Strange Notations From a Laborious Life

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

I am in a bit of a frazzle today which tells me in no uncertain terms that I am a little tired. I have been working fairly hard-standing all week and straining to get all I need to complete at work done on time and I have been out on my bike this week as well for the first time in a long while. A bit of an easier morning is called for I think and that is exactly what I have done. Not much!

 I wanted to write and a few subjects flitted through my head and flew out of my ears and nothing really stuck. Thus, it has reached 10.30am and I have done nothing but procrastinate all morning. Sometimes it is nice just to do nothing.

 As I said earlier, I have been out on my bike this week-three times in fact and I am glad to report that although I am most certainly unfit I am not as unhealthy as I thought I might be and the few short rides I have done have been quite enjoyable. But I am not pushing too hard.

 I started on Sunday. There was a mass-participation ride around Lake Burley Griffen for Soldier On-the charity for wounded servicemen. Most would know it from Prince Harry’s patronage and it is a good cause. I am going to New Zealand to do some hiking in March so I need to get fit and riding is really the only way I know how to do it. So, I thought the Ride2Remember, as they called it would be a good kick-start to my fitness campaign.

 As most who read my blog would know, I am an old racing cyclist with ingrained “old school” ideas so I can get a little precious about the way I think cycling should be done and a mass-participation ride is usually not my cup of tea. As I stood on the grass by RG Menzies lane, right on the eastern tip of Lake Burley Griffen, watching cyclists of all shapes and sizes, ages and experience dawdle toward the start, it did cross my mind that this may not have been the greatest idea I ever had.

 The phrase “Butcher’s Picnic”, a derogatory term racing cyclists use when describing an event where many inexperienced competitors participate and cause mass carnage, crossed my mind as I contemplated thirty kilometres on congested Canberra cycle paths in close proximity of many who don’t have a lot of experience riding in closely packed formations.

 I managed to tack onto the back of the first wave of 50 or so cyclists and it soon appeared that there were many who were not happy to be “pack-filler” and have an enjoyable ride around the lake free of the fear of crashing or causing harm to others.  A surge came quickly from the rear. Another group of fifty who had started behind me had quickly caught up and one of the local cycling squads began picking their way through the field as if they were leading Mark Cavendish through the Tour de France peloton  in the last 10 kilometres of a hectic stage. Weaving in and out of the crush, avoiding those meandering along in the opposite direction who were merely hoping to take a stroll around the lake without any distraction and who suddenly had to endure the unfortunate situation of having 500 cyclists charging at them.

These type of cyclists are a menace on such a ride and I wonder why they don’t go out training instead and use their energy and enthusiasm in a more appropriate manner.

 Many more types made their move around me and I held my position, not wanting to get caught up in the throng, staying upright with the rubber on the bitumen being my priority. Being passed by mountain bikers isn’t particularly pleasurable for someone who prides himself on his racing pedigree but I was in no condition to react and I had a sneaking suspicion that many of these early flyers would come back to the field as we switched direction through the Jerrabomberra Wetlands and began the ride into a strong westerly wind.

 It was a little hair raising riding through the new establishments of the Kingston foreshore, turning left and right through the maze of concrete which it has now become, hoping that the marshalls on the corners would do their job properly and manage to stop any car which may wish to get past the mass of riders invading their space.

 Soon we were through and it was again a job avoiding joggers and pram-wheeling mothers along the lake-front and parliament house corridor but gaps were opening and as I plunged past Weston Park and headed toward Government House I found myself on my own, the stronger riders having gone on ahead and the lesser lights being distanced.

 I hadn’t had a big breakfast and I was starting to feel the strain as I rode over Scrivener Dam but it was a tailwind from there to the finish at the War Memorial and I manged to make it without too many more difficulties.

 I have continued my fitness regime this week getting out on the bike on a couple more days although a feeling of lethargy has caused me to stay away from the lycra for today.

 You may be wondering how my “photo of the day” links to my blog post. It is a picture of Linda and I in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand in 2007. It is taken on the spot where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed and as I am trying to get fit for my next New Zealand adventure in March I thought I would add it for your pleasure today.

 Please note that a poll has been added to the blog. It is not an in-depth research tool, just an effort to get some readers involved so please vote if you feel the urge to do so.

I will leave you today with another image from the Bay of Islands taken on the same day as the previous photo. It is a lovely shot of a very attractive part of the world. I hope you enjoy it.

 Have a nice day.