A Few Rides To Keep Sane

I've been on the bike a few times this week while at uni, certainly not because I have time, but to put all lectures, learning, assignments and work behind me for a short while and let myself be free from thoughts.  Tuesday was late by the time lectures finished, but I didn't care - I was brain dead, mentally exhausted, cranky, sick of people and just wanted to get away. 

Once I got on the bike I didn't want to stop.  It was dark in the single track and hard to see, but I didn't care - I kept riding cause I was enjoying it so much.  By the time I rolled back into uni it watch pitch black, having done the last section of climbing from the lake back up the hill in the dimmest of light.

It was a bit dark in the Oak forest, but this was only the beginning of my ride

Thursday was much the same - only one day to go of my subject lectures (and 4 weeks of assignments), but I was out of there by 4:30pm and free on the bike.  I went exploring seeing as I had some extra daylight - found this great view, some really fun fast, rocky fire trail, a couple of girls from uni out walking, and a really nice trail bike rider named Gavin who also has a Cannondale and rides the trails around Creswick. 

After my chats I decided to do another loop of the fun stuff, then climb back from the lake to uni feeling much refreshed and ready for another 5 hours of assignment study.

 

A Quick Update From Creswick

Well, I'm back once again at Creswick for uni.  Thanks to my super mum for living at my house for 2 weeks and looking after the babies while I'm at uni.  

My final subject - YAY!!  And of course, in true Dr Kevin Tolhurst form, it is nothing but intense.  But I guess we got to burn stuff today, so that's always fun.  A humorous thing happened during our burning experiments - the DSE group had a doozy of a burn going (as one would expect) which ended up in a firebrand being caught in a convection current, rising 4 feet above the fire and gently heading our direction, where it fell slowly into our already extinguished burn experiment !!  A perfectly executed example of a backburn performing its role in a bushfire.  A good laugh was had by all.  

I've only had 2 opportunities for rides - one by myself on Monday morning before my first lecture, and one this afternoon with Shauna.  And although the weather has been less than desirable, the sun came out for most of our ride this afternoon - just in time to get a piccy of Shauna in the sun after the final climb (and she certainly does look happy to have that climb behind her, after tackling a quad injury that was screaming at her the entire climb).  I had no excuse for going slow - just unfit and fat.  

I felt relaxed and content after the ride - not because it tired me out, but being out on the bike is such a pleasure and puts me in such a good, healthy space.  After dinner at pub, this enabled me to do a few good hours tonight of my previous subject's final assignment.  

I'm hanging out for 5 weeks time - all assignments finalised, only a year long project to complete at work - when I can ride all I want and get back into racing again.  National XC Series, Endurance, here I come.  Well, soon....

March - the month of travels

I can't really recall what I've done for the past month, other than travel round the state for work.  And getting my babies back which also involved 15 hours of travel.  It is only the photos on my phone that remind me of what I've achieved in work and study.  So let's have the piccies tell the story.

Some time since my last post I've spent a week working in Bendigo and Cape Otway, a week at Mallacoota, and finally a week at home.  

View from Mallacoota accommodation

Don't think I'd trust that bridge to hold a tanker - might have to find alternative access

Now I know why this landowner doesn't bother getting dressed and meets DSE staff in his white y-fronts....you wouldn't expect anyone to come to your property out here.  Chris and I were lucky - he was fully clothed for us.

A quick stop between properties for a phone and email catch-up...reception is rare in the areas surround 'coota

Playing with the DSE guys and big machinery getting a good setback to burn off the highway

While the babies were staying at Puppy Hilton (mum's place) for 6 weeks I replaced one of their beloved beanbags with a new one.  As predicted, it was a hit.  I'm so proud of my babies that they can have something as potentially disastrous as a beanbag and not chew or destroy it.  

Buzz and Beep enjoying their new beanbag

I caught up with Lauren who owns one of Beep's babies.  Puddy is so much like Beep, and she is given endless amounts of love from her owners and staffy-buddy Fonz.  Lauren and Dean ended up having to buy a king-sized bed so that everyone fitted in and all could have good nights sleep....now that's dedication and love.  So glad that Beep's sweet little white girl went to such a good home, and is being treated just as her mum and pseudo-dad are treated.

