Sun 19 Sep
The big one. The last day of riding. The completion of the almost-ten-week odyssey that has been the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride. After a frosty night, the day dawned bright and clear. Tom, Cath and Leah headed to the Evandale Market to set up the backdrop and banners. They also took two more rickshaws from Jeff's place to form an impressive display right at the entrance to the market.
Meanwhile, Jeff, Parvin and Farida headed over to Longford to meet up with Anna and her son Sam, the first riders for the day. Anna is a member of a Bicycle Users Group (BUG) in Launceston and Sam is also a strong rider. At just 10 years old, Sam was the youngest rider to actually ride the rickshaw. Upon arriving in the village of Perth, the team was joined by Keith, the local doctor in Evandale. Jeff had recently taught Keith to ride a penny farthing and Keith was feeling up for yet another 'weird bike' experience. Jeff partnered with Keith. Unlike the previous day, there were no mishaps at all and the team reached Evandale right on time.
The ride into Evandale was a thoroughly enjoyable and momentous occasion. With Keith pedalling, the rickshaw was met at the bottom of the hill that leads up into Evandale by a group of orange-shirted folk. These helped push the rickshaw up what would otherwise be a very challenging slope. Jeff, feeling thrilled to be back in his home village, stood up in the back of the rickshaw to greet the crowd as the rickshaw made its way slowly up towards the historic water tower and the group of spectators.
At this point the second rickshaw was unloaded from the trailer. Jeff and Leah's oldest kids Calum and Tilly jumped onto Keith's rickshaw as passengers and Anna rode the other rickshaw with Sam as her passenger. This group were photographed by the Examiner newspaper as they rode further along High St. They were also joined by a group of cyclists and with bells ringing, the procession made its way towards the Evandale Market. Close to the market, Anna and Sam offered their rickshaw to Jeff, who led the way into the market, with Farida and Parvin as his passengers.
The arrival into the market was every bit as exciting as one could have hoped for. The presence of two Bollywood dancers ensured that there was a large crowd around the main entrance. Two representatives from Northern Midlands Council were present, along with Fiona from AusAID. A great cheer erupted as the rickshaws pulled up to complete their incredible journey. A moment of pure euphoria to end 67 days of mostly hard slog. Speeches followed, including Jeff's ten minute effort in which he recalled the highs and lows of the journey and what it has meant for all involved and concluded with a very long thanks list.
And with that, the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride was officially over. Hard to believe, but (apart from a visit to Evandale Primary School) that really is the end of the road. After packing up, the team headed back to Jeff and Leah's place for a big curry feed, followed by a well deserved rest.
Leah manning the display at the Evandale Market
One of the Bollywood dancers strutting her stuff
The arrival of the rickshaws into the market
The orange-shirt-brigade gathered en masse to celebrate the arrival
Afterwards, all four rickshaws back at Jeff and Leah's place
It is all over apart from the shouting. The "..epic that was bigger then Ben Hur" is now "Been Here, Done That". Great job done by all but especially for Jeff and his family (wife Leah and children Calum, Tilly, Meg and baby Sean) who have lived, breathed and suffered nothing but GARR for the last 9 months! We also need to acknowledge Ross, Bev and Val who have travelled the entire length of the GARR providing the essential support. Our Symbiosis Bangladesh contingent Khalek, Hajrat, Farid and Parvin, especially Khalek and Hajrat for their 2 month involvement, have made a terrific contribution.
After the dust has settled we will send out a report showing some of the amazing statistics. But for the moment we will finish with the cry of the prospective rickshaw passenger in Bangladesh,
"Ricksha, khali?"
(Rickshaw are you empty/free?)
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
The following morning was also a happy scene at Deloraine's Train Park, as the day's riders assembled and donned their orange GARR t-shirts: Nigel and Sarah (Nigel has been the GARR 'cover boy', appearing in the main stock photo that had been used prior to the ride commencing), Tim Armstrong, Marc and Joey (who had driven up from Hobart with their two daughters), Mal Beatie, Ian Partridge and his very impressive cheer squad and Brum and Clinton. The ride team was also joined later on by the Clark family, making it a full complement for the 50km journey to Longford.
The riding went well for most of the day. The No 2 rickshaw was in use due to the handlebar welding on the No 1 rickshaw having failed (see previous post about welding in Mittagong!). Clinton, Inga and later Sarah all discovered that handling a tricycle is very different to a bicycle. Unfortunately, in Sarah's case, running off the road meant also encountering a steep embankment, which she and hubby Nigel hurtled down at considerable speed. Fortunately the bottom was soft and there were no serious injuries. A quick wheel change got the No 2 rickshaw underway again and the team were able to complete the ride into Longford.
