Scarred

It has been suggested in some places that I am too cynical for someone of my age (28). Sadly, there are one or two other things that are happening too quickly for my liking too. A couple of weeks ago I pointed out that I was showing the first signs of skin cancer. Well, at the time I went off to see the doctor (who I'm going to start calling Frank, as in Zappa) and got the sunspot zapped. Most of it cleared up, but some remained, so I went and had the treatment again on Saturday. Now it appears to be gone completely, but it left a decent sized red mark on my face as a reminder.
I'm now beginning to suspect that this red mark isn't going to go away. I've seen people who have spent too much time in the sun when they were younger, and if it's a reliable indication, my face is going to look worse than a teenager with chronic acne by the time I'm 40. I guess that's the price I have to pay for my otherwise wonderful lifestyle. Perhaps it's not so bad though, I've never exactly been a big hit with the ladies, so it's not as though it's going to drive anyone away.
Still, it would have been nice had it waited for another eleven days -- as in after I go and see Sarah Blasko.

Windows Around the World

Something's Afoot...

Something's afoot... and... I've known about it for a week at least...
See... these things have shown up and blown up... day by day.
I feel left out...Note from Sammie's mom: Hubbie and I are about to celebrate our 4oth anniversary and we are going to Alaska for a couple of weeks. Sammie has a fabu nanny coming to care for her and guess what? There will be a mystery guest poster for Sammie in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned! Harroooooooooo! You will be able to keep up with her antics and quirks, so check in once in a while!Hugs and Licks from me, Sammie xo

Signs of Change

Leaves reminding us of North America's steady march towards winter.

Post from beyond the grave

As if I wasn't already making things hard enough for myself. Today I decided to ride a century in which all of the major climbs were on dirt roads. If that wasn't bad enough, the anticipated tail wind at the end didn't materialise because it swung around to the North halfway through, meaning that I had to finish into the wind, a problem if you've ridden the first half of the ride into it as well. It actually got quite nasty late on, I think next time I'll just turn around and go with the flow. If I end up in Hobart I might be able to escape this damn heat! Even the water in my bottles was hot.
October grey:

The initial part of the ride into the southerly wind early had actually been quite pleasant. The early cloud cover seemed to keep the temperature down as I wound into the hills backing the Tweed Coast, culminating in a crossing the Burringbar Range on the dirt Cudgera Creek Road. This is a very beautiful ride.

After this I wanted some more riding before heading home, so I continued south, eventually to Billinudgel, then across to Mt Jerusalem -- another tough climb on dirt roads.


I also had to play with the water a little carefully, as I wanted to make it to Uki without running out. I just about did it, refilled, and took on another two litres of water there.
It was a pleasant ride back through Murwillumbah, Urliup and so on...

... until I reached the coast, where the wind was a blisteringly hot north-westerly that I now had to ride into. All in all I estimate that around 75% of the ride was into the wind, and the water I had left was getting hot. It can be tough riding into a hot headwind, especially alongside the South Pacific which was by now looking very inviting.

Shortly after returning home, I tried to move a chair in my apartment and could barely pick the thing up. I'm not going to bother trying to take a pulse because I don't have one. That said, I still found enough to accelerate and overtake a car that was annoying me in Burleigh Heads (I love my temper), and I did attack the wind in the last couple of km just to make a statement. After a cold shower at home I was feeling a little better, so I can only surmise that the heat got to me once again. Someday I'll have to get used to that.
Incredibly, I only recorded a maximum temperature of 31 C today (incredible because it felt a lot hotter than that out there). Still, it's another 191km on the board, and the 24th imperial century of the year. Looks like I'm back on course to reach 30, if I can just learn to deal with the heat!
For the moment, however, I have to be content with posting from beyond the grave.

Forecast for The Gales: chance of fun 100%

The Gales Storm Gathering is less than one week away. The roster of coaching talent is impressive:Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme are returning, and are joined this year byNick Cunliffe,Chris Lockyer, and a host of top Great Lakes coaches.

Keith Wikle, one of the organizers of The Gales, surfing last weekend.

This year's featured guests are wind and waves. To maximize the chances of their attending, The Gales is scheduled in October and located this year at Naturally Superior Adventures at the mouth of the Michipicoten River in Wawa, Ontario.

Alec prepares to carve on a wave.

The Gales is a rare intermediate symposium, designed to give students instruction and experience in "conditions." This means surfing, rock gardening, rough-water rescues, leadership and incident management, as well as paddling long boats in current and working on navigation by day and by night.

Scott Fairty tries to break out through Great Lakes surf in a whitewater boat.

It's not too late to register for this year's Gales. And if you happen to see wind and waves, tell them they're expected!

Heading out in search of another ride back to shore.

Trumpets of Color

Trumpets of Color, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The 'Grandpa Ott' morning glories are going through a second bloom period. There were over 50 flowers on the plants today!
The 'Heavenly Blue' vines are not blooming much yet, but there are a lot of flower buds...