Many will be aware of my connections and love for the north east of Victoria. Mum and dad live there for starters; I spend many weeks in Porepunkah through the year and I love to say I have a lot of mates in Bright (and I actually do). I learned to hanglide in 1988 with the late and great Steve Ruffells and have spent hours observing the detail of that beautiful country from 10,000 feet. Of course, I now spend a large proportion of my time cycling on the many roads and trails and I drink lots of beer at the Bright Brewery (which is owned by a mate!). One of my favourite things to do on earth is to finish a big mountain bike ride with a pint of Alpine Ale on the Brewery deck.
So I have many reasons to be passionate about the Bright Brewery Alfred 6 Hour Mountain Bike Race which is on next weekend (22 September 2018 – Get your entries in now and raise money for the Alfred… or jump on the site and just donate!).
But there is a much more significant reason for me to be passionate about this race which exists to support the Alfred Hospital Trauma Centre.
On 29 January 1995 Karen and I were involved in this collision 8km south of Yea on the Melba Highway.
Karen was driving the VL Commodore with my hanglider on the roof; the other (offending!) driver was in the Torana. I was in a separate car, witnessed the whole thing and upon running to our Commodore after the crash, I was sure Karen was dead when I saw her unconscious with a smashed face and what looked like a massive hole in the head. Not good memories.
Note our number plate on his number plate! That’s HEAD-ON!
Thus began Karen’s initial visit to the Alfred Trauma Centre followed by two months of surgery and treatment as an inpatient at hospital. Both of us are eternally grateful for the excellent treatment she received there from ambos, doctors and nurses (especially ambos Rossco). Karen still occasionally suffers from little niggles from that event, although some may now be confused with… um… older age (shhhhhh!). Whichever way you look at it, such experiences are life-changing to say the least, and the people and equipment at the Alfred Trauma Centre and hospital definitely minimised the more negative parts of that lasting impact.
Therefore, my passion for Ross’s little race, The Bright Brewery Alfred 6 Hour, is significantly higher than for most mountain bike races I compete in. All proceeds go to The Alfred Trauma Centre and therefore to the lasting effect that unit has on around 65,000 lives per year.
P.S. Ross Walker is the organiser of this race and the local ambo boss (and he’s a mate!). If you ride mountain bikes in Bright, you might need him one day… so bring on your support. 😉
P.S.S. Some might say (refer photos below) that I am motivated by other reasons to support this race. Well… yes… I guess so. You never know when you might need Rossco, his ambo mates and the Alfred Trauma Centre. So enter now!
Dieselread 