Distance today = 55.90 km; Total distance = 25,300.84 km; Location = Nagambie – 36 49.721’ S, 145 08.525′ E; Start time = 0803, Finish time = 1652

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/363980956

I had lots of company today. Soon after starting, I was joined by Darren, who was at the Asia Pacific Digital function on Wednesday night. He used the tracker to find me at the MCG on Thursday, during the Channel 7 interview. He also used the tracker to find me this morning, and ran 16.5 km with Dave and me.

Carmel, Jeff, and Guen then turned up, finding us on a very quiet back road. Carmel had bought the three of us a chunky steak pie each – the perfect food for the road. Darren finished at that point, and Carmel took him back to his car, while Jeff and Guen went ahead to find accommodation for tonight.

Soon after, Davey Drew turned up with his daughter, Mel. He’d also found us via the tracker. It’s certainly proving its worth at the moment.

Dave finished up after 22 km, taking him to an aggregate of 152 km. The rest of my day was then spent on quiet roads, through ever flatter countryside.

I ended at Nagambie, which I last visited in 2002 on the Tour de Bois. On that occasion, we rode in from the west. Reefton Humblewood tried to break away as the finish line neared, and was the first to sprint. I responded, and had just drawn level with Reefton with about 50 metres remaining, happy to ensure he didn’t get the victory. And then, out of the blue, Klitty came flying by on my right, claiming his first victory on the tour. Poor old Reefton was also passed by Dave, Robbo, and Kenny, and again failed to reach the podium.

The unassuming Klitty, never one to talk about himself, had failed to inform us of his glorious past as a former national junior cycling champion. He was even offered a place on a European team in the 70s, but declined because he didn’t think he was good enough. A successful cyclist needs a balance between ability and self-belief, and the self-deprecating Klitty was lacking in the latter. In contrast, there’s Reefton Humblewood – big on self-belief and short on ability. In fact, Reefton still holds the world record for the largest recorded discrepancy between perceived and actual ability.

Anyhow, it was great to once again see the place where Klitty got his first Tour de Bois stage win. What might he have been, had he believed a little more in himself?