Like Deloraine, there was quite a crowd gathered in Longford to cheer for the riders as the rickshaw entered town. The Partridge family had even made special signs that they waved each time the rickshaw passed by. The team conducted rickshaw rides on the village green for quite a few kids.
The large team of riders assembled for the Deloraine-Longford ride
The Durdin family starting out from Deloraine
Brum and Clinton making swift progress
Colin and Kaleb Clark, one of a few father and son combinations throughout the GARR. (See also the exit from Canberra and the family, mother, father and son, who pedalled out of Mittagong)
The cheer squad who appeared a various places along the road
Ian and Mal take a breather in front of an historic building Carrick
Cheering as Nigel and Sarah enter Longford
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Fri 17 Sep
The plan this day was for Jeff, Parvin, Farida and Carlyn to meet Ross, Bev and Val off the boat in Devonport. However, Farida had developed an extremely painful toothache, so Leah made an appointment for her to see a dentist in Launceston. Parvin stayed back to support to Farida, who turned out to have quite a nasty infected tooth and gum.
In Devonport, the three Queenslanders arrived after a very bumpy crossing due to a swell whipped up by the same winds that had made the previous day's flight so bumpy. Bev in particular was looking very green around the gils. The wind was icy and still blowing strong as the team gathered at Perry Bros Bakery for breakfast.
After a hearty breakfast, several rickshaw riders assembled in the bakery's carpark: Ian Howard, a councillor with Meander Valley Council, along with his two daughters Zoe and Ruby and Tom and Cath Cloudsdale (Cath is Leah's sister). Safety briefing complete, Ian began the first riding on Tasmania soil. He hadn't got far before we were met by Carly from the Examiner newspaper. She took a great photo of Ian and his girls riding and quickly jotted down notes for a story. It seems her note taking may have been just a tad too quick, because the subsequent story attributed Ross, Bev and Val has having been the only team members to have cycled all the way from Queensland!
The riding on Friday was through stunningly beautiful farmland between Devonport and Deloraine. The landscape at this time of the year is lush, with spring lambs and daffodils around every bend and farm dams full to the brim. The only issue was that the chosen route (through Railton and Kimberley) was rather undulating. The team was joined part way through by additional riders: Dylan and Brady, one of the youngest pairs to ride and Peter and Chris. Unfortunately Carlyn was feeling sick, otherwise she could have had the distinction of being the only person (besides Jeff) to have ridden in more than one state.
The arrival into Deloraine was fantastic. There was a good crowd gathered as the rickshaw wound it's way down the main street to the Train Park. The local mayor Mark Shelton gave a short speech to welcome the team into town, before inviting all and sundry (probably 30 in all) to afternoon tea at the cafe across the road from the park. This was one of the few times that a council (Wodonga's Deputy Mayor did the same) had offered such extravagant hospitality throughout the entire journey and it went a long way to making the team feel welcome in Tasmania.
Ian, with daughters Zoe and Ruby crossing the Mersey River
Cath and Tom on one of the many hills between Devonport and Deloraine
Brady and Dylan in front of a rustic Tasmanian house
Chris and Peter celebrate the end of their stint
The team chatting with Mark Shelton, the local Mayor at the Train Park, Deloraine
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Thu 16 Sep
The team were spread in three places on Thursday, as Morris and David Yates, accompanied by Graeme, headed north in the pantec and people mover.
Ross, Bev and Val stayed in Melbourne, where they prepared for their overnight voyage on the Spirit of Tasmania.
Jeff, Farida and Parvin caught an early flight from Melbourne to Launceston in order to prepare for the activities in Tasmania in coming days. Take off and landing were both very bumpy due to strong westerly winds. Coming into Launceston Jeff was a bit concerned about Farida and Parvin might be finding the turbulence. He needn't have worried though, as Parvin thought it was 'just like being on a bus in Bangladesh!'. The ladies were also very impressed by the quarantine sniffer dog at the airport.