Puddy - Beep's white baby girl now 2 years old

 I am babysitting Dizzy this weekend.  Dizzy is such a sweetie - so gentle and peaceful.  And although my two aren't happy about sharing my time with another stafford, they are tolerating Dizzy's presence.

Babysitting Dizzy - Erica's 8 month old red girl...Dizzy found her head fits through the cat door

 I finally got on the bike after a week of nothing, though it was on the windtrainer.  I wasn't weather-restricted, just time-restricted.  I managed to read 2 journal articles during the hour session, and the dogs slept peacefully during my ride.

Fitting some exercise in around study - yes, that's a scientific report on the effectiveness of planned burning on my bars that I was reading while riding

My Amazing Life of Work and Study

Riding has been put on hold as a priority while I work through yet another subject of my post-graduate studies.  I still managed a couple of great rides around Creswick after lectures and on the weekends, but they were casual and fun 'brain down time' rather than anything that would be considered training.  Any serious riding will have to wait until June when I have finished my final subject.

Casual ride at Creswick with my awesome 80mm Scalpel

The new year of study brought a whole new group of students starting the Masters program, with most of them international students - Indonesia, China, Equador, and the usual suspects (from last year) from Botswana, Ghana, Indonesia, and the a few of the Aussies.  Charles form Ghana pulled an absolute ripper of a laugh, intentionally taking the mickey out of the very pale blondes being myself, Shauna, Luba. While we were plastering on the 30+ sunscreen for our field day ahead, Charles reached out to grab some (which caused a good laugh in us all), and then proceeded to put it on the palest part of him - the palms of his hands !!!!!  Thanks Charles, just rubbing it in that African's have it all over us when it comes to melanin !!  Charles, you're gorgeous, and we all take our hats off to yourself and fellow international students who leave their young families for 2 years to undertake studies in Australia that will help progress forestry, fire and climate change initiatives in your own countries, as well as you being able to provide a good education for your children.  

And then there was the lecturers....  What a cocktail of personalities they were - Dr Chris Weston and Dr Luba Volkova.  Between the small group of mature, working students and these 2 lecturers, the 2 weeks flew by with laughter that got everybody through field trips, lectures and forest net primary productivity calculations.  

The Russian peasants - Luba, Richard & Gus (who'd have thought Luba's KGB background would bring her to this?)

Some usual suspects (Mark, Dave & myself) and the great fun students from Indonesia & China

Then back to Bendigo for another week of work.  And a few easy but great rides, including an early morning roll with old friend Roz.  Our legs did a bit of (easy) work, but our mouths went non-stop!!!  

The weekend brought sleep, washing, house duties ready for another week in Bendigo and the Otways, before the return of my babies on the weekend.  I miss them so much - my house isn't the same without them.  But they have been very well behaved for mum and Tegan, and provided them with great laughs and company for Pippa.  

Not much riding, but a whole lotta busy

Working out of Bendigo for a week was all I'd hoped for, and some.  Great people, great location, and lots of work accomplished.  

Staying with Erica and Paul was a treat - great conversation and 3 loving staffords to come home to each night for hugs and laughs.  Erica was showing Toohey and Dizzy at the end of the week, and commented that Toohey had lost a bit of weight and needed to put a bit more on.  However I don't think she meant 2 rows of chocolate, an entire tube of bees wax lip balm, and a tube of hand cream !!!  Toohey got into my room and pulled everything out of my bag - books, registration papers, Road Worthy Certificate, wallet...everything.  He didn't damage any of it, but consumed all the tasty bits.  The only tasty treat that remains is some hand cream, however I don't need to pop the top off now, I just squeeze tube and it squirts out in 4 directions !!

Erica showing Toohey at Bendigo Dog Show

Erica showing 7 mth old Dizzy at Bendigo Dog Show

Always the laugh at work, Terry didn't fail to entertain.  Spilt the sugar, got caught, and the photo goes viral around the state to CFA and DSE within minutes - you can't get away with anything when so many people know you.  

Terry being resourceful, but he could have chosen a better spot to be resourceful...

Back to uni at the School of Forestry, Creswick.  Shauna and I had decided on taking the mtb for cruisey post-lecture rides.  Lots of exploring, talking and laughing.  

