Days 1, 2 and 3 were our slow days, call it a learning experience, or whatever. On Day 1 we started too hard and faded on the last few kilometers along the rail line. We hobbled in at 140th in GC. Day 2, was the single track stage and Dead Man Walking. This was a long slow climb and though we felt as if we were going faster, we faded badly at a river crossing where we lingered in icy cold water for a rest. Not clever. Off course, matters were not helped by the fact that we did an extra five km loop after guys we were following took a wrong turn. Nett result, 160th on GC on day 2, though even without the detour it is doubtful whether we would have got better than 120th. Day 3 looked better, as we came in 107th on GC and 21st Master.
After having spent 3 nights in Ceres, we were looking forward to the relatively short ride through to Worcester and warm and soft beds at Phil and Di's 1833 homestead. We were riding strongly in the company of Jason Eldridge and things were looking up. However, one careless glance over the shoulder and I clipped a sharp rock shredding the rear tire. We tried a single plug, then a double plug and finally had to resort to a tube before finally getting going. Having lost about 15 to 20 minutes, at least, on the repair, we relished the run in to Worcester. With the wind on our backs and fantastic single track, it was a great finish into Worcester. The result was a disappointing 154th on GC, but, in a context where one could lose a dozen places in the blink of an eye, we had limited our losses.
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