Its not over until the fat lady sings......

A night in our own beds.....a wonderful thing, although Jo probably wondered if she would have been better off on a church floor.....everywhere we have been for the last 16 days at least had toilet paper....not so the case at Carolyn's house (which had been left in a rush 3 and a half weeks earlier with not even a tissue in sight). But all became well when PJ made an emergency drop of toilet paper.....Thank God for a support team!!

Jo, PJ and I picked up Genevieve and headed over to Oakwood Park in Dandenong to start our last leg of the ride....the weather didn't look too promising as we headed down the Eastlink...but everything brightened up when we arrived at the starting point and cars started rolling up with bicycles attached and many girls decked out in matching lycra bearing the Star of the Sea School insignia emerged. The Star of the Sea is a wonderful school who has a long history of supporting the anti-trafficking cause and was also helping us with a volunteer corps of girls at the Concert.

After a few photos with the students and a few individuals who had come to support us on the last leg and Chris Hanson who was resplendant in the lycra of Stratton Finance (who helped sponsor some of the ride) - we were off. It felt quite different this time ..... firstly we we were on a bike track and secondly this was such familiar ground.... having ridden it frequently over the months leading up to the ride. I did allow myself a bit of inner pride when we came to a hill on the side streets near Jells Park. During the months of training, this hill although very short is a bit of a killer and had often made me think that if I found this dfficult, what was I thinking trying to ride from Sydney to Melbourne and always required me to make 2 stops before I reached the end. I had often contemplated on the hill section of the Tour, whether that little horrible hill would still be a problem on the last day.....and it wasn't (Thank God!) ...... I was also very impressed with those students who bravely kept peddling with me and gained the benefit of a five minute rest while we waited for everyone to catch up....

As we weaved our way along the side streets and tracks towards the city, there was also some extra pleasures along the route that made the last day special. Firstly, it was the fun of chatting with the students who stuck with me (we had to break into several groups after one student had a mechanical problem) - I still don't know who was in that group with me (except Kai with the very squeaky breaks), but the girl who cycled on my back wheel had a good sense of humour and it was great to hear some of the comments, groans and tunnel cheers of the whole lead group. Thanks for the company Girls!! The second thing that made a big difference was that along with the marshalls that had been organised for the various spots where the trail crossed roads (Thanks Simon, Kaye, Pam, Merv and Graeme for organising), there was also little gatherings of supporters from Doncaster Church of Christ who clapped and cheered us on our way.....the girls probably thought that this had happened for the whole 16 days....but I knew better - apart from the encouragement of the support team (considerable) at pit stops and magpies hitting me in the head along the way (not so encouraging)  ......life during the tour hadn't been played out to cheering crowds (as some would have you believe!), so to see familiar faces encouraging us on was very special.

We picked up a few people at each pre-arranged meeting point along the route.....although, it actually turned out to be tricky to work out who was actually waiting to join us and who were just saturday cyclists taking a rest (and who did not appreciate being marshalled into our pack and issued with instructions for the next leg).....definitely need clearer ways to identify participants next year other than people with a bike loitering at a park!!!

Then the lead group finally saw the familiar faces of the support crew, PJ and Jo - joined by other familiar faces (for Carolyn at any rate) Peter Falconer and Pam Joseph.....all awaiting our arrival under Princess Bridge as promised. It all had a professional air to it as people were carrying walkie talkies, video cameras and we were issued with our last instructions for our entry into Queensbridge Square. From there we were ushered professionally by a group of volunteers from NMIT and Star of the Sea along Southbank and into a cheer at Queensbridge Square......it was done!!!!

To be honest the rest of the afternoon was a bit of a blur for me......consisting of a lot of hugs and congratulations from people.....an extraordinary interest in the state of my behind (which as I keep pointing out is the line in the sand of privacy)......listening to some great music as a backdrop to many conversations with those that had supported the Tour from Melbourne and wanted to hear more.......and catching up with many friends (special thanks to Jane, Chris, James and Sarah, who came all the way in when James has been pretty sick and should have been sitting inside next to a heater), who had braved the cold, windy Melbourne day (but thankfully dry) to come and join their voices against slavery.

