This article is courtesty of www.dailypeloton.com.

The complete series of Race Around Australia articles featuring Perry Stone can be found on our SpokePost.com's News and Articles page.

Queensland, Australia, January 9, 2003 - Perry Stone phoned at 6 pm on the 8th from Booyal. Nearly twelve hours later, he called again. The strange thing was, it was only 50 km down the road from the previous call. What happened? The end is nearly in sight. What could possibly slow him down?

"Complete mental meltdown" was how he described it. Similar to what he experienced at the end of "lap 2," there were severe hallucinations that hampered the ride.

About 150 kilometers from the finish line, all was too easy, the only thing left to contend with was the monotony of the last 5 or 6 hours of riding. It really seemed to be an eternal quest. It was the first time in the entire effort I was bored, my mind idled inviting trouble. The demons wasted no time. Numbers became jumbled, nothing made sense. I had 150 kms to go, I pedal 30 and find I still have 150 to go. Was Australia growing? Was my crew tricking me? Hallucinating in dramatic fashion now I begin to and continue to pullover, time and time again. Each time for reasons I can’t understand or for the most part even begin to explain to my patient crew. When nightfall sets in I cannot distinguish what lane oncoming traffic is in or what lane I was supposed to be in. The distinction between the left and right sides of the road blur. Mark and Christy work very closely with me trying to insure my safety. I was coherent enough to understand their directives. I knew it had to be frustrating for them as they ached to finish as well. I felt I was letting them down. In those three hours we covered just 30 kilometers. Did I still have 150 to go? I was terrified, so close, so terribly far. - from Perry’s site, Bikestories.com.

This time, however, there is no crew to take care of him, or to watch over him. It’s just Perry and the bike.

If you are interested in being at the finish, you can contact Russell Tucker at Tucker’s Cycle Inn in Rockhampton, Queensland for information.

Please take a moment to check out Perry's personal site at Bikestories.com. He has pictures from previous Races Around Australia and rides, plus some fantastic stories.

Perry is riding this race in dedication to those who were affected by the terrorist bombing in Bali. "Bali crushed me. When there are people in the world that target a bunch of women and blokes just out for a beer and a good time, something has to be done. The first thing we need to do is to heal wounds, and that costs money and more. The Red Cross is accepting and managing donations for the support of the injured, their families, the fallen and their remaining loved ones. If everyone just donated the price of a drink, it would go a very long way to helping these people adjust." The Red Cross is accepting donations via the web. You can access their site by clicking here.

The complete series of Race Around Australia articles featuring Perry Stone can be found on our SpokePost.com's News and Articles page.

More information is available at the Daily Peloton, and at Perry's web site Bikestories.com.