G-n-L Ganesh and Lauren

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Mini-Adventure 6 Recap: Kathmandu Maximum Adventure

Saturday, 14 November 2009

Outdoor sports and activities that get me out into the bush are a welcome change from city life so I signed team 'genloz' up for our first adventure series race through Kathmandu Maximum Adventure. The race essentially consists of 28 markers, in this case spread out through Lysterfield Park which you use different means - mountain biking, kayaking, running (or a short swim in once case!) to navigate to.

As it was our first race we weren't trying to come first, just not last! But we were off to a shakey start 5 mins in when, having reached the lake for the initial kayak G decided to change clothes... We waited patiently while all the other kayaks moved off the shore and as we pushed our kayak into the water absolutely last. Fortunately this was short lived. By the start of the first run we'd caught up to larger group at the back and were back in shape!

Our adventure series buddies were Caitlin and Lucy - we seemed to be keeping pace and they were always smiling no matter how hot it got. Both on a gap year over from the US they seemed to be making the most of their time in Australia and certainly looked very athletic and prepared for adventure. All 4 of us found the first stretch of mountain biking the most challenging - though Ganesh was loving it by the end! Mountain biking on small narrow paths through beautiful green bush is amazing fun. What's not fun is the tree crossings. I don't think it had anything to do with my bike and everything to do with me but on the whole day I think I only managed 5 successful log jumps - every other time I just fell off the bike! It's harder than it looks... Because I was looking at my pedals in that first stretch rather than at the road we overshot the elusive marker no. 9... Whoops!

There were a few quite serious looking injuries people had sustained on the course - gravel burns from coming off the mountain bikes - but I was so impressed that people continued on through the entire course anyway... obviously a tough and determined group.

The final kayak was quite tiring but I'm proud to say we finished the 35km course by lunch time, a little tired but very proud!

Labels: bike, mini-adventure

Mini-Adventure 5 Recap: Around the Bay in a Day

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Riding Around the Bay in a Day is actually one of the achievements I'm more proud of this year... Of course we only went 100kms but we did go riding each weekend beforehand to slowly build up a level of fitness that would get us up the hills in Mt Martha! Not only did we build up a good level of 'bike fitness', but we also learnt useful tricks like how to remove bike pedals... the type of alan keys required to turn handle bars parallel to the frame... and the best place to park in the city at 4am on a Sunday morning!

We were off to an early start, and there was a long queue of riders waiting to pack bikes onto trucks and load into the buses to head down to Sorrento... The atmosphere was great though, everyone helping each other to prepare bikes for the trip. 15000 riders participated - that's a logistical nightmare in a city with only 4 24-hour car parks! We arrived a little late in Sorrento, and sadly missed the 8am grand start but we made good time over the first 20km to Dromana for a quick bite of breakkie and some water. The second leg to Frankston was the longest and included all of the hills but we were still hyped on race day excitement so we pressed on after a quick orange stop.

I have to say the 70km point was the worst... My bottom started to hurt... I began to feel my muscles and my wrists were feeling the pressure of the tight grip over the bumps in the road... But a short stop for lunch completely revived us and the last leg of the journey began... We'd done this part of the ride before so it was a smooth run into the city, though it slowed near south melbourne as we began to run into multiple traffic lights and cars. We completed the ride at around 2pm, approximately 5 hours after we'd started... and though tired, I was entirely proud and excited to try for the full distance in 2010!

Labels: around the bay in a day, bike, mini-adventure

Yaaaaaawwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn

Thursday, 1 October 2009

I would have to say the most unexpected side effect of trying to lead a better life is exhaustion! I've been crashing around 11pm-12pm and flirting with the idea of a sick day every single morning at 6am just for a few more hours of peaceful slumber! I'm sure I didn't always need so much sleep... what happened to all nighters spent coding for my old workplace?

So how has it all been going? Well Sunday was off to a good start with an 84.6km bike ride on the brand new Merida (picture here!). It really is a dream to ride, I feel like I'm floating along an ideal theoretical frictionless surface... The exercise bike has been getting a workout, but not every single day... Last night I got home from a friend's at 11pm and just fell asleep after the normal household duties, so I'm glad I held off on the gym membership! I did cook up the vat of veggie soup and have been diligently eating it for lunch in the lunch room every single day... combined with lots of fruit and cups of tea it's getting me through 'til dinner when I'm either out (mum's, grace's, ikea etc) or I end up having a mug of hot chocolate and a couple of oranges. This entire process has had absolutely no beneficial effect on my weight whatsoever... Disappointing! In fact, I appear to have gained a kilo, but that may be due to digestive troubles.

