Extreme Corporate Challenge I - The Desert (cont'd)

Day 3 - Lillee Creek to Finke

Another beautiful sunny day in the middle of Australia.  We woke after a small amount of breeze overnight to a glorious crimson sky.  AGAIN the sound of Queen blasting from Aidens car at 5:15.  This being the third time that we’d heard Queen at this time of the morning.  There was consensus with the riders that there would be a sacrificial burning of the CD on the last day.  Again a quick pack, check and filling of water bottles got the riders to the starting line and the time trial was set for 5 kms. A rider from each team was selected and GO was sounded.  They raced off through the creek bed as best they could in soft, soft sand.  Some pushing, some carrying, some even trying to ride in arduous conditions.  The rest waited until the signal was given to pursue their companion to the 5 km line.  And off they went, again struggling through the toughest sand we’d endured in the days we’d been riding so far.  The next rendezvous was Lilla Creek.  At Lilla Creek, Colleen and her compatriots welcomed everyone in the party and even made a cup of tea and shared some biscuits with some of the support team.  This is one tough, group of people living in the middle of no-where.  Their only communication with the outside world is a 200km piece of copper between their homestead and the nearest town. 

Behind the riders was hard 10kms of sand, primarily pushing the bike and struggling to cycle, while battling through mind numbing conditions – 20cm deep sand, heat, flies and your mind playing tricks on you.  And now was the time to get onto a long, straight stretch of road.  The first hard pack the riders had enjoyed in 72 hours…the vision…was lunch. 

A simple staple lunch consisting of sandwich – lettuce, tomato and meat and that green cordial works so well to wash away that red soil that had collected in your throat.  Lunch didn’t seem to last long enough.  The call for Finke resounded through the crew.  Sore but revitalised, the riders mounted their beasts for the 50km hard packed trek to Finke.  This ride was a chance to celebrate.  To enjoy camaraderie, some saying, others joked, many united in the passage to dinner and to share with the indigenous community of Finke. 

It was around 4 o’clock that afternoon, that one of the significant and poignant moments in the journey so far.  To see the local community, professional footballers, citizens and riders from all walks of life, come together and share a very special moment.  The footballers played kick to kick with the kids, some of the riders took kids for rides around the town.  Their smiles illuminated our hearts.  We knew what this ride was all about…saving the lives of children.

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