Holiday!....It Would Be So Nice....

Yeah, well I couldn't think of another title and Madonna was pretty hot back in the day so that is my tenuous link to bragging about being on holidays. Oh, did I mention that I am on holiday?

Yep, two whole weeks which are flying by at an ever increasing rate. So much so that as I type I only have 2 er 1 days left to run.

The first week was taken care of with a trip to Bali, Indonesia. The plan was to mostly sit by the pool and to let the kids see how lucky they are with regard to how they live. Part A was ticked off the list and I think Part B may have been achieved.

Before leaving home I did manage to take the R1 for a quick local spin, mainly just to top off the fuel tank but to also blow some cobwebs off of it! She still looks good and feels sweet with the new tyres and chain/sprockets that I put on over 2 years ago now. With less than 500km(312mi) in that time. Yes I know, for shame!

Doing the last thing that I want to when on holiday-get on another plane-the kids and I were up bright and early on the Monday morning to catch our Virgin Australia flight to Bali. The flight got away a bit late but we were well looked after by the cabin crew and before we knew it were in fragrant S.E. Asia. A mere hour and a half later(!) and we were through customs and had our luggage, looking for our ride to the hotel. The kids were mightily impressed that there was a guy standing by the exit holding a sign with our name on it. Cheap kudos for Dad!

Rocking into our hotel and the kids were again suitably impressed. 

Especially when they saw the pool.

With a temperature of about 29C and 90 odd percent humidity the pool was a popular hang-out where we wasted a lot of hours.

Reading about riders experiences on this year's Tour Divide in The Cordillera, for some strange reason it seemed a bit hard to come to terms with the cold they experienced during the first 6 days of the race.

The beach club was also visited where the kids were pounded into the course sand by the dumping surf while I sipped a Heineken. Yep, Father Of The Year!

Once the boss managed to drag herself away from work and jumped on a flight, I was able to step out for a couple of early runs along the coast while everyone else slept. Most mornings were cloudy or hazy or both but one was clear and I managed to catch a glimpse of the volcano that lives on the northern end of this little island. Gunung Agung is about 10 000ft high and is pretty impressive when it isn't constantly shrouded in cumulonimbus cloud. 

My run route was along the coast of Nusa Dua and passed many resorts along the way. Most are very impressive looking with a swarm of workers up early combing the lawns and picking up every dropped leaf that may have shaken loose overnight.

As you can imagine, in a 5 star resort the breakfast is pretty decadent. Much expanding of the waistlines took place here...

I won't say "all too soon", it was time to go home as the time was about right but here we were heading home on the red eye flight to Brisbane. Did I mention how much I loathe red eye fights? They are even worse with small kids......

With one recovery day the kids and I loaded up the family Truckster and drove 1000km(620mi) straight to arrive at my parents place for a sleep, then pressed on to our nation's capital, Canberra for a four day visit. This was a special request from the kids as when I asked "what would you like to do for the week"? they responded with "ride Mt Stromlo"! 

Arriving in Canberra at midday, we unloaded the car into our motel room (literally a stone's throw from Parliament house) then as the temperature was a very pleasant 26C(78F) we headed straight up to Mt Stromlo to ride the trails.

The kids started out in the excellent skills park where we passed a large group of Police getting instruction on how to change a flat tyre. Obviously newly appointed Cycle Police, we would see them a few times during our ride being instructed on various techniques.

Stromlo was dry and dusty but fun as usual and the kids punched out 15km around the trails before we decided it was time for a rest.

There are always plenty of Grey Kangaroos around Stromlo and the couple in this photo were HUUUGE! They would have been at least 50kg(110lbs) and stood as high as Lucy. No wonder she baulked and I crashed into the back of her when she saw them!(about 0.2 sec after I took this photo)

My NEW Lynskey Ridgeline got it's first roll on the dirt here and I must say it felt nice. Much of the componentry comes from my faithful but now retired Giant XTC29er however, the wiiide bars, grips and XT brakes are new, adding to that new bike feel. 

After several hours that seemed to go in no time whatsoever, spent in the Australian War Memorial we headed out for a roll around Canberra and in particular, the Embassies that were close to our motel.

View from War Memorial towards Parliament house(can just make out flag pole on top of hill)

We started out by riding around "The Lodge". This is the Prime Minister's residence and it is really just like any other house in the suburb, just with a high stone wall around it. To think that you can ride the narrow footpath with your handlebar 10cm(4in) from the boundary is amazing. We didn't stop for a photo here though as after the events in Sydney a few days prior I was sure that security would be very sensitive even though we were clearly just a dad and his kids out for a ride.

So, we started with the Phillippine Embassy where Lucy decide to fix up here sleeves while virtually leaning on the front gate. Not cool!

Across the road and the Turkish Embassy was next for a photo stop. Despite my telling the kids just to stay at the kerb, they rode right up to the gate. Out of the speaker box by the gate came a "Hello? Hello? Who is that?" Too close kids, just stay on the street!

