Sunday, May 13, 2007
Monday, May 14th 2007 Byron Bay
A group of us met up in Brisbane, in Southbank, yesterday for the Mothers' day run. It was an 8km run (or 4km run or walk) and proceeds were collected for Breast Cancer Research. I was up at 4:45am (for a Sunday just a tad early) and Lisa picked me up at 5:20am or so. The drive to Brisbane takes about 2 hours. Plus or minus depending on the traffic but we knew there would be no traffic on a Sunday morning at that time. Rain started on the way but it was no more than a drizzle at the start. 6000 people had registered which made for an impressive field considering this is not something like an marathon or other organised race. I realised I hadn't run a race or a fun run since 1993 and it was a 5km back then. And considering my little break of running and the fact I haven't been running more than twice a week since about a week after the accident I wasn't planning on running fast.
I'd even said: "I'm just going to plod along and you guys will probably be having coffees by the time I'll get there." But some things never change and as soon as I started I kept pushing myself to run just as fast as I could. The last couple of kms seemed a bit long but other than that all went fine. I'm not sure of the exact time yet but I think it was about 40 minutes plus or minus a bit. Anyway we all had a great time and went for a cruisy breakfast and walk around the Southbank markets before driving back down to Byron.
A couple of us who ran yesterday showed up at Boot camp this morning with a bit of stiffness but the training (running and boxing this morning) was perfect to loosen up. I think a few of us are doing a 6km this Sunday in Lismore.
Otherwise all is going well. We've had a bit of rain lately but mostly at night with clear days. I'm practically back to 90% or more from the accident. The only thing remaining is stiffness in some of my calf muscles and tendons attached to the back of the knee. The bike is still not repaired but working fine in the meantime.
Bye for now
A group of us met up in Brisbane, in Southbank, yesterday for the Mothers' day run. It was an 8km run (or 4km run or walk) and proceeds were collected for Breast Cancer Research. I was up at 4:45am (for a Sunday just a tad early) and Lisa picked me up at 5:20am or so. The drive to Brisbane takes about 2 hours. Plus or minus depending on the traffic but we knew there would be no traffic on a Sunday morning at that time. Rain started on the way but it was no more than a drizzle at the start. 6000 people had registered which made for an impressive field considering this is not something like an marathon or other organised race. I realised I hadn't run a race or a fun run since 1993 and it was a 5km back then. And considering my little break of running and the fact I haven't been running more than twice a week since about a week after the accident I wasn't planning on running fast.
I'd even said: "I'm just going to plod along and you guys will probably be having coffees by the time I'll get there." But some things never change and as soon as I started I kept pushing myself to run just as fast as I could. The last couple of kms seemed a bit long but other than that all went fine. I'm not sure of the exact time yet but I think it was about 40 minutes plus or minus a bit. Anyway we all had a great time and went for a cruisy breakfast and walk around the Southbank markets before driving back down to Byron.
A couple of us who ran yesterday showed up at Boot camp this morning with a bit of stiffness but the training (running and boxing this morning) was perfect to loosen up. I think a few of us are doing a 6km this Sunday in Lismore.
Otherwise all is going well. We've had a bit of rain lately but mostly at night with clear days. I'm practically back to 90% or more from the accident. The only thing remaining is stiffness in some of my calf muscles and tendons attached to the back of the knee. The bike is still not repaired but working fine in the meantime.
Bye for now
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Sunday, April 29th 2007
Byron Bay
Sorry for the long absence but I don't always have fascinating stories to tell. I made the trip back to Byron easily and the weather has been great ever since. Easter is invariably dismal weather for reasons unknown to anyone. I did have a mishap on Monday morning. We had a great training session at Broken Head beach from 6 to 7am which was more a cardio session. I hopped on the bike and rode the two kms back home without wearing my pants (just in shorts) or jacket. In a roundabout I caught an oil patch with my rear tyre and lost control of it. I slid and hit the ground. I wasn't going fast. Lost a bit of skin around the knee area and pulled my calf muscles quite strongly. So I've been recovering from this all week.