Arriving in Launceston, Jeff, Parvin and Farida made their way to Jeff and Leah's house in Evandale, where they were met by Carlyn, who had previously ridden the rickshaw in Sydney. In the afternoon Carlyn took the ladies to visit Launceston's famous cataract gorge.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
The last day of GARR on mainland Australia was spent in Melbourne at
the Donvale Christian School. It was the last day of term for the
school but they kindly included us in their programme. We started the
morning with a 20minute presentation to the junior school with several
hundred children and about 150 visiting parents, grandparents and
guardians present. Before lunch we shared in a class of the senior
school as they explored issues related to working across cultures. The
day finished at the school with us presenting to all of the senior
school as the last activity of the term. It could have been
intimidating to be the last hurdle before the end of term and
holidays. However, it wasn't. We had attentive, participatory groups
both in the morning and the afternoon. Rickshaw riding was popular
both during the morning recess and lunch.
This was the 33rd school and brings the number of students addressed
to well over 5000 during the whole of the GARR.
Today was also the day when the part of the support team began the
return to Brisbane with the truck and one of the other vehicles. The
remainder of the team leave for Tasmania tomorrow.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Reuben Jenyns explaining the finer points of rickshaw riding to his
fellow students.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Today the team said goodbye to Khaleque and Hajrat who have worked
tirelessly for Symbiosis and the Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride over these
last 2 months. They were excited to be returning to their homes and
families.
In the afternoon the team took the truck with a rickshaw to Hillcrest
Christian School near Berwick on the South East. We had a combined
class of grade three'ers including Reuben Jenyns.
The kids as usual were fully involved in the presentation trying to
answer the questions. They also enjoyed riding the rickshaw.
Bev of the support team made an interesting observation tonight. She
said, "The Rickshaw ride is like being in a typhoon, being spun around
with high winds. Much of the time you don't know where you are or
where you are going but every now and again you move to the outside or
edge of the typhoon and get a better idea of things such as why you
are doing all this."
Tomorrow is a full day at Donvale Christian school.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
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One of the dvd's on the big screen at Fed Square
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
The GARR is moving inexorably towards its completion. Today Monday we
saw some of our support team leave. Steve who has been doing a great
job driving the truck and keeping the truck contents in order returned
to Adelaide today. Tomorrow, Tuesday, Khaleque and Hajrat return to
Bangladesh after 9 weeks of being in Australia, almost all of the time
being on the GARR. Hajrat this morning commented that the time now
seemed like a dream. It was something strange and exotic, not real,
like a dream when you wake in the morning. I commented that they have
their memories and they certainly have plenty of photos. They have
seen a lot of Australia. Ross made the wry comment that he personally
has now seen Australia at 5km/hour. As the driver of the support
vehicle he has driven along behind the rickshaw and so has had a
unique perspective on the scenery, road and rickshaw ride. Jeremy
Clarkson may have 'Top Gear' but Ross Pritchard has '1st Gear'!
Today was a rest day and tomorrow there will be another school.
We received news tonight from Len that Daryl was operated on today and
apparently has had a plate inserted in his cheek. He will be
overnighting in Bendigo Hospital and as far as Len knew, the operation
went well. We wish Daryl a speedy recovery and will keep you up to
date on his progress.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
The last photo is of Morris, with Faye, Carolyn and Natalie. Faye
heard about it on the radio and Natalie heard about GARR in Sydney and
brought her friend Carolyn.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
The 61st day of the GARR. This was one of our longest stretches of
riding and the most number of riders. The conditions were great for
riding the rickshaw. The topography was undulating. The road was good
and there were very keen riders. This leg means that we have completed
the last stretch of riding on continental Australia. We will have more
in Tasmania but today was the last. This represents an amazing
achievement. 61 days ago Melbourne seemed a long way off. That was
because it was! But now we are here. Khalek and Hajrat are looking
forward to going home on Tuesday. The ladies, Farida and Parvin, have
joined the programme. Thousands of people, mainly children, have had a
terrific opportunity to hear the challenge of the millenium
development goals. They have seen and heard how ordinary people can
make a difference in the lives of poor people.
Amongst the riders today were several people who had been to
Bangladesh and visited the programmes of Symbiosis in Bangladesh. All
joined together in Federation Square to celebrate the arrival of the
rickshaw. It was surreal to watch it come up Flinders Street, cross
Swanston Street, make a u-turn, come back down Flinders Street and
then turn into Federation Square. The support team had set up the
banners, back drop and a table. The other rickshaw was there being
ridden around the Square, amongst the crowds gathered around the Square.
Many people came up to see what was going on and several took the
opportunity to have a ride on the rickshaw. Some people like Faye
Huxley were there because they heard of the event on ABC radio early
in the morning. Others like Natalie were there because they saw the
rickshaw earlier in the GARR programme while it was in Sydney. Khalek
accompanied Hajrat on the tablas while he sang the song of the poor to
the group of people gathered around the rickshaws and the display. In
the section of the Square where the big screen is situated, people
were able to watch the videos about rickshaws and the millenium
development goals.