The projects for the house have definitely made progress... I have most of the materials and just need to polish off the painting before saturday morning... I've even managed to obtain some of the missing '100 best books' from the library to add to my list... I'm still pretty behind for the web work I need to do though... Will keep an eye on that as it should be finished asap...

Just wish there were more waking hours in the day!

Labels: bike, merida

Geocaching

Saturday, 5 September 2009

It's quite possible that I've been extremely slow to jump on board with geocaching (everyone seems to know about it!), but I've only just discovered it! Geocaching is a a worldwide treasure hunt of sorts. Best done with a GPS, but it's certainly not required, people have hidden 'geocaches' all over the world - there are 50 or so in my local council area alone... and I was surprised to find some in Nepal, Iraq and Afghanistan as well!

You can access the coordinates via the website, www.geocaching.com, and take a look on google maps to get a rough idea of where you'll be heading. Decrypt the clues (or in some cases solve puzzles!) to get more details.

Ganesh, Grace and I headed to the 'Merri Creek by the Freeway' cache today... it was actually well hidden, spray painted black, under a pile of rocks at the base of a tree in the middle of a bush - but in a completely public area. It had been placed in 2005 and the log book was full of geocachers who had visited and swapped items in the box or just found it and put it back. It was quite a fun adventure because we discovered the Pipeworks Trash & Treasure market - also well worth a visit!

Labels: bike, geocaching

Wet and Windy Westgate...

Monday, 13 July 2009

What windy weather it's been this weekend! Not the best day for a 60km bike ride meandering underneath the Westgate bridge and through port melbourne, but I would do it again any day! The ride was with the Darebin bicycle users group and included a 92 year old man who managed to outride me! I can only hope to be half as fit as he is if I reach that age!

Apart from that things have just been extremely hectic - as always. Lots of website work, real work, preparing for the trip and getting over the flu that's going around... Grace and I did manage to build a bokashi compost bin out of second hand materials which was a lot of fun! And we've just returned from an outing to see rove filmed live in the studios - a slightly bizarre experience, but impressive how sharp the presenters are - they never miss a beat, or a line and there's no second takes - very smooth! I can barely get out a normal sentence without making a mistake, much less a funny one!

Anyway, I thought I'd post a quick update here after failing to post for such a long time... Hopefully the next post will include some of Ganesh's beautiful photos with the new camera he bought to photograph the eclipse!

Labels: bike, compost, rove

Mini-Adventure 3 Recap: Artists Trail

Sunday, 31 May 2009

Sometimes there's nothing more satisfying than an adventure in your own back yard... Today, with good friend Grace and Ganesh, we set out along the Heidelberg School Artists Trail on bikes... It just so happens that the famous 'Heidelberg School of Art' is just down the road (well I should say over a very large hill) and the trail featured the works of Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts amongst other artists I studied in school! The art school was really significant because it was the first school to paint the Australian landscape as it is, dry and red, rather than trying to fit it into an english mold...

We also rode through the heide museum of modern art and the giant sculpture garden which included some hilarious dogs barking furiously at tin cows, and a discovery by Ganesh of the same wild berries he used to eat when he was a school truant exploring the jungle! (They were a bit tasteless, but the rich red colour was impressive and you couldn't help but be charmed by his enthusiasm)... I was amazed to see a hidden agricultural paradise just behind the mansions in heidelberg... It was like riding through the english countryside - horses galloping in paddocks... farmers with hay... quaint clusters of houses on hills looking over the yarra and the floodplains... and to top it all off Grace surprised me with a beautiful handmade calendar of her exquisite photographs from Europe... Wow! I'm so impressed by people who can take beautiful photographs. I don't think I'll ever have the patience to master the art!

For more info on the artists trail checkout the official website.

Apart from that it's been a busy weekend... Angels & Demons at the movies... The big fence and gate build and painting... Scavenging for pallets (free recycled timber!)... A couple of website catastrophes... and catching up with work! Looking forward to next (long!) weekend to really get something done!