However I've kept active and moving and this morning managed a run (normal run distance) at a slow steady pace so I'm amazed by my improvement. Which is good as I registered to do a Mothers' day run in Brisbane in two weeks to collect funds for Breast Cancer research. It's only 8 kms but until today I wasn't really sure how I'd feel. So it's all good. I'll probably skip Boot camp in the morning as I'm not quite up to sprinting yet but I'll train in the gym as I have this week. The bike doesn't look too bad but I'll put an insurance claim in as it's worth it.
On another note I didn't get the really interesting job in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics. It was right up my alley and my interests so I was sort of hoping it might come off but they chose another candidate for it. I had also been approched informally to go to France to help them plan the Rugby World Cup for a good part of this year but the Director who was interested has just resigned and his replacement is someone I've dealt with in the past and could not work with. So although he mentioned he'd be interested in having me on board from early June to end of the year, I've retracted my interest in the event. Just not my kind of work environment. So that's life. Things change and so do the opportunities in light of the changes.
In the meantime, all is good and I'm enjoying being here in Byron until I find out what I'm to do next.
Bye for now
Byron Bay
Sorry for the long absence but I don't always have fascinating stories to tell. I made the trip back to Byron easily and the weather has been great ever since. Easter is invariably dismal weather for reasons unknown to anyone. I did have a mishap on Monday morning. We had a great training session at Broken Head beach from 6 to 7am which was more a cardio session. I hopped on the bike and rode the two kms back home without wearing my pants (just in shorts) or jacket. In a roundabout I caught an oil patch with my rear tyre and lost control of it. I slid and hit the ground. I wasn't going fast. Lost a bit of skin around the knee area and pulled my calf muscles quite strongly. So I've been recovering from this all week.
However I've kept active and moving and this morning managed a run (normal run distance) at a slow steady pace so I'm amazed by my improvement. Which is good as I registered to do a Mothers' day run in Brisbane in two weeks to collect funds for Breast Cancer research. It's only 8 kms but until today I wasn't really sure how I'd feel. So it's all good. I'll probably skip Boot camp in the morning as I'm not quite up to sprinting yet but I'll train in the gym as I have this week. The bike doesn't look too bad but I'll put an insurance claim in as it's worth it.
On another note I didn't get the really interesting job in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics. It was right up my alley and my interests so I was sort of hoping it might come off but they chose another candidate for it. I had also been approched informally to go to France to help them plan the Rugby World Cup for a good part of this year but the Director who was interested has just resigned and his replacement is someone I've dealt with in the past and could not work with. So although he mentioned he'd be interested in having me on board from early June to end of the year, I've retracted my interest in the event. Just not my kind of work environment. So that's life. Things change and so do the opportunities in light of the changes.
In the meantime, all is good and I'm enjoying being here in Byron until I find out what I'm to do next.
Bye for now
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Thursday April 12th 2007 Byron BayThe map on the side is just to give you and idea of where Bundeena is in relation to Sydney. If you go to the lower right corner of the map right next to the Sydney's motorways square you will see just next to it a small peninsula with Cronulla written next to it. Well south from there accross the water is another peninsula where you can see an orange road. That's where Bundeena sits at the very tip and it's 30km of National Park to get there. Sydney is pretty much the centre of the map. Sydney CBD is below the water way. The waterway is connected to the north shore by the world famous Sydney Harbor Bridge and also the Sydney City Tunnel.
Had a wonderful time in Bundeena and soon Monday morning came and the time to leave. It was still raining that morning but I didn't leave Bundeena before 10:30am and escaped the rain that morning and indeed for the whole trip up. I met with my friend Deb on the north shore at Willoughgy for Coffee at about 11:45am. Left at 1pm to make my way north. It was of course a public holiday in Australia and the last day of the Easter Holidays so many drivers were making their way back into Sydney. But the way up was uncluttered and easy. You'd have to be crazy to leave Sydney for Easter. Everyone does it and so the roads are a mess if you are going that way. It's school holidays in New South Wales and Queensland for two weeks after Easter or until Monday of the week after next. So some people are still holidaying and by all accounts Australians are big travelers.
