete wall.

I'd heard that the speed limit for bikes is set at 10km/h. Coming down the hill you'd need to be braking pretty hard to keep to that limit. Needless to say, we coasted down at a reasonable clip.

From the bottom of the bridge it was off to Wynnum and then a standard return to Ascot via Southbank. There was a bit of talk in the group this morning of a four bridges ride at some stage over the next couple of months. The new Hornibrook Bridge to Redcliff is opening soon. Add to that the Gateway, Story Bridge and Go Between Bridge and you have an interesting morning's riding (albeit one that zig-zigs across the river a bit). Will keep you posted if we manage to organise it.

Time to start thinking about the entoure ride again

2010-06-04T20:16:00.003+10:00

It's hard to believe that it's been about eight months since last year's Noosa ride. This year's event is only four months away - October 15-17 and sees a change in route. We're heading south to Kingscliff this year and it promises to be a huge event with a couple of different routes on offer for the different peletons.

It can be hard to get out of bed on a dark winter morning and head out for a ride. Having said that, we are in Brisbane so it's not as tough as it is down south. Once the sun is up it really is a glorious time to ride. I'm looking forward to a few fun training rides with the boys in the lead-up to the event.

There's a good buzz among the boys with planning for October well underway. Kent from entoure made a flying visit to town a few weeks ago and joined us for a brisk ride out to Cleveland and back followed by a spirited discussion about the event over a hearty breakfast and a few coffees.

Next Thursday will see the official launch of this year's tour (details above). Anyone who's thinking about riding or sponsoring a team or rider this year should definitely get along. Check the entoure website for further details. http://www.entoure.com.au/ Kent will be along for the night and he's bringing Ron Delezio from Day of Difference with him.

See you on Thursday night or on the road.

Noosa tour wrap up

2009-10-12T18:29:00.000+10:00

The Entoure Cycle Classic Noosa 09 has officially finished. I'm now safely back at work after a terrific three days riding. I've been a bit remiss by not posting anything after the day one update, but thought I'd wrap up the whole event.

Day two saw us head up into the hills for the King of the Mountain stage. Taking off in 5kg weight categories we raced the 4km up the Noosa Tri hill. I thought I was doing reasonably well until a few of the lighter blokes sped past me. Making it to the top I was pretty happy with my effort, no jersey for me, but still in good shape for the rest of the day. The 85km loop we rode saw us take in some beautiful scenery. We stopped for coffee in Pomona. Nice little town with a bit of festival atmosphere. Markets were on and a couple of local mistrels entertained the crowds outside the cafe. It was a great place to stop.

We rolled back into Noosa just before lunchtime on Saturday. Saturday lunch at Zachary's of pizza and Hoegaarden is apparently a tradition on the tour and this year was no exception. An enjoyable afternoon for all.

Amanda and the boys drove up on Saturday to join us at the Sheraton for a relaxing afternoon and then presentation night dinner. Dinner saw the presentation of King of the Mountain and fundraising jerseys. It was nice to see my team pick up a gong as a corporate supporter. But I think the highlight for the boys was meeting Big Mal. That's a story they'll be telling at school for some time.

Mal was great value across the whole weekend. He's a man with a lot of great stories to tell and I really enjoyed riding with him. It was a huge effort getting up some of those hills for a bloke of that size (and he is enormous), but all for the cause of helping critically injured kids.

Another highlight of Saturday night was hearing Ron Delezio (CEO of Day of Difference) speak about his family experience and how this has driven him and the foundation to make a difference in the lives of injured kids around the country. Ron got on the bike and rode over 100km over the weekend, and for a non-cyclist it was a huge effort. He's an inspirational bloke, really driven to make a difference.

Sunday morning and a few of the guys were a bit the worse for wear. It was an overcast start to the day and by the time we time Coolum the rain was falling steadily. The rest of the day was spent cycling in intermittent rain. The wet roads were a bit a of an issue, especially on some of the more severe climbs. We were all dreading the two big hills on the way home, a 17% and a 24%. When they finally arrived they didn't disappoint. Trying to make it up a 24% hill on a wet road was a real challenge and one I was really pleased to put behind me when we finally hit lunchtime at Landsborough.

The last 60kms was a bit of a blur of rain and road spray, but finally the end was in sight. We reached the finish at Norths Leagues a bit after the scheduled 2pm. The relief at finishing was palpable and after a quick presentation, a sausage sizzle and a few congratulatory handshakes it was off home for a well deserved hot shower and afternoon nap.

