10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... SORE BUM HERE I COME

Well, it's just ten days until myself and a bunch of fellow MAMILs (Middle Aged Men in Lycra) set off on our seven day bicycle journey to Coffs Harbour. OK so I realise that some of the boys will take offence to me calling them middle aged but that's just because they're living in denial.


A special welcome to those of you who are new to following the Men on a Mission journey. And welcome back to those who graciously put up with my ramblings and followed along so faithfully during our 2010 sojourn to Melbourne. Once again in 2011 I'll be endeavouring to give you all a nightly blog update on each day's events as we make our way to Coffs Harbour. We were truly honoured and humbled by the support we received from back home last year, not to mention the fact that through the sponsorship of so many we were able to raise around $35,000 for charity.  Funds raised this year will be going towards the Oncology Children's Foundation (OCF) and I'd love you to sponsor if you've not already done so. It only takes a minute. Simply click HERE


Thought I'd take a moment to introduce you all to the 2011 crew so that when we get underway and you're following the blog you'll know who's who in the zoo.


It's been a topsy turvy year of preparation for many of the guys. Riders have been on and off as frequently as I change my hair style. OK so I don't change it that much any more but I used too! Some have pulled out through injury, others due to work commitments but in the end we've got a good team of boys keen to raise much needed funds for OCF.


Our journey will see us traverse 830kms from Mount Annan to Coffs Harbour. We're going inland, up the Putty Road, through the Hunter Valley, (boys you'll note I said through the Hunter Valley and not too the Hunter Valley, this is not one of those Hunter Valley experiences!), up to Armidale and across to Coffs.


The Full-Timers


Backing up from Men on a Mission 2010...

1. Terry Diomis: 'The Greek Streak' - Tezza's always racing off and leaving us slow boys behind. "Hey Terry, come back here!" (You need to say it with Sebastian's Spanish accent for it to have full effect) Terry's been instrumental in planning and preparation on too many fronts to mention here. Suffice to say that we probably wouldn't even be going without his efforts throughout the year.
2. Mark Cramer: Our trusty chief support crew team leader. Either Mark has no memory of how hard he worked last year or he's just such a nice guy that he's prepared to put himself out for us all over again. Last year he rode shotgun with Phil Wearden in Support Car 1 and was regularly seen hanging precariously out the passenger side of the vehicle with whiteboard, camera or banana in hand. Mark is a real champion and is sure once again to be a great support to all the cyclists.
3. Sam LaDelfa: Last year Sam rode shotgun for Clemo in the bus (Support Car 2). Although I must say I can't recall him hanging out the window on too many occasions.  Sam had a great week in 2010 and this year will be splitting his time between cycling and support having recently taken up cycling. We've seen a remarkable improvement in his ability on the pedals. Sam's also been heavily involved in the organisational side of things in the last few months and has taken a significant load off my shoulders.
4. Fred Peacock: Those of you who followed closely last year will be familiar with the heroic efforts of Pastor Fred. At 58 years of age, not having ridden a bike for something like 40 years until 2010 this man completed a marathon 1000km ride to Melbourne, despite his body screaming at him to stop for much of the way.  Fred's only been on his bike an handfull of times since last October and has decided to join us as support crew this year. However we headed off for a training ride on Tuesday night and Fred tagged along on his bike. And well, you guessed it, he gotten bitten by the bike bug again and chances are that we'll see Pastor Frederick Peacock on the bike for at least some of the trip this year as well.
5. Yours truly: My training is considerably down on last year, so it remains to be seen if I'm match fit. I did do a 200km return trip to Katoomba a couple of weeks ago and pulled up OK so I'm banking on that giving me enough credit in the fitness bank to get me to Coffs.

New this year...

1. Peter Grae: Pete went from back back of the pack to front of the pack by the time he completed his second training ride. Keep an eye out for this boy, I reckon he'll be pulling on the yellow jersey at the end of a couple of stages.
2. Rob Grae: (Pete's brother, who is simply using this trip as a 'light training ride' for his main event, the Iron Man Triathlon at Busselton WA that he'll be backing up for one month after he gets back. That's a 3.8km swim, 180km ride and a 42km run back to back without stopping. Reckon this will be a walk in the park in comparison to that mammoth effort. Ok so a ride in the park but you get the idea.
3. Colin Pettit: The mild mannered accountant who I think we'll find is actually wearing a superman costume under his suit once he gets on that bike. And before you make some comment about wearing his undies on the outside... it couldn't be any worse that those cycling knicks we MAMIL's wear anyway. Jill tells me they don't leave that much to the imagination! That's probably why secretly we like to wear them. ;)
4. Scott Cracknell: The Mountain Bike expert who is so fit I'm thinking of sending him ahead to the next town with our coffee orders, so they're ready for the rest of us when we arrive.
5. Andrew Firtko: This man is a machine! He's a champion BMX rider. Sometimes I think he forgets that he's on a road bike because he rides for 100kms at roughly the same speed as he would for a two minute dash around the Elderslie BMX track. His knee's been playing up lately and he's asked me to pray for healing, but just between you and me I'm hoping it stays sore, that way at least I'll have half a chance of finishing each day within one hour of him.
6. Arne Olander: Arne's a Pastor at C3 Oxford Falls. He assures me that he and I will spend plenty of time getting to know one another at the back of the pack, although he's definitely more match ready than I am as he's been averaging about 3-4 training sessions per week. Arne is also the proud inventor of 'Helmet Cam'. That's right, he's actually strapped a camera onto his helmet so you guys at home will have some real live footage of the big event. Not sure I want to be riding next to him though... EMBARRASSING! ;) Oh yeah, Pastor Arne's also gonna be blogging about our ride as well. If you're interested another in following him too you can do so HERE.
7. Antoni Mikac: If Andrew Firtko is a machine then this guy's a machine on steroids. Hailing from C3 Oxford Falls Antoni is the closet thing you can get to a professional cyclist without competing in the Tour de France. I have a feeling it's going to be a very slow and painfully boring ride for this boy. Was thinking of suggesting he tows the support vehicle trailer behind his bike just to keep him interested and slow him down a bit.
8. Kenn Hedges: Kenn's also a North Shore boy and he actually pulled out of the Fitz's Challenge in Canberra (a gruelling 200+ km ride through mountainous terrain to enjoy a scenic trip with us boys) I've ridden with Kenn once already and he has no trouble holding his own near the front of the pack. Despite what we Westies may think they don't appear to actually breed 'em that soft over on the North side of town. Hey they won the NRL didn't they so I s'pose we have to admit they've got some backbone...
9. Andrew Flaxman: Andrew's a pastor at C3 Tuggerah on the Central Coast. He'll be joining us in Cessnock on Night 2. Andrew's been fighting a hip injury for some weeks now and is concerned that he may be underdone. I reckon he's just bluffing and is going to blow us all out of the water. In fact Flax is probably the only full time rider among us who can legitimately claim not to be a MAMIL. He's  nowhere near middle age yet.
10. James Rengger. Ok so James also doesn't qualify as middle aged not having even cracked 30 yet. James is a recent addition to our crew and will be one of several guys who are mixing up their time in the car with some time out riding on the road. Personally I think James is probably strong enough already to ride the whole way but he graciously agreed to help share the support crew load.

