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Surit Thani to Phanom (day eight)
Monday 25 January 2010 Shorter day today covering 100kms. 100kms of smells from various unknown dead things on the side of the road and lots of people finger pointing at each other. Besides the wonderful aroma, today was full of hills, bigger and longer than we had seen before. Good training for our 4km hill tomorrow. Maddie Pawson and Kelsey Baines, both amazed the group by powering up the hills faster than some of the adults. Michael Jackson gets a special mention for being the powerhouse he is helping the younger ones up the hills. Puncture-athon all around with Peter Baines, Lyle, Kelsey, Jimmy and Gavin all suffering from a flat tyre. Pete takes the crown for managing two within an hour of each other. Lyle was in a particularly distructive mood snapping pedals and spokes on his wheels. Too much power! Ron Smith did a great job bringing home the back pack with great encouragement and support. What a team player! Caz was on fire today, quickly passing her sister Steph and heading towards the front pack. When quizzed about her strength she believed the new the gel seat was the magical ingredient. Amazing what a bit of padding can do. Big thank you to John Baines and all his help as our trusty support crew. No wrong turns this year thanks to John pointing us all in the right direction as crucial times. Lots of lovely tan lines, mosquito bites and heat rashes mark our skin... gee we are really talking this up aren't we. Honestly, it's been an absolute hoot. Great times and lots of laughs. It's been a fun challenge with people constantly exceeding their own expectations and reaching new limits. Can't believe how quickly this has all gone. Tomorrow we all ride into the orphanage to lots of smiling faces. What a wonderful experience that will be.
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