Nerd Em's Adventures
To make my goal of riding 4,000 miles this year, with 4,000 kilometres within that being loaded touring…
I need to ride 350 miles each month, including 350 kilometres of touring: 350 miles/kms x 12 months = 4200 miles/kms
So for December I rode:
December Unloaded Miles: 124 miles
December Loaded Miles: 121 miles (195 kms)
December Total Miles Ridden: 245 miles
Year to Date Unloaded: 1373 miles
Year to Date Loaded: 2776 miles (4468 kms)
Year to Date Total Miles: 4149 miles Read more
The doctor is staring at the computer screen examining the blood test results. She smiles, then says, “I’ll take your blood pressure now, too.”
The cuff inflates and then squeezes my arm while the doctor makes small talk about immigrating to Australia for love. We have that in common.
The cuff loosens and the doctor removes it. She smiles again. It is wonderful to hear her say, “These results are all excellent….”
What is not so wonderful to hear is when she completes the statement with: “… for your age.” Read more
So somewhere between 2.30 am, when the caravan folks parked seven feet away from my tent turned off their blaring TV, and 4.45 am, when the caravan folks turned the TV back on, I hope I fell asleep deep enough to snore and keep THEM awake. Sheesh. How totally inconsiderate in a packed campground.
When the TV awakens me at 4.45 am, I just sigh and start packing up. My watch is set for 5 am since I want to be on the road before sunrise to get back to Jindera before the heat sets in (high of 96F forecast today). Read more
The plan this weekend is to catch the two climbs in the Warby Ranges that we missed doing late last year because we felt crummy on the planned weekend. So we’re taking care of old business.
Added on to that we plan on taking in the Winton Wetlands – the site of a decommissioned water storage that is being restored to its natural condition. I want to see it now when it would naturally be dry, then come back in winter or spring to see the change when there is water. Read more
The rain starts in between 3.30 and 4.00 am. At first, the pitter patter of drops is soothing and I revel in the cool temperatures and moisture. But I’m over it by 9.30am. The forecast was for ’60 percent chance of showers with 3-8 mm of precip’ today. I’m sure it’s already dumped 5mm.
By 11 am, I am ready to go. I have been checking radar on occasion since 8.30 am. It looked like it might start to clear around 10 am, but more rain filled in. So I’m over it. I brush my teeth in the tent, pack everything up, take down the tent, and get ready to just go ride in the rain. Read more
I slept hard last night. I feel like I’ve just woken from a coma of Sleeping Beauty proportions when I open my eyes at 8am. The rain is gone and it is quite crisp and clear. It almost, if you really stretch it, almost feels like autumn. For a few seconds at least.
I pack up, have some tea and milk (but not together – I’m not Aussie by birth and I like black tea BLACK), then go to clean up the bike a bit so I don’t grind anymore of that grit, clay and mud into bike bits that don’t like grit. Read more
Unloaded Miles: 32.5
Loaded Miles: 312 (502 km)
Total Miles Ridden: 344.5
This means we are on track with our goals – a tad behind in the total needed, but ahead on the loaded side. I went into it thinking any miles in January would be a bonus since it is often too hot to want to ride, so I’m very happy with the results. I also lost a kilogram of weight.
It’s been a tough week for breathing. I don’t know what the trigger has been, but my asthma has been bad enough to keep me awake the last four nights. This means I need an easy ride this weekend.
It is supposed to be quite hot (36C – 96F) on Monday and Tuesday, so we will just do a short overnight ride squeezed in before the heat sets in from Sunday afternoon. Read more