Tony crossed the finish line at 11.46am after his 14th lap. Tony finished in the top 50% in the 36th place. Tony rode hard and finished well. After collecting his race medallion we went straight back to the Hotel and slept. Tony woke as hungry as 10 men but has pulled up really well. He sore all over and is feeling the strain today but he is feeling better than expected.
Tony up on the screne.
Tony is driving back to Melbourne as I write this post up. We are approachingGundigai and the car is going well. What a great experience. The people were were with and shared tents with were great sports. We shared a mechanic who was so great to have on board and made Tony's race far less stressful, knowing his bike was good to go each lap. Everyone helped each other which made the whole experience wonderful.
We both would like to thank everyone who supported Tony in this important race. The Facebook comments, emails, financial support and donated supplies, phone calls and even the people we didn't know placed around the track cheering the riders on made a big difference to the day and will be remembered well after the race is gone. Thank you so much.
Tired but in a possitive frame of mind in the early hours of the day
Please remember that Tony's initial inspiration was to race and represent people's fight with Cancer and to raise money to make a difference to the families who still or will battle this horrible fight. Livestrong donations are still open on Tony's donation page. Thank you in advance for any support no matter how small. It all makes a difference and hopefully brings us closer to a cure.
Tony set off for his 12th lap at 6.07am this morning and in pretty good spirits. He is hurting but still has a smile on his face. I am sure he is focused on doing his best for all the people he is representing on his jersey and hoping this will make more people aware of the fight for Cancer. I know the supporters and encouragers who have been there recently have boosted him and given him more motivation also.
Starting at the lower end of the placings from the sprit, Tony has steadily improved his placing since the very first lap pushing forward and up a total of 18 places to date. Unfortunately fellow rider and brother-in-law Damien had to pull out last night with a back injury as has other riders. It is hard to watch the disapointment. It must be really tough when an injury stops you. The track is vbery jarring on the body and rider's backs, arms & shoulders seem to be the most affected. Everyone is hurting but pushing on as hard as possible. We have seen some riders throw in the towel over night.
The age section tony is in was highly competitive with over 60 riders compeating. Some sections has as few as two compeditors in it.Tony is out of the dark now and will enjoy having light again and more sun soon. The great thing is that there is only a couple laps left and he will have finished the race, which is what his main goal was. He is currantly placed 39 with plenty of time to climb higher. This may not be a podium win but Tony has already won to have come this far. I am looking forward to seeing him cross that line. Something incrediblke when you realise how unfit and overweight he was only a few years ago. He is an amazing man.
The age group race started just before midday. The start of the race entailed running for approximately 300 meters before the rider collected their bikes and began riding. I took my camera into the handling area where we were to hold the riders bikes ready at the end of the sprint. I managed to get photos of the line-up. The challenge was that the rider had to find his bike amongst all the others lined up both sides of the road. Tony had to run in runners as his ankle wouldn’t support his riding shoes and there was a big risk of an injured ankle before he even started riding. I held up his shoes so he could find his bike easier and he did a quick shoe change over which didn’t seem to cost too much time, but never less it did cost some time at the start.
Tony is in his 9th hour of the race. This is still very early in the race and placing changes a lot throughout the race. many riders start strong and burn out, some pull out injured, some loose time through mechanicals, some drop back in time dramatically and others keep fairly consistent times. So far Tony has kept a fairly consistent time each lap. Unfortunately he has had 2 falls due to overzealous riders overtaking less than safely.
In addition Tony lost a half hour due to a faulty light battery in the first night lap. We sent him out with 2 batteries to cover this issue. We had checked the batteries before we left, timing them. Unfortunately the one I sent out with him stopped working almost immediately. Tony had to return back to the pit and lost the lap and the time. The lap before he had started gaining places. He gained 6 places which is likely because he is racing to his heart rate and completing the laps as best as he can without overtaxing his body too much. There will be other riders overtaxing themselves. We have seen plenty of injured riders. The course is scary in places and now it is dark, it is even more dangerous. One rider broke his collarbone yesterday before the race even started. Tony is in good spirits and has a long night ahead of him. We have been very blessed with the weather so far. Today the weather alternated from overcast but mild to sunny. Tonight it has cooled off but not as cold as we had expected so far. Tony is due in around 10.30pm for his next pit stop. I will try to update further into the race.
Today turned out to be far busier than first thought, The organisers had set the registration and racing briefing at different venues to the race grounds which consumed much of the day finding ourselves around Canberra in the traffic and all the road works going on at this time. First thing we registered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Pictured parked out front).Crowne Plaza Hotel (Pictured parked out front)
Bikes and gear cosy in the pit crew tent Tony ready to test the track wearing the honour Jersey.
