Another great year of friendship and fun on the Sydney to Surfers Ride.

A big thank you to our amazing volunteers, riders, support crew, drivers and more.  What a wonderful thing everyone is doing to help those not as fortunate.

Love your work!

Some photos of the riders packing up in Surfers Paradise an hour or so ago.

One of our riders for 2012, Martin Corkery CEO of Children First Learning Centres, has gotten together with the great team at Planet Cycles in Brisbane and Specialized, and very generously donated a new Specialized bike valued at $3,000!

The 2012 Specialized Roubaix Compact retails for $2,299 and comes complete with swapping out the bike to correct size for winner, a professional bike build and fit up or re box and  freight to town along East Coast if the auction winner is from along the route.

2012 Specialized Roubaix Compact

What a fantastic and very kind donation!

For Auctioning At Tonight’s Ride Dinner

We’ve had a chat and decided that it would be best to auction the bike off at the Presentation Dinner tonight – the bike will be on display on the night.

A Great Community

What a terrific community the bike one is – the guys from Planet Cycles,a long with the Specialized team, have been fantastic to work with Martin to get this great donation done to help us raise us much money as possible for kids who need a helping hand.

About The Roubaix Compact

The smoother, faster Roubaix—named after the grueling Paris-Roubaix race it has won four- (4) times—is a high-performance, endurance-focused bike that’s highly stable and efficient.

Shimano 10-speed compact gearing and our new DT-Axis 2.0 wheels improve efficiency over any terrain.

The bike features:

• FACT 8r carbon, FACT IS constructed frame with Endurance Road geometry, Zertz inserts and tapered head tube for the perfect blend of stiffness, compliance and light weight.
• Ultralight FACT carbon monocoque fork with vibration-damping Zertz inserts is stiff, responsive, and durable.
• Significantly lighter than comparable-level wheelsets, these tough new DT-Axis 2.0 hoops roll smooth and fast.
• Adjustable four-position oversized alloy stem with 31.8mm bar clamp for strength and versatile positioning.
• Specialized Comp shallow drop alloy bar for serious performance and ergonomic position.
• New, 10-speed Shimano Tiagra STI shifters are renowned for their race-ready performance and exceptional value.
• Minimalist, high-performance BG Toupe Plus Sport saddle is ultralight with a flat profile and generous padding for long rides and explosive efforts

For more info, check it out on the Specialized web site.

Riders are having a bit of breakfast right now to prepare for tackling the ranges out of Kyogle down into the sleepy Northern NSW town of Murwillumbah.

First up will be a coffee or 2 at the Sphinx Cafe.

Be safe riders!

Update 2.10 pm, 4 May 2012: Some packs have reached Broadbeach (just a couple of kms from the finish) and are having a refreshing drink at the Broadbeach Tavern our spies tell us.

Everyone is racing to Kyogle to get set for the last day into Surfers Paradise tomorrow.

Here’s some of the riders at lunch in Casino just hours ago.

Lunch in Casino Day 6

A big day for riders today with big hills through Coffs Harbour followed by many lumps that hurt some riders!

With rainy weather and head winds, riders we’re feeling the pinch today.

A 138 km ride today with some slight drizzle in the morning and then great conditions for riding in the afternoon.

A few photos below from riders.

A terrific day riding today with all Packs in Laurieton and resting up for dinner sat the North Haven Bowling Club tonight.

Good weather was had, with an overcast day but no rain.

A bit of a tailwind at times, along with a gentle headwind at other times.

Pack 2, my spies tell me, averaged 36 km/hr for the day.

We’re adding photos in as we receive them here.

The magnificent Pack 2

But all good with all riders and no problems today.

Pack 4 Driver Smooth Talks The Law

An interesting day yesterday for Pack 4 with their support car driver needing to sweet talk the local police to avoid what could have been a very embarrassing incident.

Lucky it didn’t “register” with the Police Officer, or the driver would have been subjected to even heavier fines than those handed down at dinner that night.

Seriously, who forgets to register their support car?!

Pretty flat day today for the riders into Laurieton/North Haven.

Starts off with a little climb and then flattens out for a lovely 100 kms or so.

A few of the lads and ladies will almost certainly tackle North Brother Mountain at the end of the day just for the fun of it.

Day 2, Morisset to Bulahdelah – Great weather into lunch to Karuah, then bucketed down to Bulahdelah!

All freeway with a few lumpy hills in the middle, with no incidences!

So all good with the riders.

Pack 2 averaged a tasty 34.8 km/h today with Aneek Mollah leading the way!

Just 4 sleeps to go to the 2012 Sydney to Surfers ride.

Get plenty of rest and start carbo-loading!