Stage 5 Mildura to Robinvale, 160km - 6am start 5pm finish.

Steve Warden









Jack and Carly Gillard

Above: Geoff Battle. Left: Jake Thomas, Jack Gillard and Ken West in action.

Bruce Jeffrey






Goof finds the right lane.










It might not be the toughest day in the history of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service Charity Bike Rides but it was certainly the longest.
Thursday's stage from Mildura to Robinvale was originally a 135km stage through some gravel roads in the Hattah Kulkyne Natonal Park.
However rain had closed the scouted tracks and what followed was a war of attrition, a 160km leg, comprising some 38km of sandy, corrugated and undulating road along the Mourpoul Track.
The rest was bitumen and into a headwind.
The 24 riders left Mildura in the darkness, rolling out of the Plantation Hotel at 6am.
About 60km out we turned onto the gravel Mournpoul Track but only after Goog Davis and his lead vehicle had passed the scheduled turn.
That caused a mini mutiny amongst the riders before heading back to what was a testing dirt stage.
It almost claimed ride captain Rick Lavers, who was suffering from a leg injury suffered in Mildura dodging trucks while crossing the highway to reach the local Irish bar.
Lavers actually walked his bike up two of the sandy inclines.
"The shaking is stirring it up," he said at the time.
"I'll just keep rolling along. I'm not getting in Birch's bus."
A little further along the Mourpoul Track and Ken West has stopped for a brief moment to take off a jacket he'd donned to combat the cool 8 degree air at the Mildura start.
"Pretty hard," the big fella said in response to how is it going.
"That wind is coming up a bit too, blowing the wrong way."
The corrugated gravel has also claimed a victim.
Tamworth Chamber of Commerce president Tim Coates has taken a rest and is perched up beside Birchall.
"I had tears in my eyes," he admits at the next break.
"My back was killing me."
He may be headed for another session with massage therapists John Mercer and/or Rick Lavers.
He resumes again at lunch after the riders move back onto bitumen for what was a final 90km into Robinvale.
It's a day ride organiser Barry Walton admits is a "long amazing" day.
He's not popular either when the riders see a final road sign: Robinvale 1km Mildura 87km.
"PB's for everyone," Werris Creeks Kevin Garrett said.
"Huge day," his training mate Jake Thomas agrees.
"We did 138km from Narrabri to Baradine one day, that was the biggest.
"Yeah but the the conditions were a lot worse," Tamworth's Steve Warden said of a ride where mud badly affected the riders on that particular seven-day ride.
"There was no rain in Narrabri and we rang Baradine and there was no rain there," Jake said.
"But in the Pilliga they had three inches."
"That was a tougher day I think," Steve Warden said.
However 160km was more than exacting.
Carly Gillard was just one of the cyclists thankful to reach the Robivale Caravan Park on the banks of the mighty and majestic Murray River.
"That's the biggest thing I've done in my life," she said while nursing a knee injury.
"Maybe the biggest thing I will ever do."