MTB at Creswick in the oak forest with Shauna

Uni field trip was to the Central Highlands of Vic - Healesville, Marysville, Toolangi, Kinglake - looking at different forests and their responses to fire.  Fairly basic stuff in general, but the real gems are in talking to the lecturers and picking up snippets of information that don't form part of the curriculum.  

Good laughs with the lecturers over an evening bbq - Chris, Lubov and Rohan.  Again, lots learnt and stories shared.  The following day didn't exactly go as planned, and resulted in Lubov, Shauna and myself getting a $300 cab ride from Kinglake West to Creswick !!  One of the buses ended up with a 3" branch through the radiator in the middle of a logging coupe, so some quick thinking by the lecturers had us still on track for the remainder of our field trip, with 3 of us getting a comfy trip in the cab instead of the buses.  

Alpine Ash burnt in 2009 Black Saturday regenerating - the 4WD gives some perspective to the height of the trees

Regeneration density of the Ash is incredible - can you believe that there are 6 people in the photo within 3m of me  

How do they grow so quick?...look at those leaves - huge photosynthetic potential (nice leaves, Shauna!!)

4 year old Ash regen with 1939 regrowth now dead - in scale with human height 

Standing among the giants - not really a safe place to be

Bright 12 Hour

I've had to work really hard to let myself back off from putting pressure on myself whenever I enter an event.  As much as I sometimes portray from the outside a casual approach to racing, on the inside I'm always pushing myself to perform even when I enter an event for fun.  But this weekend, I think I mastered it!!!

The week before was its usual hectic routine that has become routine for me for the last 12 months.  The 4 hour drive to Bright was beautiful even though I was tired.  The colours in the hills of Yea through to Bright were amazing as the sun was falling - not a cloud in the sky which was very different to the cloud of Melbourne.  I began thinking of how much of the country (particularly Victoria) I see because of riding and racing (and work) and how, because of the positive experience that riding gives me, each of those places leaves a lasting happy memory in my mind.  So the next time I visit that place memories flood back and I feel good and look forward to the time there.  

Bright brings back a number of good memories - riding the XC trails with Megs, Matt, Munge and Nick over 10 years ago ('....watch out for the....' 'OH SHIT !!!!!!' '...drop off...yeah, you might have wanted to stick to the left side of that one...'); Mystic Hill DH days with the early members of Albury Wodonga MTB Club (Mystic Hill DH was the first time I said 'I really need to get myself some disc brakes!!); Bright Rod Run with Rolf and Nudge (Bright Holiday Park was the beginning of Nudge's fascination with possums, and trying to climb trees to get them!!); and of course fires (how many weeks have I spent in Bright at fires?...though the couple of tours where accommodation was at Bright Chalet weren't so bad - pity I had to go on the fireground for 16 hours a day (or IMT), otherwise it would have been a lovely time!!).  So, Bright as a location for a race and the drive there was just the beginning.  

My race began at 10:30am.  Everyone else started at 8:00am.  Even before I started riding, many friends asked 'Aren't you meant to be on a bike?'.  I guess when you've been racing Elite solo endurance mtb races since 2006, people get used to only ever seeing me at these events on the bike riding non-stop for 4, 6, 8, 12 or 24 hours rather than walking round the event centre during the race.  

My first lap was great - the trails were awesome.  Not technically hard as such, but the course was pretty rugged and it was more a matter of 'how fast can you ride it' rather than 'can you ride it'.  It was nice to be riding in pineys again - a unique experience that other veg types don't offer.  The climbing was hard at times, either long fire trail climbs or singletrack pinches that hurt with tree roots and corners thrown in just to work you harder.  

