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  • muz

    Awesome article! Great stuff fellas, looking forward to reading about the next attempt.

  • Alex

    Seriously amazing effort!

  • Jake

    Great read, thanks for posting, love these sort of posts that detail the personal level experience of a big ride/event. Bad luck on not quite making it, there’s always next year!:P

  • Chris

    Crazy. Wonderfully crazy. Chapeau!

  • Peter

    Good story and adventure. Can I suggest putting the word out next time. I have friends in Bendigo and Kyabram who would turn up to cheer you on.

    • Alan

      We’d be there to cheer them at the finish, eh, Peter?

      If you want to break that record, you don’t have to have favourable winds but if you have unfavourable winds, you are probably not going to break it. I dips me lid to the team. That’s an extraordinary effort

  • De Mac

    Fair effort lads - and there is always the next time - good luck then!

  • Brick Descender

    All kinds of awesome in article. The team isn’t exactly a bunch of hack riders here but your efforts are truly inspirational and the story is fantastic.

    However, I’d reckon course design is super important to your chances of success. Generally you want as flat a course as possible. No point in climbing, it takes too much effort…

    There are 2 options for this ride for mine: 1.Mt Hotham as a start point and head through Wangaratta and loop around the Murray. http://goo.gl/maps/WRGYJ

    Assuming it will be block wind out of the west as it was on this occasion. In that case my other chosen planned route would be to go from the Grampians (probably Boroka Lookout over Mt William as a start point) and head towards Mildura and then head along the Murray all the way to Rochester. http://goo.gl/maps/CqWPn

    Sounds so easy doesn’t it?

    I’d be more inclined to go with Hotham as the start point as the extra 1km vertical head start means that the first 100km is mostly downhill with the first 30odd being a free kick.

  • mt

    Epic Journey with what sound like epic mates…chapeau. I saw a picture on instagram- a profile of one of the riders,close up, a single droplet falling from their face, they were looking down… captured it all.. what an experience it would have been. The only numbers that matter are the number of mates you did this with.

    • Push Bike Writer

      Agree MT. The photo you refer to is one of the Team Brevet riders taken by @andrewclifforth and posted by @la_velocita. A preview before their ride can be seen here: http://www.lavelocita.cc/la-velocita-rides/audax-fleche-opperman
      These guys achieved the biggest #Oppy2015 distance in Victoria on the weekend, and hopefully the longest of all states running the event. If so this would give them the Oppy Shield for 2015 which would be a fitting thing for such a huge effort.
      Hopefully that team will write up their experiences somewhere and share those. I suspect the Audax Australian organisation will be asking them to do so.
      Craig Fry

  • John

    A beautifully written article on the pleasure and pain of cycling. Thanks Craig.

  • Lesley

    Looks like the Famous Five in my book. What an amazing effort and fantastic story of strength, cameraderie, respect and a gut busting effort. Guys you’re incredible. Checkout a charity ride I run each year the Whitelion Jungle Ride , it is from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation and back, just a one day event, fully supported and absolutely stunning. 180k return. I truly think you guys would just love it. Not only that I would seriously like to meet you all. Flights and accommodation are cheaper then (October 31st) Check it out on face book.

  • Lesley

    Meant to say, you can make it a familyholiday in a really beautiful place, with excellent rides all around , we do have riders who come each year from interstate.

  • Mark

    Chapeau Craig! Even riding the 360k minimum distance Flèche Opperman, I felt part of the bigger picture. What a great way to connect with Australian cycling history. Everyone should do this.