Update 1 Tour de Chance... 12 hours and counting - Kona

Hi All,

Despite having been here a few times before, with less than 12 hours to run to the start of the 2016 Tour de Chance the familiar feelings of excitement and nervousness are no easier to keep in check than the very first Tour.

As you will see from the daily distances below the 1,300 kms cycle route this year is a lot longer than before and a lot hillier, and at 88 kilos I will be having to come up with new tactics to stay with the 70 kilo youngsters in the group!

Yesterday the support vehicles were loaded with bikes and provisions and headed off towards Melbourne early morning.

They meet up with the riders this afternoon in Melbourne for final preparations and briefings. Then at around 6am Saturday it all begins in earnest!

Cold morning starts, strong winds and a bit of rain the weather forecast is not all that encouraging but there is not much we can do about that other than take some HTFU spray and get started

We will no doubt have a bit of a bitch and moan to each other about the conditions, and then someone will say something like the hardest day in the saddle is easier than the best day for the young people at Fighting Chance … and then we will wake up to ourselves and get started

KONA’s tag line is Hope Is Not a Strategy and it is really encouraging to see that we are just a tick shy of $300,000 raised as of this morning which is fantastic and thank you for all of your support

A few people (having seen recent reports on institutional charitable organisations and the inefficiency of their fundraising models) have asked me how much of their donations will actually make it to supporting the interns at Fighting Chance.

I have explained that the Tour costs are minimal as the riders cover our own expenses, and that all the money donated goes directly to Fighting Chance to be used expressly for the purpose of establishing new centres and changing more lives of young people with disability.

So please be assured of the direct impact of your contribution and if you are yet to support us here is the link to the donor page.

https://tourdechance2016.raisely.com/glenndobson

As in the past I will provide daily update emails of our progress on the road – I hope that you enjoy the read. I love your feedback and questions, so please don’t hesitate to drop me a note.

Stay well and best regards

Glenn

Glenn@KONA.com.au

Day 1 – Sat 5th Nov- Mornington – Inverloch – 116km

Day 2 – Sun 6th Nov- Inverloch – Sale – 183km

Day 3 – Mon 7th Nov- Sale – Orbost – 177km

Day 4 – Tues 8th Nov- Orbost – Bombala – 162km

Day 5 – Wed 9th Nov- Bombala – Jindabyne – 108km

Day 6 – Thurs 10th Nov- Jindabyne – Queanbeyan – 169km

Day 7 – Fri 11th Nov- Queanbeyan – Braidwood– 74km

Day 8 – Sat 12th Nov- Braidwood – Kiama – 166km

Day 9 – Sun 13th Nov- Kiama – Audley (Sydney) – 99km