It was in the singletrack that I met a rookie solo rider, Paul.  We rode at a similar pace for a lap, chatting the whole time.  Paul's wife was supporting him and looking after their 5 children as well.  I reckon Paul had the easier task of riding a bike for 12 hours....  Our 2nd lap together and Paul was starting to struggle - I talked him through it and then we just talked stuff.  Paul was going for a 15 min break before pushing out another lap - his last one.  But I knew that in the fatigued state he was if he sat down, there was no way he would have gotten up again.  So I pretty much shoved some food down his mouth, got his bottle ready, and got him out of transition for the start of his final lap.  I'm not sure what his wife was thinking while standing by watching me bully Paul around, but I knew he had one more lap in him and that he would be disappointed if he stopped now.  So although he was fatigued mentally and physically, he'd had food, he'd had fluid, and he had someone riding the whole lap with him.  Paul talked the entire last lap - you could almost say he was a bit delirious, but he kept pedalling, with his mind off with his mouth rather than thinking about how hard the lap was.  

The final 3km was undulating with a few pinch climbs and a nice gradual descent to the finish line.  Wanting Paul to finish in high spirits, I pushed him for the last 3km - worked him hard on the pinch climbs, drove him to shift to a harder gear to enjoy the flowy descent.  We hit the finish line and Paul had nothing left in the tank, and he was thrilled with the last blast of his race - he finished on the high that I promised him.  

And you know what?  I thoroughly enjoyed the riding, helping someone achieve their goal, and seeing them so happy for it.  My race ended with 4 laps, 4.5hrs riding, and a great slightly fatigued feeling in my body.  And of course my Cannondale 80mm Scalpel rode flawlessly...sweet bike.

Post race I was thinking about maybe one day being fit enough to push myself the race an endurance event again, rather than just ride.  I'm stuffed until June with study and work, but maybe when I'm settled, when winter is over, when life settles down a bit, I might just plan to make a serious hit out at Bright in 2014.  Stranger things have happened....

A beautiful setting for a race at Bright - Morses Creek in the background

Enjoying the surrounds during a lap break

New bike not so new after Bright's dusty trails

Bright 12 Hour ('Juz, aren't you meant to be on a bike?')

The fact that I'm typing this 1 hour before finish time gives you some idea of the social and fun day I've had.  More to come soon.

Back to Bright

Since being back in Victoria I haven't spent a lot of time in the north-east.  Bright 12 Hour was initially entered for 'racing' back in December.  Now, it is a great place to ride some new trails of Bright (since the huge windstorm a few years ago wiped out all the existing trails), a relaxing weekend, and a time to catch up with racing friends.

Of the 4 people that I have randomly bumped into since leaving Melbourne, 3 of them have been old racing chick friends.  Mel and Kel at Glenrowan BP, and Jane Ollerenshaw in the toilets at the caravan park.  I knew it was going to be a good weekend when the following scenes welcomed me to the north-east on the drive up.

Another journey and lots of fun to be had.  Race/ride wind up will follow at the end of the weekend.  In the mean time.....I'm goin' ridin'...

The Adventures of Juzzy

Triggered by the decision that I no longer need a big car with just 1 person, 2 dogs and (generally) 2 bikes at any one time, I decided to downsize to a sporty Impreza.  Those friends that have known me since my teens know very well how much I like and know my cars, and I get exactly what I'm after.  Though this affliction always makes me happy with my purchase, it also means I often have to wait for a while to get what I'm after, and/or travel a fair distance to get it.  So my adventure began...

The original plan was to drive to Adelaide to look at the car, sleep in the car overnight on the side of the road, then drive back.  If I purchased the car, I fly over the next weekend (missing out on a race) and drive it back.  A later thought was to take a gamble that I would purchase the car, fly over early Saturday morning, then if I bought it I would drive back to Melbourne the same day.  If I didn't buy it, I would simply book a return flight later in the day and fill the time in wondering round Adelaide.

I realised how tired I was when I got on the plane and was asleep before the plane even travelled forward - I fell asleep before or during the reversing of the plane before taxiing to the runway.  1.5hrs sleep later I woke up as we were descending into Adelaide.

The taxi ride was...interesting.  The driver was about 76 in the shade, and didn't know the street I was to go to, so he asked me to navigate using the Melways/UBD to get us there!!!  Very amusing and you could only expect that in Adelaide, but at least I wasn't getting ripped off by him driving all over the city in the wrong direction.  It was actually comforting.  

