It is funny - today I heard from a guy who has been down to Adelaide for the past few years - he was going to write another report but he thought that everyone would think that he had just copied and pasted it from years past - 'every year is just amazing' he said and I could not agree with him anymore.
Perfect weather, great riding locations, very people, excellent food and cyclists everywhere - what more could one want!? I could bore you with the day to day goings on of the time in Adelaide but that would be tedious.
In sum I spent time on the road and mountain bike - all of it amazing riding! I look forward to bringing a week long trip for MTB'ers sometime in the near future.
In regards to shuttling it was a huge success! We shuttled 14 bikes over from Sydney to Adelaide and brought back 17! Those three people who took us up on the return trip mentioned how difficult it was to transport bikes to such a large event! In talking to people, many had their bikes delayed and damaged - no airlines are to be mentioned here - one guy had his derailuer bent so bad he needed a new one!
The trip over and back was without issue - then again I would never want to be a truck or bus driver. Doing this a few times a year is a hoot - I love a good road trip! Everyone appreciated the level of service and will be using us again in the future for their bike shuttling needs.
We did work for Shimano and also a tour company down there - taking the issues away from transporting bikes is what we are here for. It was great to be invited along to the Shimano gig on one night where we got to meet a heap of the riders in a very relaxed environment - thanks to Greg from Shimano for the invite.
It was also amazing to ride with the Liquigas-Cannondale team, their Monday recovery ride was just that. Nobody was in a rush, everyone was in a good mood and those who tagged along all had an amazing experience. It was fantastic to really be apart of the L-C team - even if just for a morning.
Attending the L-C launch was also pretty darned amazing, having them talk about their day to day goings on, how many in their team, what a day entails and even their nutrition was certainly eye-opening. Also to meet the management team of the Cycling Sports Group Australia - it is good to know that we are in good hands and the future certainly does look bright for CSG. Thanks to Al, Lucien, Martin and Mario Stein for the invite and for making us feel so welcome.
So to end it all up - Adelaide TDU - if you're a cyclist and have not been get your tyres over there! To everyone that made our trip so great (even Bongo the Emu) I salute you:)
Till next time - Cheers - Will
PS Haute Route Cycling Race - Aug 2011 - accommodation is being booked this week - make sure you get in early as we only have very limited spots. It really is going to be amazing!
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