Reflecting back on the weekend after two days back at home I'm starting to appreciate what we achieved as a group. So far we have managed to raise $210,000 and some donations are still rolling in.

I'd like to personally thank all of my sponsors for your donations. Without your support there wouldn't be an event such as this.

On Sunday afternoon I thought it would be at least a week before I got back on the bike. I reckon it is more likely to be tomorrow morning, I have the itch...

See you on the road.
gz

Day 1 done

2009-10-09T21:54:00.000+10:00

Day 1 completed - Brisbane to Noosa. We completed around 130km today over some fairly undulating terrain.

The morning saw the group broken into two peletons and we rode that way all day before meeting up just before Noosa and rolling into town as one big group.

The stage after Landsborough was particularly hilly. I'm not looking forward to riding back through there on the way home on Sunday.

A few key figures about today:
* according to some calculations we each burned approx 5,400 calories today
* our total vertical ascent was a little over 1,200m

I'm absolutely knackered now so off to bed. King of the mountain stage tomorrow.

See you on the road.

gz

The day after tomorrow

2009-10-08T00:09:00.001+10:00

I'm now officially only two sleeps away from what is looming as the most difficult challenge I've ever attempted. I've completed three 100km Oxfam Trailwalks in the past but this is something completely different. It's not the total distance that's the most daunting (although 400kms is a long way), it's more the concern about keeping up with the pack. I'm sure tomorrow night will be pretty sleepless as I think about the challenge of the day ahead.

As someone who until a couple of months ago was just tooling around on a MTB, these distances are pretty new to me. We're riding 160km on both days one and three, and this is where I'm weary about coming unstuck. I really don't want to be hitting the wall at the 120km mark and still have a fair way to go.

One thing that my trailwaking experience has taught me is how to deal with some of the mental aspects of endurance events. When you're covering vast distances over long periods of time it can be quite easy to allow negative chatter to get into your mind. I've managed to pick up a few mental tricks to keep me focussed and thinking positively even when I'm feeling the pinch physically.

Another thing that I've been able to use in the past to keep focussed is thinking about the reason I'm doing the challenge. With the entoure Noosa ride the reason I'm putting myself through such a grueling challenge is to raise money to support the Day of Difference Foundation with their work with critically injured kids. Taking a tour through the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane a few weeks ago really brought home how important events like this are in raising much needed funds. Having met some of the staff, children and their families I'm confident that what we're doing will really help.

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, but we can always use more. If you are able to donate please go to my sponsorship page.

If you're on the road to Noosa over the weekend keep an eye out for me.

See you on the road.
gz

Playlist suggestions needed

2009-10-04T22:40:00.000+10:00

With only five days to go until the start of the entoure Noosa ride (400km in 3 days) I've been working on my iPod playlist. I'm expecting to be on the bike for over 16 hours over the three days so will need a good selection of tunes to keep me motivated during some of the tougher stages.

I've been doing training rides on shuffle and it certainly has been throwing up some interesting combinations. Yesterday's ride for example gave me everything from MGMT to Motorhead, Ratcat to Ride, New Order to NWA. Those who know me well would be unsurprised that a couple of Smiths songs made it through, but I'm not looking forward to hearing the opening line to This Charming Man while riding up a hill. Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate might just be tempting fate. It even came up with a bit of Derek & Clive yesterday, and whilst not really conducive to riding, I did learn some useful phrases for the next time I get buzzed by a car that comes too close.

Anyway, as I said 16 hours is a long time, so I'm calling for some playlist suggestions. Please leave me some comments with your recommendations. Better still, let me know what type of riding the songs are suited to. I reckon I'm going to need some hill-climbing material as well as tunes suited to long straight sections working up into a headwind.

We're also still looking for more donations to support the great work that Day of Difference are doing with critically injured kids. Please support the cause by donating on my sponsorship page.

See you on the road
gz

Not exactly cycling weather

2009-09-23T19:29:00.001+10:00

Like much of the east coast, Brisbane is currently choking under a layer of dust whipped up by the strong westerly winds. If this dust hangs around for another couple of days training will be a bit problematic. I'm expecting tomorrow morning might still be a bit dodgy for a ride, so a spin class might be the go.

This is a huge change from the crystal clear skies we've been seeing for the past few weeks.