Then off to Mt Stanglo to the track to set up the tent and test the track. Tony had only enough time to do a quick lap of the course. It is a challenging technical course and already riders were checking in with injuries just testing the track out today. Ideally Tony would have liked to have had a day to get familiar with this challenging track but there wasn't time. The challenge will be to finish the 24hours and finish it without injury or major damage to the bikes. Tony had 3 bikes but will be using his single speed for the race, using the others as backup.
Apart from the weather conditions during the race they also have to be aware of the animal life in this area. There have been a few sightings of snakes today so we are hoping one cross Tony’s path!
Meninga Stadium
After a somewhat stressful dash to the Meninga Stadium for the briefing we returned to our tent to finish preparations and check a few locations on the field. Tired from the day running around we returned to the Hotel after grabbing supplies for the next day and a pizza for a high carb dinner before the race tomorrow. Tony retired early and I am updating the blog and uploading the photos before I retire also. We have to be at the track by 8am to allow for queues, carting the days supplies to the tent, final prep and settling before the race starts at approximately 11am.
Racing grounds Mt Stranglo
Danien Richmond & Tony Cavill
Photos from Day 1
Sorry about the delay with photos yesterday. I had some program issues turning my photos into web friendly images. Here are a few from Tony's trip up.
All loaded up and ready to go
Tony loves his coffee. We even bought the coffee machine with us!
Canola fields on the way to Canberra
Watch out its hot! - Breakdown 09km before Gundagai
5am we set off for Canberra. After dropping the children off to grandparents we picked up brother-in-law and fellow rider Damien and his family from their home and set off for the trip. Stopping along the way at Caltex service stations for our petrol thanks to the kind donation of petrol vouchers from the Country Woman’s Association. Thanks ladies.
At 2pm, 90 km before Gundagai Damien noticed what he thought was bird droppings on the windscreen. I took a look and noticed water coming from the bonnet. It looked like it was coming from the windscreen wiper jets. Tony then realised the van was running very hot! We came to a stop on the side of the road and realised the water tank had split at the top. We phoned the RACV and didn’t get an answer. Fortunately we were carrying drinking water. So Tony waited 10 minutes for the van to cool down, refilled the water tank and left the cap loose so as not to build up pressure, hoping the van wouldn’t heat up and possibly get us to the next town. Fortunately it got us further than that as the only mechanic we found couldn’t supply us with a replacement tank. We made it to our Motel in Canberra at 5:40pm without the temperature dial moving at all and no extra water needed as yet. We are hoping it will get us home as we have to order the part from the manufacturer.
We have just finished dinner after a shop at the supermarket next door and after securing the bikes for the night will be retiring early.
The agenda for tomorrow is for Tony, Damian and their Pit managers myself and Damien’s wife Debbie to register in the morning, get photo taken and collect passes, set up tents and equipment and Tony and Damien to do a couple laps of the track to become familiar with the course. We then have a briefing at 2:00pm. The remainder of the day we plan to rest up before the race the next day.
We will try to put up photos tomorrow. Unfortuanately it took quicte a while to set up the Internet tonight and now it is not so early to bed.
We are preparing for Tony's race in Canberra. It has been a busy time with bike repairs and final arrangements. Thank you to Sport Recovery for their generous support and encouragement. We have arranged access to the Internet and will be updating this blog from here on in. We leave in the morning travelling with Tony's brother-in-law Damien Richmond who is also competing in the Championships.
It is not too late to support and encourage Tony by donating to Livestrong and supporting families fighting cancer.
We would love to read comments and encourage you to be part of this exciting time. Stay tuned for updates as from today....
We just got our proof for the Honour Jerseys Tony will be wearing in the 24hr World Championships 2010. Here is the images and the names that will be honoured in the race for their fight with cancer.
At the Lance Armstrong Foundation, we fight for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. There can be -- and should be -- life after cancer for more people. That's why we kick in at the moment of diagnosis, giving people the resources and support they need to fight cancer head-on. We find innovative ways to raise awareness, fund research and end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face. We connect people and communities to drive social change, and we call for state, national and world leaders to help fight this disease. Anyone anywhere can join our fight against cancer.
The LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign was started in January 2009, an initiative to address the worldwide cancer burden, in Australia. The LAF awarded a grant to the University of Sydney in the area of lung cancer survivorship. Since lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in this country, the LAF recognized the need to explore new ways to reduce the death and suffering of patients diagnosed with this form of cancer. LAF also awarded a second to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne in the area of adolescent and young adult oncology -- the forgotten demographic which has not seen an increase in survival rates in more than 30 years. The LAF places a special focus on raising awareness and effecting positive change for young adults with cancer through its LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance, which includes 112 member organisations and the grant, will build on that progress. The LAF is not just an American Cancer Foundation; it focuses on the global struggle with this epidemic which kills millions of people every year worldwide. Read Tony's Testimony Here
Here is a testimony from Tony Cavill who has fought the battle with testicular cancer, watched his late-wife suffer terribly with breast cancer and see his children lose their mother at an early age.
I thank you in advance for taking the time to read his personal testimony: From pain to victory by making a difference to our lives and the lives of others.
Our family has suffered great loss recently and through it I have somehow found inner strength and passion to not only cope with personal tragedy but channel the loss into something productive. I would like to share my story with you. The loss of my beautiful late-wife Nicki in 2009 has motivated me to achieve more than I could dream of and has motivated the desire to make a difference in the lives of others suffering like we did.
Nicki was diagnosed with Cancer for the third time in June 2008. The cancer ended up in her brain and In July 2009 she lost her battle and we were all left devastated. Through her illness both Nicki and I believed that somehow God would heal her just as he had when I was cured from my fight with testicular cancer in 1996. Unfortunately this was not so. Nicki was carrying the cancer gene, and as if that wasn’t enough, there is also a 50% chance our children are carrying the Cancer gene as well.
12 months earlier after encouragement from Nicki I took up mountain bike riding. I was unfit and overweight and needed to get into shape. My brother-in-law Damian Richmond; a solo mountain bike champion, loaned me a DVD of a 24hr solo mountain bike championship race. I watched the rider push himself so hard he ended up in hospital! After watching the DVD I said to Nicky “You know what Darl, I wouldn’t mind having a crack at that. Her reply was “You should, you would be really good at it.”
So began my goal and my journey. I decided to attempt the first 24 hour solo race at 40 years old in the 40+ class and although Nicky was diagnosed with breast cancer, she continued to encourage and support me believing that she would be there for the race, completely well and part of the crew.
I continued to train and I lost weight. To date I have lost approximately 30kg.
Nicki died one week before a race. I made my mind up not to quit on the goal to race a 24hr at age 40. I was already entered in a race. On the day I struggled with grief and the choice to sit at home and cry all day or get my bike out of the shed and race. I decided to race with a big sign on my back saying ‘In honour of my beautiful wife Nicky 13/5/63 to 19/7/09. I did not place well, but under the circumstances I probably won the minute I took my bike out of the shed. I ended up with 3rd for the series, a trophy and a couple months left to train for the 24hr race. Nicky would have been so proud.
The day came for the 24hr solo which challenged me emotionally. Doing this race without Nicky was going to be tough. I wore my honour jersey again and with the support of my loving family, friends and God, I ended up 4th place qualifying me to enter the world championships for 24hr solo in Canberra, October 2010!
I can’t begin to tell you how this made me feel amongst all the grieving but you can imagine what it meant to me and my family at such a time. This is the first time ever the championships have been held in Australia. I have am training hard for this event as I don’t want to go there just to wear my tyres out! It was put on my heart to help with the fight against cancer and honour a great lady by raising support for others. I would encourage you to join me in any way you can as I do what I can to make a difference. Your prayers encouragement and support are most appreciated. Thank you for your support! Kind regards and God bless Tony Cavill
Tony has chosen the Lance Armstrong Foundation as a commendable organisation to represent his efforts to offer support and change the future for current and future Cancer suffers. He has become a grassroots fundraiser for Livestrong who do an amazing job worldwide in raising awareness, research and support. His is joining others to in an effort that could mean the difference between our children fighting a losing battle with cancer or winning over the disease. He is also is mindful that increased public awareness would result in far less unnecessary deaths.
“Too many people are uniformed resulting in Cancer being unchecked until it is too late. You don’t know if they will find a cure for cancer tomorrow. They have cured some and people need to be aware how important this is.”
- Anthony Cavill
How you can help
If you had a loved one who fought cancer and you can raise $500 or more in honour of them, I would like to honour them in this race by wearing their names on my jersey. To show your support you can make a donation by following the link to my fundraising page at www.livestrong.org
All profits go directly to Livestrong. You can donate directly to LAF by following my link on the Livestrong website.
If anyone can sponsor Tony in the race also he would be most grateful. Personal costs to Tony are for Accommodation, fuel, entry, Pit tent, Food, Bike parts, expenses etc.
You can email Tony: cavills1 (AT) bigpond (DOT) Com
Crossing the finish line
Tony up on the screne.
Tired but in a possitive frame of mind in the early hours of the day