Tomorrow Sunday will also be busy with meetings in suburban Melbourne.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
On the 60th day of the GARR, there was a full complement of riders who
made their way along the highway from Seymour to Kilmore. The team was
able to repair the damaged machine. Jeff had arrived yesterday along
with two ladies from Symbiosis Bangladesh, Farida and Parvin. They
arrived just as the accident occurred. Jeff, Steve and Ross were able
to effect the repairs. The riders had good country to ride a rickshaw,
no steep hills and good roads.
While the rickshaw was moving down the highway, the rest of the team
went to Broadford Primary School. In the school hall, we were able to
give the presentation that has been given in 30 other schools. There
were 340 children present from the youngest to the oldest class. Again
the team had a good time. This was also possibly the last school that
Khalek and Hajrat will participate in the presentation. They have done
a great job as part of the school team. Khalek's tabla playing and
Hajrat's singing have brought an extra dimension to the presentation.
This was also the first school in which Farida and Parvin were able to
participate. Again there were very positive comments from the teachers
of the school as to the suitability of the material for the children.
Thanks again to the students and staff at Broadford Primary School.
After Broadford, the team gathered with the rickshaws at the Kilmore
Curry Palace. This is an Indian restaurant situated in a historic
building in Kilmore. Special thanks go to Vijay and Ritesh who not
only provided great publicity but also wonderful food as they fed the
team. Some photos of the event are attached.
Tomorrow, the rickshaw moves with a full team of riders to Melbourne
and an arrival event at Federation Square. At the end of the day we
received a phone call from Daryl, our injured rider. He has seen a
maxillo-facial surgeon and will have an operation sometime next week.
He was glad to hear that we were able to continue the riding. Spoken
like a dedicated cyclist.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
This blog is being written later than normal. Yesterday, the 9th,
started very well but ended with trauma. We had our first accident
with Daryl the rider suffering a depressed cheek bone fracture. Len
his passenger experienced some grazes and bruises. Coming down a hill
about 30km north of Seymour, with a wet road, the rickshaw veered into
the roadside ditch and unceremoniously threw Daryl and Len into the
bank. Daryl went into the dirt headfirst and Len went over the top of
him. Ross was travelling behind and saw the whole incident. David,
Morris, Khalek and Hajrat were in another vehicle and Steve in the
truck. So within a few minutes all the vehicles were together
rendering assistance to the injured riders. Some of the lacerations
and bloody noses were given some basic first aid and then the two
injured riders were taken to Seymour Hospital. At the hospital, CT
scans were done on Daryl's face and it was clear that he had cheekbone
fractures. Ultimately Daryl was taken by David and Morris to Northern
Hospital on the northern side of Melbourne where further examinations
were done. There the original scans were examined and the extent of
the damage determined. Daryl's face of course by this time was not
exactly going to be a candidate for southern hemisphere's most
handsome man, 2010. He had a right eye that looked as though Muhammad
Ali, Joe Frazier and the Springbok's front row had done some
strengthening exercises. Ultimately, the decision was to send Daryl
home to Bendigo and make an appointment with a maxillo-facial surgeon
in Bendigo. Because of the swelling, no immediate surgical action was
possible. So we returned to Seymour where Daryl was met by his son-in-
law who conveyed him to his home in Bendigo. At the time of
writing(afternoon of 10th), it is reported by Len (the other rider)
that the swelling in Daryl's face has decreased a little and it only
hurts when he eats! One humourous note to the incident was the
following comment overheard on the truckies CB radio network just
after it occurred, "*#! I just saw two blokes in a rickshaw go base
over apex in a ditch. Boy that is something you don't see everyday!"
Daryl, not sure whether it will ease the pain or not, but you did
bring some variety to an unknown truckie who is now undoubtedly
telling the story to his mates. We will keep you up to date as long
as the GARR is underway on the condition of Daryl. We also need to
record that Len was the oldest rider so far in the GARR and that he
and Daryl had actually ridden the longest of any of our riders. In
fact before the accident they were determined to ride all the way to
Seymour.
Well that was the trauma for the day. At the beginning of the day we
had a great time at Longwood Primary School. Coincidently, Len, had
taught at the school in the early nineties. The school had only 20
students but was in a building dating back to 1880 and is a very well
equipped little school. The school also has an honour board which is
unique. They have two former students who were VC winners. In fact
there are two VC winners and one MC winner. (These were awarded in the
Boer, and First World War.) The kids were great. They really enjoyed
the rickshaw ride. The team were quite touched by the fact that the
school gave a donation to Symbiosis International for the work in
Bangladesh. Thanks to David and Leanne, the teachers.