The car was in great condition and worth the trip.  The guy was a roady so we talked bikes and cars.  Finance and paperwork all sorted, I stocked up with food for the trip back.  I considered driving to Willunga Hill to have a brief look at the Tour Down Under, but it was 45 mins out of my way - ultimately adding at least 2 - 3 hrs onto my trip.  I knew my mate Macca (who I've known for 15 years from Panther Cycles) was in Adelaide for The Tour and decided that if he was at Willunga then I would make the trip.  I rang him and he was only 5 mins from where I was !!!  A walk and talk up the road to check out a bike shop, and an hour later I was back in my new green machine ready for the 800km drive to Melbourne.  

Macca & myself at bike shop taking me back to my Penrith westie days - a flanny jersey

The drive was awesome - time to think, sing to myself, enjoy my new car, work out how many kms to a tank of fuel, see lots of mallee vegetation and lots of sky.  Thinking on and off how my dad would have been proud of me for confidently making my own plans and following through.  It was him that began my interest in cars - under the bonnet with him holding the light while he worked on the family car, taking the boys and myself to the drags out at Castlereagh - imbedding in me a desire to be a confident, independent female when it came to cars, which is so much a male-dominated interest.  So of course I knew he was with me the whole trip.  

It ended up taking me 9 hrs with breaks, and I was getting 650km from a 45 Litre tank - not bad for a 10 year old car.  (That last bit of trivia took up so much of my time playing with figures and comparisons that I thought it important to include!!)

After lots of sleep on Saturday night, I had an enjoyable and very much fun mtb at Lysterfield with Kylie and Dave.  Kylie came up with the quote of the day when Dave fell off his bike while standing upright and did a commando roll...'And he didn't even stop talking during it...'  Very very funny couple of hours.  Wonderful Dave then offered to drive me to the airport to pick up the Outback after yesterday's flight - or should I say 'his' Outback.  Such wonderful friends and great fun to be around.  

Mt Buller National Round - some photos and some thoughts

What a weekend...the highs, the lows, the hurts, the smiles, the friends, and the people that are now friends.

None of the people at Mt Buller that I interacted with knew any of the difficulties I was facing that weekend, so I was surprised to experience friendliness in its purist form.  My return to racing after 2 years away was hard - the stresses associated with racing, the pressure on myself, the preparation, the lack of training.  Not to mention the personal turmoil of the past year.  But I woke up Monday morning and realised I wouldn't change a thing.  I had to do it all at some point, and I'm stronger for it.  

During the weekend I found things - treasures you might say - some that were there all along, part of me but hidden, others that are new to me.  And it all came about thanks to my riding - that in itself is a treasure that my brother shared with me 20 years ago, and we're still sharing together.  

It was hard trying to concentrate at work today.  Work was just so boring and hard work compared to my fun weekend.  I was seeing things differently whilst driving to work, and it wasn't just the dense smoke in the air from the Gippy fires !!!  

Some photos of me racing below - I'm tracking down the high resolution ones and will post them soon (thanks to Russ Baker).  I'm loving the pink Panther Cycles jersey - it stands out so well in the bush !!

XCP climb up Corn Hill (ignore the bruise on my leg from practice lap) - certainly hurting but still looking good (& happy for the young gun behind to pass me)

XCO - starting the climb

XCO - starting the climb - I didn't so much have a smile by the top!!!

Mt Buller Day 4 - Point to Point

Today's race thought: 'I may not be with you in person, but I am always there' - a message from my dad that came to me last night.

The Point to Point was shortened for Masters Women to a 20km loop out to Howqua Gap and back via the steepest, rockiest singletrack that they could find.  

The race start was very casual - Sharon, Flip and myself in 3 separate categories having a chat and laugh on the start line.  Funny how each of us were set to win our own races - all we had to do was finish.  Halfway up the road climb we'd already sorted out the order in which we would enter the singletrack descent so as to not hold each other up and risk not enjoying the descent to its fullest !!!  

The climb from Howqua Gap was hideous for me - 25 mins of non-stop hard climbing...steep, rocky, transverse tree roots and never ending.  But that's when my thought for the day came in handy.  Dad has been dead for over 30 years, but he was with me today.  Dad loved the outdoors and nature, and he would be proud of me racing well and loving doing it.  

