Sunday, August 16, 2009

Charlie Gets Mobile

Not content with being shown up by the Old Man, Charlie headed off to Anaconda and bought a new Fluid Richochet bike, complete with hydration pack and all the mod cons.



So today we were off on our first ride together ... the Bridge to Bridge loop which is about 11 kilometres in total. A great day for a ride and plenty of eye exercises along the way. Charlie didn't have to walk up any of the steep hills like I did (there are only a couple of short ones) but I'm keeping him away from Mitchell's Pass for a while yet.

The Nepean Bridge to Bridge route as per our Qstarz Data Logger...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Justice for King Kyle!

 


Only the Aussies will appreciate the irony here.

While cleaning out the bird cage I grabbed a sheet of newspaper, and without looking at it, laid it on the floor of the cage. I normally use sand but didn't have any handy. However as I laid out the page the article struck me as very appropriate. King Kyle, that overpaid, arrogant and talentless moron, will be the recipient of my Cockateil's little deposits for the next few weeks.

Very fitting I reckon!
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Getting more adventurous

 


I've missed a couple of days due to wet weather so this morning I reckoned I needed to make up for it. This is despite my stress test on Monday which I handled a lot easier, due no doubt to the riding last week.

Anyway today I ventured out and skipped the coffee at the Chatterbox and headed for the M4 bridge and rode down the eastern side of the river and via Victoria Bridge back home. I've never been along the pathways on the eastern side of the Nepean but there is a walking/cycling track from the M4 bridge down almost to the Log Cabin. Some nice scenery too, and not just the young ladies on their morning walk!

I came back via Zokoko where I had a sensational coffee, chatted to the ladies, and grabbed a couple of packs of fresh roasted beans.

Total today almost 12 kilometres and the old hip feeling the workout. Tomorrow I'll take the camera.
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Sunday, August 09, 2009

Only the Good Die Young

 


Just a couple of weeks after I caught up with my old school mate Garth Robinson, I received a call out of the blue from another old chum, Chris Pettit. I'd seen Chris at a Pittwater High School reunion about 6 years ago so it was nice to hear from him.

But Chris told me that another of our old mates, Geoff Sheehan, had succumbed to skin cancer just a few months ago. This was a great shock as Geoff had been a great friend and although we'd not touched base for about 12 months I had no idea he had passed on. We would catch up every year or so and Geoff was always caught up in some high profile venture, the last being involved with the Packers in Vanuatu online gambling.

Geoff was a real character and his claim to fame was when he was a fighter pilot in the RAAF at Williamtown, he was on a low-level sortie along the coast down to Nowra in a Maachi jet. Of course his track took him past our old hometown of Newport so, as he flew past at about 200 feet he decided to buzz the guys at the Newport Arms. He did this not once but a couple of times and he did the same thing the next day.

The RAAF were not amused so he was given the option, fly a desk for a couple of years or resign. Geoff being Geoff decided to pursue another career so it was with sadness that he clipped his own wings.

By the way, as Chris tells the story, Geoff had a skin discolouration which, like most blokes, he didn't get checked out. When it was finally diagnosed as cancerous he lived just 2 weeks. There's a warning there.
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A Nice Day for a Ride

 


Well I've been up and riding every morning this week and managing longer distances each day. The City to Surf was held this morning so I decided to do my bit and attemp a longer ride today. I took the data logger which maps the route and even has the speed and altitude although I can safely say I didn't reach Flight Levels on this ride... maybe next week.

The old hip knows it is getting a work-out but it feels a lot better during the day and I'm hopeful my 6-monthly stress test tomorrow will be easier. Each 6 months for the last 7 years I've declared that I will exercise before the next one so it won't be so tiring but I never do it. So tomorrow will be interesting.
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Monday, August 03, 2009

What's Next? Lycra!

 


Ok... so I haven't ridden a bike for almost 15 years, I haven't worn sneakers for at least 5 years and I need a hip replacement (and a few other replacements!) ... but ... at 58 I am determined to get fit enough to be able to stay out of the NSW Hospital system for a few more years and to be able to bounce my grand-children on my knee some day. So this is my new bike (thanks to the encouragement of Tip) and I'm off on my first ride down to get the mail.

Liz is sceptical of course but she's dreading the time that I might drag on a new set of lycras. Stay tuned.

In the meantime I'm gonna try and get Ben and Roy into the saddle!

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