We are sad at the accident. It occurred on the 59th day.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
There was plenty of variety in the day, the 57th day of the GARR. The
day started interestingly. One of the members of the cabin in which
the male members of the support team were sleeping complained of
difficulty in going to sleep because of the general level of noise in
the cabin. We did not complain to the management about this matter as
we did not think that it was the fault of the cabin!
The caravan park had a peacock as a resident who wandered the grounds
of the park in a regal manner. We took a photo of the magnificent bird
perched on the handrail of the verandah of our cabin. The animal was
very used to humans moving about and would remain perched even when we
moved quite close to him. There were some other exotic residents of
the park as well. These were visitors in the form of a group of
ferrets well attached to leads held by their owners who were staying
in the caravan park. We have a photo of them as well We did not
introduce the peacock to the ferrets. One of our number commented that
the ferrets when they moved along the ground were like fluid.
Upon leaving the park to rendezvous with the riders for the day, we
encountered two delays both generated by a desire to take a photo. One
photo was of what looked like a juvenile rickshaw, the result of a
union between a male and female rickshaw. A photo of the juvenile
rickshaw can be seen in one of the photos for the day. It was seen
sprinting down a road in Wangaratta. The second delay was to take
photo of a 55 BelAir Chevrolet. For those who are aficionados of
American cars, then this is a beauty. It was owned by a young man who
worked in panel beating establishment. Great car.
Now back to the GARR.
Our rickshaw riding began in Violet Town. One can never accuse the
town of lacking in colour! There we met the two riders, Len and Daryl.
They were transported to the starting point by Len's wife, Judy. ( A
point of joy for Judy was that she was celebrating being cleared of
cancer for 5 years. She did this celebrating by buying and eating some
vanilla slice purchased in Violet Town.) Well, Len also broke another
record for us. He, by the effort of his parents no real credit to Len,
achieved the record of being the oldest rider on the GARR. Len is 74.
He and Daryl, no spring chicken himself, rode very well and covered
the distance from Violet Town to Euroa in record time for the GARR. Of
course no-one else has ridden a rickshaw from Violet Town to Euroa
anyway so it would have been a record even if they had taken a month!
But that aside, these two dedicated pedallers covered the distance
impressively. Their progress was halted a couple of times. At least
one of these times was due to a desire of the rickshaw to move to the
left and in the early part of the journey took Len and Daryl off into
the roadside grass! The other time was for repairs as one of the
wheels broke a spoke and began to spin in a slightly drunken fashion.
Photos of the highway side repairs can be seen on today's photos.
Ultimately the repairs were not effective and we had to swap
rickshaws. The journey was completed on our reserve machine.
We had Councillor Mark Williams greet the rickshaw Euroa. Thank you
for your time and friendly welcome Councillor. Photos are also attached.
The evening was spent with a group from St Paul's Anglican, Euroa.
They provided us with a great meal in their wonderful old hall with a
roaring wood fire and we told them of the ride and the work of
Symbiosis. Thanks Lyn and rector Patti for arranging that. End of a
busy day.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
Today we moved south coming closer to the climax of the Great Aussie
Rickshaw Ride. We also moved closer to the flood waters of northern
Victoria. Our first encounter was at Wangaratta where the Ovens River
was flooding. There was some concern that a levee would break and
cause more widespread inundation and consequent property damage.
However, at the time of writing, the levee had not broken and the
waters are receding. The day was also a beautiful day with not a cloud
in the sky. The morning was cold but the day warmed up to be a very
pleasant day. On the way to Benalla we could see, away in the distance
to the east, the snow capped alps. Our destination during the day was
Benalla Christian School. This small school provided us with a warm
welcome. This was the 29th school that we had visited and was the
smallest. However, we had a great time. Again the climax of riding the
rickshaw was the highlight for the children. It is a privilege to be
able to share with children that ordinary people can make a difference
for the better, that poverty can be alleviated. The combination of the
programme which includes discussion, questions, videos, song in
Bangla, prizes with the riding of the rickshaw makes for an
unforgettable experience for the children. This sure raises the
awareness of the children not only about others far worse off than
themselves but also about how they can be helped.
Tomorrow will see us arriving in Euroa.
Posted by Rickshaw Wallah
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