Stopped in Raymond Terrace for a bite to eat and a break and it was very obvious that most places were closed for the holidays. I made it up to Taree and past there. The clouds were threatening and I wondered for a moment whether the decision to press on was a sound one. But, I got wet pavement as testament of fresh rain but no rain. I decided to stay in Wauchope (pronounced Wor Hope) for the night electing to travel 10 km inland rather than go to Port Maquarie on the coast. I though
t Port would be more crowded for the holidays and it may be harder to find a place to stay. Got off the bike with 430 km behind me for the day.
t Port would be more crowded for the holidays and it may be harder to find a place to stay. Got off the bike with 430 km behind me for the day. Wauchope is a small place and indeed there was only one motel, expensive at that, so I'm not sure it was the right decision but so be it. I was happy to get off the bike and relax. The neighbors however had better plans and screamed and shouted and cried all night so my sleep was interrupted to say the least. Was back on the bike at 8:30am and the rest of the day was rain free(after raining that morning before I left). Stopped in Kempsey for breakfast, made it to Grafton for lunch and into Byron by 3:30pm.
I stayed with the owner of the unit in their house above for the night. Moved back in yesterday between boot camp, gym, going to Lismore for a service on the bike, food shopping, emailing, banking, post office, combat class and catching up with a friend for a drink last night. Phew...
Bye for now
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Sunday, April 8th 2007 Bundeena
Happy Easter...
I left Byron Bay on the mighty Suzuki XF650 on Wedsnesday shortly after twelve. The first 2 hours were a bit annoying as it rained every 20-50km and I had to constantly stop and put the wet weather gear on, then stop a bit later and take it off. It was steamy in the sun when it wasn't raining so it really wasn't comfortable to keep the wet weather gear on.
But by the time I reached Grafton, despite a few clouds in the sky, the rest of my journey was completely rain free. Stopped around 3:30pm in Coff's Harbour for fuel, and a bite to eat. Was back on the road at 4pm. I stopped at 5:30pm in Kempsey just to put my light fleece on and the inner lining in my jacket to keep the wind out. The sun was coming down and it was getting cooler. I was on the road until I stopped just after 7pm in Taree. Found a cheap motel and settled for the night after covering 460km plus that afternoon. I expected the hardest part was over which were the roads before Kempsey where speed limits were often 80kph and road single lanes in some areas. After Kempsey some speed limits crept up to 110kph making the distance far easier to cover.
Left Taree Thursday morning at 7:30am on a glorious sunny and cool morning towards Newcastle. The roads were completely bare which was great. No traffic at all. I stopped for breakfast in Raymond's Terrace (name of a town) at 9:15am and got back on the road at 10am. Got into Sydney at 11:45am and crossed the city via Homebush Bay in the west which is where Olympic Park is to completely avoid central Sydney. Rode in the Royal National Park and into Bundeena early afternoon arriving at about 1:30pm or so.
I was very lucky with the weather because Friday and Saturday saw rain bucket down at regular intervals. Today is still cloudy by moments but mostly sunny and beautiful. I'm sure the weather will be fine for my ride back up starting tomorrow.
Has been great catching up with Brett. We did a two hour walk in the National Parks along the beautiful cliffs of Bundeena on Friday. Yesterday, I took the ferry accross to Cronulla to have lunch with Simon and Jo and a beautiful restaurant on the water. Then caught up with my other friend Joanne in the afternoon in Cronulla before taking the ferry back to Bundeena and having diner and watching a DVD with Brett, Phil (friend and neighbor) and Chris (Phil's son).
Today Brett and I started the day in the National Park doing some boxing training together. We are planning to go paddling on the water this afternoon for a couple of hours. I've caught up with other friends on the phone and will catch up with Deb tomorrow on my way up to leave.
It's beeen lovely to come down to Sydney for Easter. I hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend.
Happy Easter...
I left Byron Bay on the mighty Suzuki XF650 on Wedsnesday shortly after twelve. The first 2 hours were a bit annoying as it rained every 20-50km and I had to constantly stop and put the wet weather gear on, then stop a bit later and take it off. It was steamy in the sun when it wasn't raining so it really wasn't comfortable to keep the wet weather gear on.
