9th November 2009
Well, tomorrow, its back to work.
I’ve enjoyed the one week break away from work I had. Doing a bit of bike riding here and there, a bit of pottering around the house, catching up with the many emails which come flooding in each week on various topics I subscribe, doing some changes to my websites, and watching on my computer, when the weather was not so pleasant to be outdoors, as it was in the last few days, some Indian made music DVDs I bought a few weeks ago when I last visited my favourite shops in Homebush West, Sydney’s inner west.
But, I am quite glad to be going back to work. To be helping people, not nearly fortunate as we are, and in their particular struggles with mental illness, is a very purposeful and worthwhile thing to do, my thoughts at least.
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6th November 2009
‘The 2009 MS Sydney to the Gong Bike Ride’
Well, we made it!
Nonni, my daughter, did the entire Multiple Sclerosis ‘Sydney to the Gong’* 90klm fundraising bicycle ride with the Headspace team, and I did the (somewhat more abbreviated) Engadine to Wollongong 58klm leg. We met up together, not far from Engadine, in the Royal National Park.
Nonni with most the Headspace team arrived at the finishing line in Wollongong just after 1pm, and I arrived, having stopped off along the way to have a fried chips with salt and vinegar lunch (yum, yum!), an hour and fifteen minutes later.
I seemed to the only entrant in the event with a bicycle carrying four fully packed panniers. Everyone else either had no panniers, or just one with a light load, or just a small backpack. I looked more than quite out of place, I must admit!
Nons was quite amazing. Not only had she not had opportunity for practice in the weeks before the event (pretty much zero opportunity in fact), but, very late the evening, before, she found that her back tyre had a tube valve problem!
She, her Headspace team mates and I spent some time together at the end of the ride. They then returned to Sydney, and I continued further south, to where my sister and her husband live, in the Mt Mount Warrigal area, near Shellharbour. There I stayed overnight- before, the next morning, going off south to Nowra.
Some very majorly stunning scenery (not to mention, some majorly very big hills as well!) along the way, and I wish now that I’d remembered to take my digital camera. Sunday, did 82klms distance; and, Monday, did 80 klms. My original intent was to keep going further south. Though, with the weather a bit wet, and the forecast for it to be similarly so in the next few days, and very humid as well, decided to return back home by train, take a day or two off, and then, maybe Wednesday, or Thursday, head north, instead.
My bike, a 27 speed Gitane Mach 3200 road bike bought in 2008 for around $700, designed in France, made in China, and with added heavy duty tyres and tubes, etc, did reasonably fine. Surprisingly enough, despite the major amount of broken glass on the side of the road, and the rough road conditions, especially on the last leg of the trip, between Gerrigong and Nowra, via Shoalhaven Heads, not once did I have a puncture.
In future, however, if I were to do such a similar trip again, and along that same route, much of it rough, corrugated and uneven bitumen, and narrow as well, I think I’d go for a bike with a somewhat more comfier seat, and with a bit more front and rear suspension! Whilst the Gitane, bought at the excellent Civic Bikes shop in Newcastle West, which I’ll likely sell or trade in soon, is more than an excellent, fast, and wonderfully handling road bike, it does have some limitations when it comes to very rough roads!
well wishes from me,
Kaete:-)
* PS. Its not too late to donate! My fundraising site is at: http://register.gongride.org.au/?kaete
Nonni’s is at: http://register.gongride.org.au/?Nonni
