Weather makes charity ride hard

THE repulsive odour of decaying kangaroos assaulted her nostrils; her thighs burnt and the bitterly cold wind cut through her riding gear, chilling her to the bone.

But Tracey Warry enjoyed the 75km bicycle ride from Biloela to Dululu on Saturday so much she is already counting down the days until next year.

"It was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again."

Tracey participated in the fundraising bike ride which was run in conjunction with the annual Lindsay Wust Memorial motorbike ride between the two towns.

Tracey and 15 other cyclists pedalled out of Biloela at 8.15am and stopped at Jambin for morning tea before hitting the road for Dululu.

"When travelling along the road in the car there are a lot of things you don't notice that stand out when you are on a bike," she said.

"The hills are one thing - there are several big hills and the one just after Alma Creek... my thighs felt like they were on fire.

"The smells are something else that you notice, particularly dead animals and cattle trucks when they pass.

"You're supposed to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth and a couple of times when we rode past a dead kangaroo or a dead snake I wanted to gag."

Tracey said she was quite proud of her achievement in riding the 75km.

"It is the first time I have ridden further than 30km and my legs were pretty sore.

"At one point I started getting cramps, so I got off the bike, walked around for a bit, stretched the legs and ate a few lollies and a fruit bar.

"But I was determined to go the whole distance.

"When it started getting tough I just thought of my kids and the beer I could have when I reached Dululu."

The beer was ready and waiting for her when she rolled into town and it tasted delicious apart from being "freezing cold".

After having lunch at Dululu, Tracey and the other cyclists jumped on the bus and headed back to Biloela.

"I have to confess I was the first one in the bus to fall asleep on the way home - I was buggered."

But after a long hot shower at home and several hours sleep, Tracey said she felt okay.

"I have been training for eight months, so the body was pretty used to riding.

"There were four flat tyres on the trip, but thankfully mine wasn't one of them."

Having conquered the 30km and 75km distances, Tracey is now eyeing off a longer ride.

"My next goal will be to finish a 90km ride."