Beat Cancer Tour Day 9: Stage 6 - Be Safe Be Seen MAC Street Circuit

KM's Ridden Today: 43.6km
Total KM's Ridden: 920km

BCT Stage 6: MAC Street Circuit

We had the luxury of  a sleep in this morning as we were on no real time constraints, but I still got out of bed at 7am, but even that felt like a hugh luxury compared to the last few days!!

I had my usual museli breakfast, got myself all organised, then went over to the BCT stand in the Tour Village to get ready for this morning's ride.  When I arrived all of Team BMC's bikes were on display and ready for their riders to come and get them.

Team BMC's Bikes All Lined Up

This morning's ride was going to be a recovery ride down to Glenelg and back before heading back to The Velo Precinct for a hot chocolate/coffee.  The pace was very gentle to give everyone thee chance to just spin their legs and have an easy day.
We had a few photos at the cafe, then some people did some laps around the Victoria Park criterium circuit before we all headed off.



Enjoying Some Relax Time At The Velo Precinct

The BCT Team At The Velo Precinct

From there we went straight to the MAC Street Circuit course where we patiently waited until it was our time to get on the course.  It is a 4.5km circuit and we were to do 2 laps.



Waiting To Get On The MAC Circuit For Our 2 Laps

 Going around the course was really enjoyable with the big crowds that had already gathered cheering and clapping us all on once again.  We also got to throw out our water bottles to kids in the crowd which gave both us and them a great thrill!!
Once our two laps were up, we then rode back to the hotel - we had finished all the riding we were to do for the 2016 Beat Cancer Tour - 920kms all up!!



All Riding Finished And Too Tired To Even Get Into The Room!!

We got changed out of out cycling kit and into normal clothes before walking down to the Events SA marquee where we were to have lunch and watch the race go by.  Once again we were in an excellent position just down the road and on the opposite side of the finish line which would give us a great view of the final sprint to the finish.



The Pro's About To Come Straight Past Us

Caleb Ewan proved too strong once again winning by a couple of bike lengths in an awesome show of speed.  Afterwards I was invited to hang around the back of the presentation stage to see the jersey winners backstage.  I managed to get some photos with the likes of Team Cannondale (which includes my favourite rider Simon Clarke), Richie Porte, and multiple world champion Anna Meares!!


Myself and  Richie Porte

Myself and Anna Meares

That evening the team went out for our last dinner together which was really enjoyable and they had a small presentation ceremony.  The first winner was Felicity for being a pocket rocket and won a years worth of chamois cream!
I was luckily enough to win the BCT King of the Mountains Jersey as I set a PR on every single climb we did this week including Belair Rd, Windy Point, Sheoak Rd, Lower North East Rd, Range View Rd, Corkscrew, Norton Summit, Woods Hill Rd, Crows Nest Rd, and Old Willunga Hill.
Jason won the Yellow Jersey for being the highest fundraiser, and Ryan won the Ochre Jersey for Inspiration after coming back from Stage 4 Lung Cancer and riding the BCT!


A Proud Moment - Being Awarded the BCT King of the Mountain Jersey!

Well that is the 2016 Beat Cancer Tour done and dusted!  8 days of riding, 920kms ridden, nearly 12,000m of climbing, and all with a magnificent group of people - both riders and support crew!
It is a magnificent week that really does give the ultimate pro experience, as well as being so close to the action, sharing the lifts with the pros, sharing the behind the scenes areas that you can't normally get access to, all of it just fantastic!


Some tips for those thinking of doing it:
- Just do it - it is an experience you will remember for your lifetime!
- Start your fundraising as early as you can - go for many small donations rather than trying to pull off a few huge donations.
- Train, train, and train some more.  Again, the earlier you get onto this the more you will enjoy the week.  I thought that I was pretty fit, but there were times when I thought it was really really hard.  Follow the training program provided, but my biggest advice would be do do back to back 120km plus rides, several times leading up to the event.  Then as you get closer try and do it 3 days in a row.  Don't worry so much about the pace, just be able to get the legs turning over each day for a long time.  You can see from the strava uploads that we had elapsed times of over 6 hours most days, and actual riding times well over 5 hours.
- You have to be mentally strong - the pain in the legs is one thing, but dealing with the fatigue is a whole new ball game.  Very early mornings and late nights means for not enough sleep so by the end of the week it just cumulates.
- The support crew are just wonderful.  Sam, the Team Manager is so well organised, everything is laid out for you in a booklet so you know where you have to be when making life very easy.  The on the road support crew provide you with bottles, gels, bars, etc at the stops which is just great.  Bade and the other Lead Riders were all excellent, helping, encouraging, directing, making sure everyone is safe - it is a well oiled machine which lets you get on with enjoying the ride and not have to worry about anything else.
- The experiences you have just can't be had anywhere else.  As I mentioned earlier, sharing lifts with the pros, having them come and talk at team briefings, having them actually join the rides, being in prime positions at the finish lines, and sharing all these experiences and more with such an awesome group of people - and all in the name of such a great cause!!