My 2009 will be my first truly White Christmas in the northern hemisphere with my bride-to-be Janet & her family……to make the occasion really special Lee, my second son has travelled from Canada to share Christmas with us…we are so happy to see him along with Janet’s daughter coming back from Law School in Pittsburgh…Kyle, Brad & Lacey will also be dropping in…so it will be a family gathering which is wonderful.

Christmas Day will serve as a prelude to our marriage..Janet and I will be officially married on December 26th so please think of us around 1-2 AM in the morning if you are in Australia & reading this! Lee will be my ‘Best Man’ which is great & I feel really proud & Danielle will be Janet’s lovely attendant…

We had a huge snow storm on December 19th (around 20″ / 50cm) & the snow is still here..the weather has been below freezing but fine & clear so the days are spectacular (if a tad short though)…

Longwood Gardens are sensational at night…see the pictures of us wandering around for a few hours in the cold evening..the gardens are really beautiful.

Christmas shopping has been interesting this year with amazing sales as the retailers attempt to entice the US shoppers to part with their dollars. Janet & I went to the King of Prussia Mall (the 5th largest in the US) with our friend Chris..it was a fun day/evening..finished off by dinner at the Sullivans Steak House….seriously over-ate with slabs of red meat Creme Brulee the size of a frisbee..

The reindeers looked impressive by day..

But the night version were more impressive..

If you feel like it..go to the YouTube for our Christmas greeting..

http://www.youtube.com/user/RosscosRide4Rotary

Love to all Ross & Janet

My personal milestone of 10 000 kms came up along the back roads of Lara & the final distance I covered was 10,075 kms ..not bad for an old bloke & the Cervelo performed exceptionally well….no punctures & only wore out 2 tyres. For those interested in the final calorie count..total calories consumed was 362165….I will not be eating museli bars or fruit cake for a long time I can assure you all!

We were escorted into Melbourne to Lincoln Square & received an emotional & rousing reception from family & friends….plenty of tears flowed as we realised that we had made it to Melbourne & for the round-Australia riders & support crews they had made it back to their starting point. Karen aka Chook Brown unfortunately had another accident & fell heavily but in her usual determined fashion finished the ride although in pain could still manage many positive comments & described it as an awesome experience..well done Chook & we salute you for your efforts.

Awesome effort..

After a range of welcoming speeches & a quick refuel, the peleton was rounded up for the last time to be led by an old Rolls Royce down Swanston St to the Melbourne Town Hall, where we greeted by Des Jones & the Acting Lord Mayor Susan Reilly…..words are difficult to find to express our feelings but we all felt elated to be clapped down Swanston St on Saturday afternoon & then walk into the City Hall in our lycra!.

Rolling down the main street of Melbourne behind the old Roller

The Mayoral Reception was a great affair with all the long termers (Gonny, Little Johnny, Tom & Roberta, Geoff & Jennifer plus David & Karen) being awarded certificates & being interviewed by ARH Ambassador Michael Klim (Olympic medal winning swimmer). The afternoon culminated in Geoff K being awarded the ARH Medal for his outstanding efforts as Ride Director..a well-deserved award in recognition of a huge job, done well. Geoff typifies the Rotary motto of “Service above Self”.

The final welcome in Melbourne

A huge thanks to all my sponsors, friends, Rotary Clubs, supporters, home hosts & the myriad of people I have had contact with over the past 12 months..reading about the GABR in August 2008 now seems a long time ago…..

It is now time to move to the next chapter of my life (whatever that my be…stay tuned) & the memories of the GABR will remain as I reflect back on all the amazing people, places & experiences I have had during the past 105 days..Australia is an awesome place populated by some wonderful people…

My mate Tony & Rob Henry

I am proud to have been part of it & have made life-long friends…for me it has been a life-changing experience & has opened my mind more to what is possible if you set your mind to it…

Feeling proud & happy

I wonder what will be next??????????

We were joined by a few new young riders for the day & into Melbourne & it proved to be beneficial as it was suggested we have a quick stop at the tiny town of Meredith, which is half way to Geelong…just as the peleton approached the town, Cheryl tooted & Janet & I were reunited outside the local cafe…a tearful occasion for us all & plenty of smiles as Janet finally met so many of the GABR Family that she had spoken with over the past 100 days.

 The short-lived reunion soon turned into a time-trial for a few of us as we were told we had an hour to be in Geelong & 40 odd kms into the usual southerly headwind…so scoff the pie, drink the milk & get down on the aero bars as I did not want to lose any more kms before getting to Melbourne..so I caught Paul O & Brett C & we worked together to get the job done….unfortunately I lost Brett & eventuallyPaul & became the only rider to make it to the Geelong West meeting point…thanks to those riders who persuaded the support crew not to pick me up! It was much appreciated.

We arrived in Geelong to be greeted by city representatives & ARH directors including the tireless Dick White. It was nice to be in Geelong, know that the ride was nearly over & hopefully have a tailwind to blow us to Melbourne.

Arriving in the home of the AFL Cats..09 Premiers

After checking into the hotel (nice to have a luxurious bed to sleep in) and a quick nap after the tough morning ride, we all reconvened at the Grovedale Hotel for a fun celebratory dinner. During the evening we presented thank-you framed photographs to the Stage7, 8 &9 support staff as appreciation of their efforts since Darwin.

During the evening my previous bride Chipolina made an interesting reappearance to publicly pass on a few tips to Janet….thanks Chippy & Cheryl for organising her reappearance..I think!

After the caffeine & muffin hit we headed for the Spa Country & a lunch at Hepburn Springs & the delightful town of Daylesford & the odd delusional thought a long soaking spa instead of riding to Ballarat later in the day. Thanks to Victor & the RC of Daylesford for the great lunch…the soothing spa’s failed to materialise & we were soon cursing the steep hills out of Daylesford..one thing I have learned on the GABR is that for every downhill there is an equal & steeper uphill section…

How come we missed out on the spa???..next time I guess..

Once we got onto the plateau the head winds reappeared & we were strung out like brown’s cows by the time we got into Ballarat…I did a quick detour into Creswick as a nostagilc visit to the School of Forestry for old times sake..a move that cost me dearly as the lead group kept going & I battled with the traffic & winds on my own…

Joan Williams of the Ballarat RC did a huge job in organising the welcome party & Councillor Samantha warmly welcomed us to Ballarat.

The evening BBQ held at the CFA facilities saw another generous donation from the Ballarat Rotary Club to ARH & Frank Cotronea proudly won the bike shirt auction…David tried to top his Darwin efforts but fell a bit short.