The climb finally came to an end, and I was happy that I had mastered all but one of the tight switchback climbs.  The descent was welcomed, though it was very rocky and difficult to see through corners due to the regrowth from the base of the Snowgums after they were burnt in 2007.  I nailed the final descent from Corn Hill, only to have Chris from work (who was marshalling) tell me that I had to do the XC climb back to Mt Buller Village.  Damn...Chris is so being demoted when I get back to work tomorrow....

I finished in 1hr 30min - placed 1st in Masters Women (Jenny was a DNS due to stitches from a fall in the XCO).

Master Women National Series Leader - got a new jersey out of it !!

Back in my room - dirty faced but still recognisable, unlike some of the Elite Men

Thanks to Panther Cycles for getting Luke Brame (U17) and myself on awesome Cannondales and kitted out

Mt Buller Day 2 and 3 - XCE and XCO

The Eliminator event went as planned.  Except for the spewing up after my Time Trail.  But I rode hard and qualified, then rode out the heat I was in against Kathryn O'Shea, Lindsay Gorrell and Melissa Anset.  I had no interest in even trying hard against these girls, and I really don't enjoy Eliminator events.  

My aim for the Cross Country event was to get on the start line and finish the event.  The morning started as most race mornings of many years have started...I don't want to race...I can't do this...and a new one, I will just pack up and drive home and not race.  So what got me to the start line?  Something my mum gave me when I dropped the dogs off a couple of days ago.  It said: 'Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright.'  So I wrote this on my arm to get me to the start line and through the race.  You have no idea how relevant it was.

Warming up, I was laughing while looking out at the smoke-filled valleys south of Mt Buller.  Yesterday I'd had a phone call from a DSE friend who'd just finished a 24 hour shift as IMT Ops Officer - he needed a friend to talk to where he could offload the past 24 hours of stress, then get a good laugh with me talking about crap that really means nothing.  This put us both in a great mood - me to go and race, him to go and sleep before the next night shift.  So as I was warming up, I was chuckling - the smoke offering a very tangible reminder of the silly laughs from the day before.  What a great way to prepare for a race.  

I got a good start - I think my very first good race start EVER.  I happily announced this to the crowd standing by - I was so proud of myself.  Philippa and I had a good run through the singletrack descent together - Flip flowing beautifully and I was happy to follow.  The climb separated the two of us, with Flip riding away from me.  I struggled with the climbs each lap and enjoyed the descents.  And when I was struggling I would say 'Even in darkness light dawns for the upright'.  This also started to come out while descending - a bit of a dual meaning there, being that I was hoping to stay upright on the bike for the descents, being that so much was at stake if I came off....narrow singletrack with a steep drop on one side that was fast and rocky.  

In the end I finished 1st Women Masters, didn't come off the bike, and only had to walk the final pinch of the big climb on the final lap.  Bike is clean, I'm feeling surprisingly good, and kind of looking forward to tomorrow's 25km enduro.

Series Leaders plate (they gave me the wrong class, but will fix that tomorrow)

Em Parkes (Torq Nutrition) and myself - together again on bikes

Mt Buller Day 1

I headed out for a practice lap Thursday morning.  I got 3min 45sec into my lap and sliced my front tyre, rolled the tyre off the rim and came off.  A 15min walk back to the lodge to change bikes, then had another hit out.  

The XCO course is awesome, but it will certainly claim some riders.  I'm pretty sure I'll be one of them.  Flowy, rocky, fast, dry and powdery, then a horrible long steep climb that is rocky and powdery.  Not sure how many laps I'm doing, but hoping only 3 - I may just have 3 laps in my legs, but not much more for that amount of hard climbing.  

This morning, Friday, is relax, maybe do a lap of the XCO, then practice lap of the Eliminator Course, then I race the Eliminator at 3pm.  My aim?  Get eliminated early to save my legs for Saturday and Sunday.  

Thursday night was topped off with sunset just below the Mt Buller Summit.  The alpine environment is one of my favourite - and this weekend it is my refuge.

I sat on a patch of Poa sp. in alpine grasslands 

Billy Buttons at sunset

My Journey

My journey began over 6 months ago - it's just that I couldn't really enjoy the ride to start with.  

