When you set out and its only 7 degrees you know its going to be a cold NSW day ( again). We left Armidale with a mission to get to Walcha for a morning tea stop (more on that later)

The quicker and further we got in our first run the easier or less hellish the day would be. The wind was icy and strong – difficult but not as hectic as yesterday.

First stop – morning tea at Walcha.

Now I’m sometimes asked what IS IT with riders and their coffee? Why are some set on their skinny lattes while others firmly on a flat white. To answer that - think about a fine tuned sports car or off-road special vehicle – if its set for diesel or unleaded then you had to fill it up correctly or you could be in serious trouble…

So with that in mind we had a hectic and demanding morning tea stop in Walcha waiting for various types of fuel to be correctly delivered.

No time for frappacino’s though mate - time to push on to Nowendoc.

The boys kept together nicely – lots of us were tired but moved through slowly and steadily, helping a brother out if he fell off the pace.

Second stop - Lunch was provided by the lovely ladies at the Nowendoc motel. Where the boys were able to stop have lunch and refuel for the next 90 kilometres…psyching themselves up while we polished off the egg and lettuce sandwiches.

A lot further on , and after some hard climbing (about 160 kilometres in) we were rewarded with one of the craziest descents I’ve done in a while – the watch recording a max speed of 97 kph. Rockin.

At the same time the peleton was joined by a local lad Joe, who had teamed up with his mates from school to raise funds to support the Starlight Foundation. We met some of the local kids and received a generous donation on behalf of Starlight. Great effort Gloucester!!

Time to rest up enjoy the last night of the tour and prepare for day 7 …the final day!

Final Day: Gloucester, Stroud, Newcastle!

Ross