What an amazing adventure we’ve had.

As you know, 26 riders left Townson Oval last Thursday morning to the cheers of a great crowd. We were nervous of the challenge ahead though confident in the group we had.

Day one was a flatter day and a great way to warm into the ride. The Hunter Expressway had plenty of debris on the road and we had four flat tyres in that short period. The Golden Highway was our first taste of country roads with heavy vehicles moving past us at pace, certainly got the blood flowing.

We had lunch at Godolphin along with a great tour of their facility. Back on the road for the last 18km journey to our first destination, Denman Hotel with 137kms travelled in total.

Day two was always on the back of everyone’s minds. 95kms through the Bylong Valley with some steep climbs before the 5.7Km climb up to Rylstone. The peloton was eerily quiet after the first climb and all the talk was about the big climb. With lunch awaiting us at the top, we ripped the bandaid off and attacked the monster climb at our own pace. Ed Mounsey was always the “Billy Goat” to beat up the mountain and was never challenged.

We then had a 20km ride into Rylstone that had some surprise climbs though everyone was in good spirits to end day 2 at 126kms travelled in total.

Day 3 was the last stint. 100kms in total through some glorious countryside. This was also going to be our biggest climbing day with over 1785m in elevation.

The road from Ilford to Sofala was picturesque. We went at our own speed and had to battle another 6-7km climb out of Sofala with some gradients being over 8% incline. This proved very difficult for all riders and the Green spirit definitely came out to shine.

Lunch was provided at Wattle Flat before the last 45km group ride into Bathurst. Coming back down the mountain and seeing the Mt Panorama sign was a great feeling, knowing we’d pushed ourselves to our limits and the end goal was in sight.

We regrouped 500m from the Rugby ground and rode in as a group to the players and supporters cheering us home.

On behalf of both our Boards, the riders and the entire Greens community, I’d like to thank Brodie Hussain for all his work since the initial idea was floated in October 23. To plan and implement such a massive project is an amazing achievement and the club is forever grateful. Brodie, we all understand your frustration of not being able to ride though we’re appreciative of everything you’ve done. Nearly $90,000 to provide support to our Rugby community is an amazing outcome.

I’d also like to thank Matt Jackson, Eliza Tresidder and Grant Midwinter for providing the support vehicles and motivation along the way. Also, a massive thanks to Melanie and the team at Solvd for the amazing vlogging. This is already in our memories though to have such a professional Social media presence is greatly appreciated. Get behind Solvd, it was a great donation!

Last but not least, to our amazing community. Nearly 90K in donations goes to show you all believe in what we’re trying to achieve. This is going to support the entire club for years to come.

It’s not too late to donate, we will be wrapping up donations next Tuesday just after Easter, so if you have been meaning to and haven’t had a chance, you can donate via the Australian Sports Foundation portal here. Remember donations are tax deductible.

Thanks,
Luke Tresidder

FROM BRODIE

‘From an idea borne in October 2023 to seeing the riders roll into Bathurst on Saturday afternoon at 2:30pm, I was immensely proud of what has been achieved.
For 26 riders to ride 360km and up 4500m of hills over 3 days is an amazing achievement especially when half the group had never ridden more than 100km prior. The riders experience will stay with them forever and new friendships were formed particularly during some dark moments on some steep hills’.

‘We have managed to raise approximately $90K for the Greens Welfare and Wellbeing fund which has the potential to save and change lives for the better. I’d like to thank the sponsors, the brave riders, the community that have generously donated, the Greens Rugby Foundation and Merewether Carlton Board for making this project such a success’.

Thanks,
Brodie Hussain

VIDEOS

We were privileged to have some video footage of the ride as well as some promo videos put together prior to the ride, all videos are available to view on our youtube channel here.

PHOTO GALLERY

Here are just a few of the pics we captured during the trip.