But by the time I reached Grafton, despite a few clouds in the sky, the rest of my journey was completely rain free. Stopped around 3:30pm in Coff's Harbour for fuel, and a bite to eat. Was back on the road at 4pm. I stopped at 5:30pm in Kempsey just to put my light fleece on and the inner lining in my jacket to keep the wind out. The sun was coming down and it was getting cooler. I was on the road until I stopped just after 7pm in Taree. Found a cheap motel and settled for the night after covering 460km plus that afternoon. I expected the hardest part was over which were the roads before Kempsey where speed limits were often 80kph and road single lanes in some areas. After Kempsey some speed limits crept up to 110kph making the distance far easier to cover.
Left Taree Thursday morning at 7:30am on a glorious sunny and cool morning towards Newcastle. The roads were completely bare which was great. No traffic at all. I stopped for breakfast in Raymond's Terrace (name of a town) at 9:15am and got back on the road at 10am. Got into Sydney at 11:45am and crossed the city via Homebush Bay in the west which is where Olympic Park is to completely avoid central Sydney. Rode in the Royal National Park and into Bundeena early afternoon arriving at about 1:30pm or so.
I was very lucky with the weather because Friday and Saturday saw rain bucket down at regular intervals. Today is still cloudy by moments but mostly sunny and beautiful. I'm sure the weather will be fine for my ride back up starting tomorrow.
Has been great catching up with Brett. We did a two hour walk in the National Parks along the beautiful cliffs of Bundeena on Friday. Yesterday, I took the ferry accross to Cronulla to have lunch with Simon and Jo and a beautiful restaurant on the water. Then caught up with my other friend Joanne in the afternoon in Cronulla before taking the ferry back to Bundeena and having diner and watching a DVD with Brett, Phil (friend and neighbor) and Chris (Phil's son).
Today Brett and I started the day in the National Park doing some boxing training together. We are planning to go paddling on the water this afternoon for a couple of hours. I've caught up with other friends on the phone and will catch up with Deb tomorrow on my way up to leave.
It's beeen lovely to come down to Sydney for Easter. I hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Sunday April 1st 2007Just in case anyone is still reading...
Planning to ride my motorcycle to Bundeena just south of Sydney (see pictures of the Royal National Park; To get to Bundeena one but travel 30 km into the Royal National Park). These are the cliffs where my friend Brett and his wife Michele got married two years ago.
Otherwise despite saying I'd never do it I signed up for another month o
f bootcamp. It's been fun and because we lost daylight saving will be training in relative light for the next month. By then I should be able to decide whether I'm leaving the area for another city in Australia.
f bootcamp. It's been fun and because we lost daylight saving will be training in relative light for the next month. By then I should be able to decide whether I'm leaving the area for another city in Australia. Otherwise nothing much to report. I'm sure the ride will be a nice one. Everyone tells me so and I've decided it would be time I did a longer trip on my own. I often think of my bike as a mode of transport and rarely do any pleasure rides. I mean when you have to ride it everyday, who wants to go for a long ride on a Sunday.
I'll be back in Byron on Tuesday evening on the 10th.
Have a great Easter...
love
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Friday, March 23rd 2007
Oh my...I've been back four weeks exactly today. Even a month because Feb only had 28 days. Time flies doesn't it? Easter was stressing me out a bit. I have to move out for that time. I had hoped I'd know more about my situation by now and could at least move into something less expensive but so be it. I'm considering riding my motorcycle down to Sydney to catch up with my long time friend Brett and my other friends who will be home during the Easter break. It's a long way and I've not ridden to Sydney yet. It's about 850km each way. Maybe a bit more.