Labels: art, bike, mini-adventure

The Cycling Chronicles III

Thursday, 30 April 2009

As a bike rider, I've been privy to the angry vents of other bike riders swiped at by cars, clipped, yelled at and generally mistreated by cars on the road... I've noticed that in everyone of these stories the rider is furious with the driver of the car and all stories end with either expletives or some form of threatened physical abuse towards the driver.

I think today confirmed that I am not an angry person by nature. I was riding along my merry way, passing a side street from which a car was waiting to turn into the main road I was on. I was sure that the driver and I made eye contact. I clearly had right of way... but somehow the driver missed me, or blanked out and drove straight into me as I was riding past. For the first split second I was extremely worried as the car didn't seem to stop even after the initial impact... but as I fell off the bike and onto the bitumen the car stopped and the moment passed. I didn't get up instantly... I was quite shocked to be honest! And grateful that I wasn't particularly injured (apart from my foot)... As I collected myself the window rolled down... "Are you ok?" asked the driver blankly? She was an odd looking woman... She seemed not quite there... And her son? next to her had the same slow, vacant way about him. "Umm... yes I think so" I said. She nodded and off they drove.

It wasn't until I picked myself up, and took a look at my bike that I realised my foot was very sore and bleeding, that I was shaking slightly... and that the front wheel of the bike had completely buckled and was essentially a write-off. I waited for the wave of anger to come... but it never arrived. Despite the fact I am now bikeless... and have a very sore foot... I can't help but feel sorry for the haunted looking pair who left me on the street.

Labels: bike, cycling chronicles

The Cycling Chronicles II

Monday, 6 April 2009

My bike ride to work consists of a 4x15 minute sections, and a series of moments... Time passes more quickly this way I find... There are 3 major moments in the first 15 minute section...
bike red light

The first moment is the first red light... Will I make it... Won't I... I usually creep through the red as the street isn't busy in the morning. The aim is not to stop.

The second moment involves a crossing lady. When I first started riding she used to smile at me. One day I saw a mum with her cute little daughter get off the bus about 15m from the crossing and cross the road right there. The crossing lady shook her head in disappointment and disbelief. Orange Bike Crossing

Then one day I went through the red light on the crossing. No one was crossing. The crossing was empty... and the point of riding a bike is that you get the benefits of being both a pedestrian and a car! Ever since then the crossing lady has been giving me the evil eye. No matter how much I smile or say hi, she glares or avoids me... In her eyes I'm as bad as the 'bad mother'...

The third moment is the bus chase... The bus driver and I vie for first position along the main road... He takes over on the hills... I catch up when he stops. The aim is to be in front at the first section of the road where there's no bike path. If I'm in front he has to wait behind me as there's no room to overtake. If he's in front, that's the last I see of the morning bus!

I suppose these could be the reasons drivers hate bike riders - but it is lots of fun!

Labels: bike, cycling chronicles, moments

The cycling chronicles

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

Sometimes I live a little inside my head... Like when I ride to work I imagine that I'm effortlessly gliding through pristine wilderness on a vintage bicycle feeling refreshed, alive, and stylishly at peace with the world... Like the girl to the left... In reality of course I'm a heaving, bright red, mass of exhaustion, clambering down the road blindly at a snails pace. Occasionally cars stop and look sympathetically at me like I have some sort of terminal illness and someone once even offered me a lift - not my finest moment. To try and take my mind of this reality I devised a game to play on the roads.

It's very simple. The rules are as follows:

For a person I overtake that:
is much smaller than me/disabled: 1 point
is wearing jeans/heavy gear: 2 points
is bigger than me: 3 points
is wearing lycra bike gear: 4 points

For every person who overtakes me that:
is much smaller than me/disabled: -3 point
is wearing jeans/heavy gear: -2 points
is bigger than me: -1 points
is wearing lycra bike gear: -0 points
(and yes, I have been overtaken by a man with no legs, but he did have an exceptional 4 wheeled device and very muscly arms)...

Despite it being my invention and weighted in my favour, I'm still losing... but it's inspiring me to try and go that little bit faster... :-) Hmm... I probably shouldn't have written all that... Please dismiss as a brief interlude of insanity!

Labels: bike, cycling chronicles, game