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Speaker 1: There is a wonderful event coming up. Cycling enthusiasts young

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Speaker 1: and old are ramping up their preparations for the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty three edition of the Sunbuilt Top End Grand Fondo,

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Speaker 1: and we know that there's a range of different categories

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Speaker 1: that people can take part in. And joining me in

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Speaker 1: the studio to tell me more about the event or

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Speaker 1: Cycling State Operations Manager Steve Gazola, Good morning, Steve.

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Speaker 2: Hello, how are you king good? How are you yeah? Good? Thanks?

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Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: Mate the Grand Fondo. For those out there listening who

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Speaker 1: aren't cyclists, what is that.

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Speaker 2: It's a long event, that's what it pretty much stands for.

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Speaker 2: It's the biggest ride in the Northern Territory. So it's

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Speaker 2: back again for twenty twenty three, second of July and

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Speaker 2: it's a great event. Families, everyone can be involved. We're

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Speaker 2: looking at a free event, so for families, it's on

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Speaker 2: closed roads, it's traffic free, it's between it's on it's

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Speaker 2: between the car park of the waterfront and their open cinema.

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Speaker 2: So you're looking at at a round circuit of a

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Speaker 2: kilometer and mums and dad can bring their children down

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Speaker 2: do the circuit and you know, be a part of it.

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Speaker 1: Is this year the first year that you've had the

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Speaker 1: kids event as part of it as well or the

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Speaker 1: family event?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we've had family events before, but it was on

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Speaker 2: open roads. So the big thing this this fondo is

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Speaker 2: we're trying to make it safe, so we've got closed

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Speaker 2: roads where you know, and it's free as well, which

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Speaker 2: we've never had before. So a great opportunity for families

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Speaker 2: to get on board. Google top end Grand Fondo and yeah,

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Speaker 2: be a part of it.

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Speaker 1: You'll be able to find all the info on there.

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Speaker 1: What are the different categories though, because you know, we're

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Speaker 1: talking about the fun little kids, you know, the kids

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Speaker 1: and family event there with these much longer events, isn't this.

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Speaker 2: Is much longer events? The furthest is one forty five,

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Speaker 2: so one hundred and forty five kilometers cyclopants on.

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Speaker 1: If you're writing that, yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you've got to be training up for that one. No.

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Speaker 2: One just sort of enters that one on the floor,

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Speaker 2: so one hundred and forty five, one hundred and ten,

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Speaker 2: and then it goes all the way down to twenty two,

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Speaker 2: so you're twenty two kilometers. I mean, it's not too far.

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Speaker 2: You probably want to be on your bike more than

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Speaker 2: just once of the year, but twenty two kilometers is

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Speaker 2: pretty much reachable for most people.

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Speaker 1: So for the really long event, where does it happen?

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Speaker 2: It goes around lots of places.

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Speaker 1: Like right around Darwotto. Yeah, yeah, go.

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Speaker 2: Online to have a look at the whole the whole track,

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Speaker 2: but you're looking at the wildlife park and yeah, some

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Speaker 2: of the main highways as well.

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Speaker 1: And how many people do you usually have, like how

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Speaker 1: many are they generally in the in the longest race.

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Speaker 2: Look, we're aiming for about one hundred to two hundred

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Speaker 2: riders in the longest race overall, about five hundred to

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Speaker 2: seven hundred people. We do expect a lot of interstatus

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Speaker 2: as well to attend the online event and also people

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Speaker 2: we've had people from other countries as well do our

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Speaker 2: online events. So it's a virtual fondo. So you follow

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Speaker 2: the exact same route as what you would on the

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Speaker 2: one forty five and yeah, again, go to our website

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Speaker 2: and you'll be able to you'll be able to have

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Speaker 2: a look at that one.

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Speaker 1: Got a good idea so that then you know, if

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Speaker 1: people aren't able to come here to Darwin to do it,

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Speaker 1: they can still actually have a crack somewhere else.

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Speaker 2: They can take in the sites and sound, they can't

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Speaker 2: take on our great weather.

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Speaker 1: But well that's right, it will be good weather too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so it's a beautiful It's going to be a

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Speaker 2: beautiful dry seas and sunshine, so you might as well

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Speaker 2: challenge yourself. Ye, get on your bike. We do have

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Speaker 2: road restrictions around all our roads, so that's another big one.

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Speaker 2: They won't be closed roads, but unfortunately so there will

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Speaker 2: be speed restrictions the whole way, which is a real

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Speaker 2: good thing for us.

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Speaker 1: Steve, where can people register because I'm sure there's lots

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Speaker 1: of cycling enthusiasts, so maybe you know some that aren't

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Speaker 1: just enthusiastic like me, who'd be more prepared to do

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Speaker 1: twenty two case.

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Speaker 2: Yep, So all the w's top end, grand Fondo, dot com,

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Speaker 2: dot au, pretty simple one.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, good stuff. It's always a wonderful event, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: Like you get plenty of people there, and I reckon

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Speaker 1: that inclusion of the kids event or the family event.

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Speaker 1: It's all on the closed roads and make a huge difference.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, we want to make it more of a festival

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Speaker 2: or family type atmosphere where everyone can come down there'll

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Speaker 2: be food trucks, there'll be coffees, you know, and we'll

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Speaker 2: do a little bit of a finish our presentation and

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Speaker 2: all that sort of stuff. So the first two hundred

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Speaker 2: entrance to that free ride also gets a grand fondo

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Speaker 2: bad and drink bottle take home, So it's a little

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Speaker 2: bit of a momentum momento, yeah, memento for them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, good stuff so on. So basically they'll all

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Speaker 1: be finishing up though as well at the Waterfront will

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Speaker 1: day on July two.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Waterfront July two, where I said between it's Forts

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Speaker 2: Hill Parks the one. So yeah, we'll we'll be right

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Speaker 2: on the water there. The sun will be shining, shining,

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Speaker 2: will have plenty of shade, yeah, and all those other

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Speaker 2: things that come with it.

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Speaker 1: Wait, how long does it take someone to write one

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Speaker 1: hundred and forty five kilometers anytimes?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it depends how good they are a couple of

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Speaker 2: hours it usually takes.

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Speaker 1: It depends how fast you are.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it depends how fast you're going, and the red

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Speaker 2: lights and all the other stuff that comes into it.

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Speaker 2: But you know, we'll have eight stops at different locations

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Speaker 2: throughout the track, so yeah, it'll be a good time.

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Speaker 1: Oh good stuff. Now where can people go if they

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Speaker 1: are keen to register? Give us that website again.

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Speaker 2: Yep, so all the w's top endgrand Fondo dot com

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Speaker 2: dot au and all the information will be there.

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Speaker 1: Wonderful stuff. Well, Steve Gazola. Great to catch up with

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Speaker 1: you this morning. I was cycling NT State Operations manager

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Speaker 1: all the very best. We might have to catch up

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Speaker 1: with you again neither. We'll just before the event tape

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Speaker 1: find out how it's all tracking.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, sounds good.

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Speaker 1: Lots of organization for you guys.

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Speaker 2: It's going to be busy. It's busy. It's busy.

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Speaker 1: Good on you, Steve, Thank you you