I plan to do it in two days. Leave Wednesday the 4th after 12 and do about 4 or so hours that day. And do the rest the next day. Leaving Wednesday before the easter break may mean that the roads might not be cluttered with people and also that I might find a place to stay that night on the way. I plan to stay in Sydney until Monday the 9th and leave that day to make the two day journey back to Byron. Byron becomes tourist town at Easter. The massively popular Blues and Roots Festival starts on Thursday and the five day festival attracts people from everywhere. Byron has very little accommodation as it is and most people camp at very high prices at that time. Something ridiculous like $550 for the 4-5 nights of camping just so they can attend the Festival. And that's if you are lucky enough to get a camping spot. Most people who have have the same spot every year and reserve it for the next one. And a camp spot is exactly what it means...just a square spot to pitch a tent next to hoards of other similar spots. Waiting lists are long. Traffic is obviously mad at the time as there isn't even one street light in the area.
After Easter...tourist time is over pretty much for the year. Appart from the school holiday weeks when New South Wales holiday makers come up or the Queensland ones come down. The school holidays are different in every state and the four terms of school per year are all separated by two weeks holiday. But anyway, local people here feel that they get their town back after Easter.
More on this as we go.
Bye for now and have a lovely weekend.
Oh my...I've been back four weeks exactly today. Even a month because Feb only had 28 days. Time flies doesn't it? Easter was stressing me out a bit. I have to move out for that time. I had hoped I'd know more about my situation by now and could at least move into something less expensive but so be it. I'm considering riding my motorcycle down to Sydney to catch up with my long time friend Brett and my other friends who will be home during the Easter break. It's a long way and I've not ridden to Sydney yet. It's about 850km each way. Maybe a bit more.
I plan to do it in two days. Leave Wednesday the 4th after 12 and do about 4 or so hours that day. And do the rest the next day. Leaving Wednesday before the easter break may mean that the roads might not be cluttered with people and also that I might find a place to stay that night on the way. I plan to stay in Sydney until Monday the 9th and leave that day to make the two day journey back to Byron. Byron becomes tourist town at Easter. The massively popular Blues and Roots Festival starts on Thursday and the five day festival attracts people from everywhere. Byron has very little accommodation as it is and most people camp at very high prices at that time. Something ridiculous like $550 for the 4-5 nights of camping just so they can attend the Festival. And that's if you are lucky enough to get a camping spot. Most people who have have the same spot every year and reserve it for the next one. And a camp spot is exactly what it means...just a square spot to pitch a tent next to hoards of other similar spots. Waiting lists are long. Traffic is obviously mad at the time as there isn't even one street light in the area.
After Easter...tourist time is over pretty much for the year. Appart from the school holiday weeks when New South Wales holiday makers come up or the Queensland ones come down. The school holidays are different in every state and the four terms of school per year are all separated by two weeks holiday. But anyway, local people here feel that they get their town back after Easter.
More on this as we go.
Bye for now and have a lovely weekend.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Tuesday, March 20th 2007I wake up usually to the sounds of Rosellas chirping in the majestic Gum tree in the garden. Australians commonly refer to Eucalyptus trees (of which there are many varieties) as Gum trees. They are usually big trees (depending how old the tree is) with a whitish trunk which sometimes looks green in the rain. The bark strips off the tree is big chunks leaving the wood exposed.
Anyway, last week Nancy and Robert told me that the neighbors were going to take their big Gum tree down to subdivide the lot to build three townhouses. Since then I've been looking at the beautiful tree they were refering to and noticing that usually about 50 Rosellas are in it chirping away and it seems to be their home. So sad to think it will have to be taken down.
Otherwise all is good. It was raining Monday morning at 5am when I rose to prepare for Bootcamp. I knew we were supposed to meet at the Quarry and had heard it was always the worse possible training location. Also that if it rained it was horrible. The sand and soil turn into clay making it virtually impossible to run. Lisa was outside in the rain to redirect us to King's Beach instead claiming it was so dark that it would possibly be dangerous to train at the quarry. So we trained in the rain but on the beach. It was a hard training and she was sure to ask me today if I was feeling my legs. And I did feel my legs today. David the owner of the gym came to talk to me today. Saying that he noticed I was training hard and seem to have good technique and just wanted to know if I enjoyed training there and what I wanted to acchieve. They really are a lovely group of people at that gym.
Easter is getting closer. I need to either move or move out for a week of my accommodation for that period which makes me wonder if I won't go down to Sydney to see some friends during that period.
Nothing more exciting to report at present.