We spent a very pleasant 30 minutes cruising the streets looking at all of the embassies and the kids were super excited by doing it at their own pace and under their own steam.

Polish.

Indian.

Thai.

Japanese.

Greek.

Obviously British...

South African.

Canadian.

Where are we....?

We ended up in the centre of town for pizza and a lemonade, then cruised around Lake Burley Griffin dodging rabbits and joggers. 

We rolled home under lights via first Old Parliament House, then Parliament House. 

Normally the kids ride right up onto the forecourt near the front doors (and Will does a skid!) but again, after the weeks events in Sydney I told the kids it was best not to press our luck. But how good is it that places like our National Parliament are so accessible?

Well, that pretty well rounds out my 2 week break from work and as I finish this up I am off to work in the morning.

Thanks for checking in and also to those loyal followers, thank you for following along and commenting on here. I do enjoy reading the comments and reflecting on how others see my goings on. 

 I may have some more exciting (to me at least) things to talk about and I will try to get back to a more regular flow next year. That is a threat! ;)

Cheers and Merry Christmas.

Contrails

I have been in Bali for a few days. This is what it looks like on the way there.

Now, time for some R&R for a few weeks.

Cheers.

Work/Life Balance

I am sure we are all becoming more acutely aware of the importance of achieving the correct work/life balance, as I seem to get decidedly testy these days when I skew too much toward the work side of this seemingly simple equation! As we approach the mountain bike race that I have been training for all year (the Flight Centre Epic) I seem to be doing less and less riding and more and more flying. Sitting in this pressurised tube for days on end is not conducive to training....or anything much for that matter. It is leaving me feeling rather flat despite the sometimes breathtaking views.

Norman Greenbaum-Spirit in the Sky

Not long after this, once I was safely ensconced in my hotel room, in another country, I learnt that my 5 year old son had broken his left arm.

The balance was looking decidedly Work/Life at that point. The poor little bloke was pretty worn out from the ordeal by all accounts. A definite down side to this job is not being around when people need you. Although, I am only assuming they needed me there, as I was assured that everything was under control. Hard to get over the guilt though....

It was good to see our rugged northwest coastline the next day from 38 000 feet. The mining industry is busily digging it up as fast as they can and shipping it to China, thereby lead lining (or Iron Cladding) our bottoms from the crisis that has hammered most of the developed world since late 2008. I think I am happy about that as my industry is very sensitive to economic potholes in any shape or form.

Karratha at it's most interesting!

Back into Oz via an all night flight and the worst time of any redeye is when the sun sneaks up over the horizon. Why are we never heading WEST at this time of the morning?

This one takes 20 seconds to get going. Hang in there!

Hothouse Flowers

Still more Australia for a few more days of the work sponsored junket and among various exciting locations, we finished it off with a visit to Mackay in central QLD. Now Mackay is famous for............er...it's coal loading port? And er...lots of interesting things, no really, I like Mackay!

As it says.

As it should be.

Props....for boats?

Home now for a few days. Some serious sleeping is in order, then some riding, and yet more snoozing, then another ride or two and some fun with the kids..............ahh life!

A Varied Week

After Mt Perry there was a fair amount of cleaning and packing away of camping gear. Probably the bit I most dislike about camping, but it makes for an easy camp next time.
Before I know it, it is wednesday and time to gently blow the cobwebs out of the legs with the Regular Daisy Hill Wednesday Morning Ride. As I leave the driveway at 5:15am though I notice that Chris's garage is open with the light on. Ouch, this will hurt! No such thing as a gentle transit to Daisy Hill when accompanying Chris. I seem to set my new record transit times on mornings like this. Surprisingly my legs feel OK this morning, despite the hammering they took at Mt Perry three days earlier. The monday lunch cruise must have done them wonders!
Once at Daisy Hill we met up with four of the regulars for a very brisk ride. Luckily for me Floody noticed I was flagging at certain times and very kindly invoked a flat tyre to slow the pace for some recovery time. Jody asked me to take a photo because people say he never helps, but notice his left foot and Floody tugging at his good tube? If that is how he helps change a flat it is best he stands back and just gives cheek like the rest of us!

When I was suffering again shortly later we had some more of this.

Thanks for a great ride, as usual guys. You have got to LOVE winter in Brisbane!

Thursday was back to work with a quick trip to Bali to relax and prepare for the next Sunshine Series race at Karingal. Tough work and perhaps not the best preparation in hindsight, particularly the bit where we sat up all night at 38 000ft!

Landing at Ngurah Rai

Note the third world smoothness of the runway!

Parking

Beer o'clock.

My Digs.

Home sweet home. You climbers may recognise some of the peaks in the distance. I love how clear the air is after a frontal system scours the contaminants away.

As for the race at Karingal, I started well, within sight of the leaders until the second climb. Then something went "pop" and my thighs felt like they were on fire and just wouldn't push for about a lap. They did come good on the last lap and I managed a safe top 10 finish out of a field of 40!(C grade mens) Happy days!