Now I've hit big chain ring and am way down the cluster, and I'm embracing every bump, boulder, climb, drop-off and switch-back.  I'm choosing the 'A-line' (the hard way) rather than the chicken shoot/'B-line' (easy way), and cutting my own trails.  I'm feeling strong enough in my head and heart to deal with aspects and happenings of the past, so that I can make my future and enjoy it.  I know there are a lot of riding analogy, but if you're reading this blog then you'll know how much bikes area a part of my life.

My journey this week alone has been a ride and a half.  Well, technically not a lot of riding as such, but the emotional journey has been huge, with my outlet being actual riding.

I saw a very good friend of mine after many years.  It was great to see him looking so well and healthy in mind and body.  It will be some time before I see him again, but that doesn't stop us sharing our daily lives through letters.  And as he so cleverly put it, I have a 'captive audience' whilst he is reading my letters !!!  Very clever.

I spent some more quality time with my mum.  She really is amazing.  And especially amazing as she is looking after my dogs for 5 weeks so I can do 2 races and be at uni for 2 weeks.

I finally went though my chest of draws that was still at mum's place.  I had never made time for this job, and until now I didn't realise that I wasn't ever ready to go through it either.  Old stuff, photos, letters, special jewellery, stuffed toys, handbags (yes, I used to own handbags when I was a girl and worked in an respectable bank job!!).  A very emotional couple of hours while I shared some notes that I had written 20 or so years ago. I chose the hard road tacking that chest of draws, but I feel better and stronger for it.

Amongst all the hard stuff was some joy in picking up my new Cannondale Scalpel and making modifications to my 100mm Scalpel.  Between Gav and myself we spent a day getting both bikes set up perfectly.  Can't wait to take it for a spin tomorrow on the trails of Mt Buller.

And that brings me to my 'fun' 4 days of race prep and racing.  More to follow once I do a practice lap tomorrow, but in the mean time the photo tells my Mt Buller story - Outback, Scalpels, and Snowgums.  Life is good.  Only thing missing is the babies, and missing them I certainly am.  The 9 hour drive was very lonely without the babies in the back seat.

And here I was thinking there were fires in NSW...

But my first ride back in the Blue Mountains and it bucketed down !!!

Gav and I headed out for a Marge's and Elizabeth's Lookout mtb ride, just like old times.  I guess you could say, back to where it all began.  We were chatting and sharing stories, while we shared the trails.  Gav handled a 'controlled' slide very well, possibly with a bit more arse than class, but still made it look good and stayed upright.  It was great to be out and about on old and new trails, comparing sections of old trail and whether it had held together or changed much over the past 20 years.  It was awesome.  

Not far into the trails and it started to rain - we were actually thankful for the cool feel of the rain.  But then it just got heavier.  Gav took a new easy line on an old descent - I took the old line that has had some modifications in recent times.  But in the wet I just didn't have it together and fell off, laughing hard.  It's not the first time that section has gotten the better of me, but it was so much fun being back there.

Gav and I went our separate ways after the descent and we each rode home in the pooring rain.  But what a great hour of riding, on trails that are the basis of my mountain biking and my skills.  There are many a sandstone rock on those trails that took skin and left bruises - but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Returned drenched and grotty

The dogs found their spots at mum's place

Early 2013 Racing Plans

I may not have any fitness, I may not have any strength, but I'm planning out the first half of 2013 racing.  I need to start somewhere after not racing for so long - it's too easy to tell myself I'm not fit enough to race.  The hard thing is actually getting to a race and getting on the start line.  So I'm prepared to enter races, turn up knowing that I'm going to come last, start the race knowing it's going to hurt the entire time and wanting to pull out half-way through, but finish each race fully fatigued and happy to celebrate my achievements with myself.  

18 - 20th January Mt Buller National Series Round 1

2nd February Bright 12 Hour Solo

24th February Lake Mountain 4 Hour Solo

15 - 17th March Bright National Series Round 3

14th April Wombat 100km Woodend

28th April 100km Epic Bendigo

11th May 6 Hour Beechworth

So I may not be fit or strong now, but having racing plans and getting to these events will help me in more than the physical sense to achieving my goals.  And, as my mum reminded me recently...I've got dad on my side - all I have to do is ask for help.