Anzac Day road trip

A five day weekend is such a good idea I think we should do it more often. I love to be home, no place I would rather be. I have done some good rides, had a fabulous dinner with friends. I have cleaned and baked and done a lot of gardening. So yesterday when I friend put up some images on facebook of a near by goldrush town I have never visited I said to Boab, lets go.No mobile coverage in Ravenswood, but it does have Streetview, which is why I was excited to go!
The most classic outback architecture, got to love the full tin house.
There were chimneys everywhere, sole survivors of mills long gone.
And the architecture of the gold rush era! Devine! Nothing but decline has happened since it seems, even though there are active gold mines still. It seems those who still live in the community are pretty switched on though, and there was lots to see.

Sadly closed when we were there.
School of the Arts building, still the cultural hub of the community. I would go there for a play or concert just for the ambiance.
On the way home there was wildlife. Few fences, and the grass is sweetest on the road verge.

Goats! I absolutely adore goats!!

When we got home we did chores, because that is what people of a certain vintage do to fill their days. Some people cycle more than us, but they don't have a huge house of a quarter acre of jungle. We finally got a skip in so we could get rid of the dead, giant CRT. Not a small job.

We put it in the wheelbarrow, and BoaB rigged a rope that let me lower it as he eased it down the stairs. It all went well (a palm tree was lightly bruised) but I wished we had a Bluenoser in attendance, as I felt a bit inadequate.

Anyway, we got the beast down the stairs without strain or injury. I asked the dog to take photos but he fell asleep. The old TV is now in a huge skip with a lot of vegetation, the matching stand, and a sigh of relief. Still some weeding and mulching to go, but tomorrow is another holiday, so no pressure. A ride in the morning and a day of gardening - bliss!

getting back up to speed

I had a good week, but it was harder than it used to be and I am very tired. Hopefully practice will make perfect and I'll get my groove back.

Having said that, I had a fantastic slow ride with a friend on Saturday where we chatted and reveled in a perfect morning. How lucky are we to be so fit and strong that we can do a ride that would scare some people and it is just nothing to us, just a doodle. Life is pretty sweet.

something to blog about

Today at 3:30 ish in the afternoon we had an earthquake. I was sitting on the front deck just cracking a cycling magazine. We had a plumber installing fascia along one side of the house. He was making that hammer sound of putting in screws and the house started to shake. BoaB was in the

front yard and I hollered out (I am a loud person) what is Graeme doing?? He is making the house shake! So BoaB yells at Graeme, who stops and the house shakes more. Then the bushes in the yard start shaking and we know we are having an earthquake!

It was very strange to experience an earthquake in your own home. It lasted for a very long minute or so and I wondered about damage, and should I get off the deck. Our old dog was wondering what was happening, so I stayed with him and then it was over. Very strange though, and I have some research to do on the frequency of earthquakes here and what is going on re:crustal boundaries. I thought we were deep on a plate, not a boundary. Very interesting.

Just as I was relaxing because cyclone season is over.

you beauty

I had a good day. Left home at 6:20 or so, which is a bit of a sleep in for the weekend. Rode to the V8 track for a criterion on the most beautiful fall morning. Fresh and clear, with dawn breaking as I rode the bikeway to the V8 track. You can tell it is fall because the air smells sweet. The puddles are drying up now that the rain has eased. A few days of dry and wind and the season has changed.

There was a big roll up for the race by our standards, over 40, with 12 in D grade. C and D started one minute apart, and raced 'together'. You can imagine my surprise when they called roll and I was placed in C grade! I contested the placing and was moved bace to D, where I OWN last place. We took off with the usual scatter that is the mark of a race where it is every man (or woman) for themselves. There is no plan, nobody (to my knowledge) builds an alliance before the race. We take off, and sort ourselves out on the fly. D grade is for individuals.

The guys were full of beans and took off at a fast pace from the start. I was still deciding if I was feeling well enough to race (is that Up'n Go going to make me throw up) as they steamed away, so I settled in to the usual ITT. A couple of laps in and I see a friend ahead, a newbie to racing, so I catch her and we start working together. This is a new experience for me, so I am happy for a chance to share the effort and try a team approach.

It was a magnificent morning. There was almost no wind, it was the easiest race on the track I have ever done. Nice as it was to share the effort, I kept thinking how nice it would have been on all the windy rides! We did well for a couple of old gals, one newby and one slowy.

I don't know why Simone is purple. I am number 00 because of the grade mix up. I am not fast, but then I have been sick, and I am old.... whatever, it was great fun and I had a blast.

I rode home on protesting legs, ate a quick breaky, did some shopping, got the veggie patches sorted (tropical fall is like spring back home) and puttered in the garden all afternoon. Such a wonderful, relaxing weekend.

Now I am going to pull a very rare late night and watch Paris Roubaix. I am excited. I hope tomorrow isn't too complicated at work. I had a guy contact me about a mapping issue on Thursday. It is complicated! Last night I dreamed about Cartesian coordinates all night, and I cycled in a strange 3D funk during the race. I guess I am a Cartographer, it isn't something you just turn off a 5pm. Looking forward to a long thinking ride to the dam in the morning.

Oh behave!

I have tried very hard to be good this week. Last week I was quite ill so I took a day off the bike and then soldiered on. Saturday I lead out the coffee ride and inflicted some discomfort on the guys. Ha!

Wrong answer. This Sunday I was coshed up the side of the head (and several other places) and Monday I stayed in bed. Tuesday I couldn't get a doctors appointment so I rode to work and sweated it out. Wednesday the weather turned and it is cool, dry and perfect, and I have gritted my teeth and just commuted to work. It is killing me!

I have strategies for good behaviour.

1) Wear normal clothes. Groover would have liked my retro-ish fixie outfits of slim shorts (Zoic) and singlets, but you sure don't want to do 30+ kms in them.

2) Just water in the bidon. If you go too far you will suffer later

3) Second cup of coffee in the morning. Those of us who are the 'world's greatest employees' can't stand being late, so leave no time for a long ride.

4) Pay attention to the body. If you are sweating, you can tell if it is a good sweat or a bad one.

5) Listen to the legs. If they are sandbagging a slow commute, you are not well, don't push it.

So I have an op day tomorrow, and I will do a long gentle ride. Really. I won't bust a gut. I am much better and I want a longish ride. I'll behave.

I inhaled

I am like the Rainman, I need consistency on my rides. But today I made a brave pact that I would take a new road up a hill because of construction. It was similar, but different. I had to navigate narrow sidewalks, and a standing start from a muddy driveway to a hill. It is steeper than the usual, and I swallowed my fear and bullied myself into knowing that I could do this, it is the same old hill but the topography is a bit different.

It was mentally hard, but my body thought it was easy. I need to conquer more small hills. I want to climb with confidence, and not fail. I am happy I started a new thing today.