The Part-Timers

1. Sebastian Olivos: Sebastian is also backing up from 2010 and would no doubt love to be riding the whole journey with us. Unfortunately due to work commitments he'll be riding Day 1 (Sunday 23rd) and then returning home to work Monday to Wednesday at which time he'll drive to Walcha to rejoin the caravan for days 5-7. This means Sebastian will conveniently miss out on riding up Thunderbolt Pass on Day 4. This is a mega mountain that will be sure to put a few of us to the test. Riding for OCF means so much to Sebastian as he and his wife Carina lost their daughter Melissa to cancer at age 7 in 2002.
2. Ian Henderson: Due to work and family commitments Ian is unable to join us for the entire ride this year. However, he's such an integral part of the Men on a Mission journey (Last year he and Mario Pengue pretty much pulled off all the organisation for the event between them) that he still wanted to have even a small part in 2011. Ian is one of a few guys who will be riding Day 1 with us and retuning home from Putty by car at the end of the night. It will be nice to have your company brother, even if it's just for a few hours.
3. Craig Trautsch: Craig is also unable to make it for the whole week but is going to ride with us on Day 1.  There's a slim chance that he may do Day 2 as well but that's to be confirmed. We'll certainly miss Craig's humour around the dinner table each night, but I'm sure he'll be back with us again another year. Craig, we'll just have to get Sebastian to play us re-runs of the Pakistani on his phone each night to keep us amused in your absence. 
4. Charles Denis: Last year's readers will remember our dear friend Charles. Charles was involved with OCF at the time and was instrumental in supporting Mario and Ian in getting the Men on a Mission concept off the ground. Along the way the boys got to know Charles really well culminating in him spending much of the evening of Day 6 sharing the background of his personal battle with cancer and his passion to OCF's work succeed as a result. Charles is no longer working for OCF but is still keen to join us for Day 1. It'll be great for him to experience the C3 Mount Annan send off this year as he was unable to join us last year and single handedly rode from Sydney almost all the way to Canberra in one day to catch up with the rest of us.
5. Matt Lees: Originally from the Blue Mountains but now living Armidale way (apologies Matty, can't recall exactly where you're from) Matt rode to Melbourne with us last year but is unable to join us for the whole trip this year. Rumour has it that however that he's planning on joining us for Day 4's trip up and down Thunderbolt Pass. I guess if you're only gonna ride one day then the Mountain Biker in Matt would compel him to take on what will definitely be our toughest day of cycling. 

Honourable  Mentions...

1. Peter Kennedy: It would be remiss of me not to mention Pete in this list. Pete had every intention of joining us this year and just last week had to pull out due to a recurring knee injury that is troubling him every time he rides. Pete, we're praying for a speedy recovery mate. Here's to you being fully fit and ready for 2012.
2. Richard McDonald: Richard has recently joined the Men on a Mission boys in training and along with his wife Tonia, daughter and one on the way has started attending church at Mount Annan. Richard was already registered for Fitz's Challenge in Canberra which takes place on Sunday 30th (the day we travel home) so is unable to come with us. The McDonalds are also expecting the birth of their baby within a few days so Rich quite wisely thought it would not be prudent to skip town for a week and leave Tonia with a two week old! Smart thinking mate.  I'm certain Rich will be good to go for 2012 though.

Anyway that's about all I have time for right now. I'll do my best to post another pre-ride update before we go but things are rather hectic at the moment so you'll forgive me if you don't hear from me until we get underway. As many of you would be aware we're just a few weeks away from launch our new church C3 Camden (I'll have one week after we return) so there's plenty to do right now. My evenings en route will likely be taken up with keeping you guys updated via this blog and being on the phone organising things for the new church.

I'm really looking forward to once again having the opportunity to share our exciting journey with you all. And for all you first time boys (and Gayle) I know from experience that you're gonna have a blast. Friendships will be established and/or deepened as together we share in such and exciting and at times arduous journey.


Keep an eye on my TWITTER or FACEBOOK posts for other on ride news and updates along the way as well as notifications of daily blog updates.  Feel free to retweet the details to anyone who you think may be interested in following our journey or more importantly SPONSORING our ride. You can also share the blog with friends or subscribe to automatic updates by following the links to the left of screen.


Have an incredible week, chat again soon. 


Rohan