I'm expecting to have to shovel a path through the dust at the front door tomorrow morning and have been hearing reports that there's been a bit of dust deposited on the road to Noosa, so it could be hard going when we finally set out in two weeks time.

Anyway the fundraising is progressing steadily but we could still use a bit of assistance. Remember, the entoure Noosa ride (400km in 3 days) is raising money for the Day of Difference Foundation and the great work they do with critically injured kids. My sponsorship page is the best place to help us out.
See you on the dunes.

gz

Children's Hospital tour

2009-09-21T00:13:00.001+10:00

It's less than three weeks to go now before the big Noosa ride and I'm starting to feel a bit apprehensive. The training is coming along well enough, but 400km is still a hell of a long way.

On Friday a group of the riders did a tour of the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane to see where the money we raise will go. There are over one million children aged 0-14 in Queensland (28.5% of the population) and the hospital is at the epicentre of treatment and care for all of these kids. We were joined by the guys from Day of Difference who were able to explain how the foundation has been able to assist in the support of critically injured kids in the past.

We all know what a great job the hospital does in caring for kids, but walking around the hospital and meeting the staff gave me a real appreciation of exactly what they're up against. We visited the ICU and heard from the staff about some of the kids who are currently being treated. The sophistication of the technology they are using is amazing, as is the sheer amount of it. If the funds we raise are able to help in the purchase of just one of these pieces of equipment we will have done something special to help these kids.

The area that probably affected me the most was the Burns Unit. You really don't want to think about children and burns, but I was surprised at how common these injuries actually are. We're all familiar with scalding from hot liquids and this is a common injury, but I wasn't aware just how common campfire burns are in children here in Queensland. I was even more surprised to learn that treadmills are also a major source of friction burns in children. Prevention of accidents is obviously crucial, but the treatment the hospital is able to provide is quite extraordinary.

As a parent you always hope that your kids won't need to use the care that the hospital provides, but meeting the staff and some of the kids demonstrated to me what an important cause this is. If you would like to support this fantastic cause you can donate through my sponsorship page.

See you on the road.

Posted via web from georgezd's posterous

Just over four weeks to go

2009-09-10T00:45:00.000+10:00

Only a bit over four weeks left until the big event. On Friday 9 October we ride to Noosa in the Entoure Cycle Classic Noosa 2009. My sponsorship total is growing steadily. Thanks to all my sponsors who have committed to support the great work that Day fo Difference Foundation is doing with critically ill kids. My sponsorship page is here, for those of you who would like to support this good cause.

The training could be going a bit better, but I've been trying to get as many kms into my legs as I can before we head off. This past weekend was looking promising for a long group ride on Saturday morning, until some heavy rain put paid to that. I got the message on my way to the meeting point at 5am that the ride was off, back home to bed then. Still, dealing with cars can be a bit of a challenge at the best of times, so definitely not something I'm keen to do during a downpour.
Riding the stationary bike at the gym is definitely no substitute for the real thing so after puffing away indoors for a while I took advantage of the afternoon sunshine to take a ride out to Nudgee. One of my current favourites is a quick spin out to Sandgate.

It's good to hear that Big Mal Meninga will be riding to Noosa also. Mal has been drumming up a bit of publicity on Nova for the event. It will be a bit intimidating having Big Mal on the ride, but I reckon if he can deliver one of his famous motivational speeches before we head off I'll be ready to ride to Noosa and back and pull off a few big hits on the way. I still remember the classic footage captured by the Ch 9 camera before Origin one year when Mal was giving the Maroons a real rev up before kick-off.

I'm due to join a group ride in the morning, but given that's only five hours away I may give it a miss.
See you on the road.

gz

What have I got myself into?

2009-08-31T22:54:00.000+10:00

I've now officially registered for the Entoure Cycle Classic Noosa 2009. I'm committed to riding 400km in 3 days, from Brisbane to Noosa and back (9-11 October). The tour is aiming to raise $200,000 for the Day fo Difference Foundation to assist their work with critically injured children and their families.

Like all riders in the tour, I'll be looking to get a few donations to support the good cause and have my own hero page (I didn't name it) for donations. Please support the cause if you feel so inclined by donating here.

I'm now set up with my beautiful new Giant bike from the good people at Tom Wallace Cycles & with just six weeks to go I'll be spending a few hours in the saddle ready getting some serious kms under my belt. Stepping up from the MTB to this sleek new machine feels a bit different, but I'm loving it.

I'll be posting updates over the next few weeks.

gz