The third Chain Reaction ride for 2021 rolled out today, much to the relief and joy of a bunch of eager Queenslanders, many of whom had been deeply disappointed when COVID cruelled last year’s ride. In addition to the veterans and returners there was a clutch of newbies, full of the usual fizzy mixture of nervous anticipation, anxiety and excitement.
After months of dedicated training under the watchful and expert guidance of Adam Gill, Peter Forbes, Lorian Graham and Trish Greenland, the Queensland peloton was ready to go, on a cool and sparkling autumn morning.
After photos, some last-minute introductions, and a few late adjustments to gears and wheels and psyches, we streamed in teams down the ramp of Mercedes-Benz Brisbane and into the Saturday morning traffic, stopping, starting, calling out to one another, making sure we all stayed upright and together as we headed east through the city before cutting south via Mt Cotton.
For some of our riders this was the first time they’d seen the remarkable automotive organism which is Tim Chadd (ride director) in the lead car, Cindy Carle (paramedic) in the back car and Jarryd Jones (mechanic) in the mobile bike shop, shepherding us through the traffic and protecting us from the less rider-friendly road users. They are a simply amazing team!
The riding today, all day, was delightful. Crystal sunshine, a slight tailwind, smooth, smooth roads between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and a blue, blue sky that looked like the paint job on a high-end titanium bike, starting with a washed out, light-infused, cloudy azure on the horizon, moving through various darker shades of colour into a deep Pacific blue above our heads - and not a cloud to be seen.
Once we were out of the city we rolled past the Mt Cotton estates, with their never-ending fences and still ponds. For a time we hugged, but kept away from, the highway, buzzed at one stage by a motorcyclist on his 125cc blade, doing a wheelie past the peloton.
We then pushed our way through the little communities on the way to the coast, past roadside signs advertising Friday night’s meat trays and bargain-basement sugar cane mulch. The peloton was relaxed and chatty.
Lunch was at the pub in Jacobs Well, about 80km into our day’s ride. While we missed out on the feature band (“hi-energy 80s rock”, according to the rather fierce-looking, full-sleeves lead singer), the blokes on the ride no doubt appreciated the handmade beer keg urinals.
The last 40 km into Surfers Paradise was an easy roll, past Pimpama’s vehicle graveyards, caravans and chook runs.
We knew we were close as the garishly-coloured roller coasters came into view, and then the towers of Surfers, glittering in the afternoon sun. Beers, massages and reminiscences about a great day on the bike, rounded out the first day.
A quick personal note. I’m a Victorian ring-in on this ride. It’s my 13th Chain Reaction ride and my third this year. I did the Victorian ride in March, the New South Wales ride in April, and I’m now doing the Queensland ride. What I can say, after just the first day, is what a fabulous welcome I’ve had as the interstater.
My team captain, John Barton, rang me weeks ago to introduce himself and welcome me to the team. One of my teammates, Will Brice, emailed me a few days before the ride offering me a bed the night before the ride, and also at the end, when we’ll celebrate our achievement. For obvious reasons, I’ve done none of the training with the peloton over the last few months but I felt like I was riding with old friends today. The warm Queenslander welcome has been remarkable.
That’s one of the great things about Chain Reaction: the spirit and the camaraderie is like nothing I’ve experienced before. It’s one of the many reasons I keep coming back.
Blog written by, Alex King of the MGD/TRACTION Team.
On the evening of Day 1, the following Competition Jerseys were awarded.
- Orange ‘Leader's Jersey', sponsored by Pure Storage, went to Cyril Jinks of the Bell Potter Team.
- White ‘New Riders Jersey', sponsored by Sunkids, went to Jason Bird of the Hutchinson/AEIOU Team.
- Black ‘Spirit of Chain Reaction Jersey, sponsored by LSH Auto went to Paul Davis of the Bell Potter Team.
- Pink 'Inspiration jersey', sponsored by MGA Insurance Brokers, went to Sandy Murdoch of the MGD/TRACTION Team.
- Pink 'Inspiration jersey', sponsored by MGA Insurance Brokers, went to Luke McGrath of the MGD/TRACTION Team.
