Big Ride out and back

Got up at 5:30am and I am now typing this at 5:30pm.  We found a parking space about 1km from the start line and also within walking distance of the beach. There must have been 3,000 to 4,000 bikes doing the two course options of 113km and 60 km.  Wave after wave of riders were flagged off from 7:00am. We left at 7:40am after being held for a live cross to the channel 7 sunrise show which we both got closeup images as we rode straight at the camera.  We got to Barwon Heads at 9:00am for donuts and pancakes. Never had that handed out on a ridebefore.  It was steady pace to the end but the endless lights thru Geelong to finish was a bit of a pain.  We rode the bikes back to the car and changed into swimmers for a snooze under a tree for half an hour. We saw the Women's Elite start at 12:30pm and made sure we were back at the finish line for the last 40km or so.  Sarah Gigante made some good moves up the steep hills but were not really long enough for her to get away, although she still tried to close the gap to the leading three with 1km to go.  We spoke to her after the race and was happy with the efforts today.  James and heidi have cooked the barbie and salads for when we got back and by the sound of it Estelle is cooked for the day and ready for bed.