Some things did stand out.....finally being able to introduce PJ and Jo to a queen of accommodation (and encouragement) - Denise. We had often talked about her on the road....and over time she had become almost a myth-like person who had secured accommodation where no one else had been able ....and with actual beds to boot...we had suspected at times that Denise had given us a bigger profile than we deserved (judging from some of the comments of those hosting us) but we tried not to disappoint....and we certainly gave thanks as we snuggled into those beds that had been generously provided to strangers. Thanks Denise!

Despite my dazed and probably "its finished High", I was also able to appreciate how smoothly and successfully the afternoon went......and I must take some time to say a huge thank you to Liz Falconer (a good friend of many years) who coordinated the whole event, filled in the innumerable forms that seem to be required with anything like this and talked the talk of project management with the Melbourne City Council who permitted us to have the event in such a great venue (Thanks Adrian)..... and carried off  the whole event with her usual aplomb (as I knew she would) and also to Geoff Knight who very, very early in the peace generously offered his time, equipment and expertise to run all the tech aspects of the concert...we certainly couldn't have done it without you, but more than that I was touched by your support.

Special mention also to Tim who MC'd with his usual flair, Chris and Ben who looked after all the organisation of the musical aspects (as well as composing and recording our Freedom Song) and Mel who publicised the event so well. Thanks Guys (and girl)...There was a lot of good feedback on the great range and quality of the music played - thanks to all the bands and the "Men in Suits" Choir. It was also great to see our supporting organisations - ACRATH, Etiko, Stop The Traffik, World Vision, Salvation Army with their stalls and Jennie and her volunteers on the kids activities table. Things went smoothly although there was a collision between two young girls while flying kites made at the children's area which ended with a sore tummy for one and a blood nose for the other......the St. Johns Ambulance Team was quickly on the spot and all was ok.....Thanks to Tim and Dom for their paramedical presence over the event. And as always, Jo was manning (personning) the banner/t-shirts/CD table as she has done everywhere for the past 16 days.....huge thanks to Jo who came all the way from England to help out and has done such a superb job on the support crew and sorry it didn't work out in Sale.........

It was a wonderful way to end what for me has been a great Tour......despite some extreme weather conditions along the road everyone arrived back in Melbourne safely and between our presentations, numerous newspaper articles and radio programs and WIN regional news....I think we have not done badly our first year with raising awareness of human trafficking (and hopefully linking people up with ongoing campaigns to put an end to it).....yes, I did say first year.....we have learned so much, that we have already talked a lot on the road about how we can improve things for next year (for starters it definitely needs to be at a warmer time of year!!). So keep your eyes out for how to get involved then.

This Tour has meant a great deal to me - like all journeys it has had multiple layers of purpose and meaning. It has allowed me to speak out about an issue that has troubled me for a long time.....and it has also been a totally humbling experience to see how many people have been willing to put themselves out to help see it to its fruition. I don't particularly like being in any spotlight (despite the jokes to the contrary) but I am very happy it has served a purpose to raise the issue of human trafficking to more people. I know that it has taken a lot of people to pull this Tour and Concert off and to you all, I doff my cycle helmet.....

And so as my blog title would suggest....someone foolishly allowed me a microphone to sing the Freedom Song along with the band for the last time of Tour 2010.....it was a moment of pure indulgence (Thanks Ben)....but the crowds had thinned to the hard core friends and family by then (maybe others had heard what was coming??), who had heard me many times before.....Fittingly I shared the mic with PJ, who apart from actually having considerable musical talent, the height to reach the mic, and a volume that happily overshadowed mine....was also the person without whom I wouldn't have been able to do this Tour. I had no idea when I proposed this adventure if I would be able to ride to Melbourne and at the same time talk each day about a topic as emotionally charged as human trafficking but when PJ said he would drive the support vehicle, I knew all would be ok..... implicit trust is a rare thing for me.....but in PJ it is well placed......Thanks Mate.

And so we sang.....and so it is over......we have been grateful for many things on this tour - health, safety, new friends, many opportunities to raise awareness about human trafficking.....the Tour has done its job....Thank God......but the bigger task is still there... 27 million people are still enslaved.....so we will be back - in the meantime please keep up the fight.....

(PS - more photos will be put on the blog over the next week....so keep looking.......especially if you want to see the Fat Lady sing.....although I have in fact lost a few kilos despite the many generous souls who kept feeding me so well over the past 16 days) ......Cheers Carolyn.

0 kms to go.....