Yes, I am a terrible blogger. No, let me rephrase that. I am rather a good blogger who is somewhat sporadic at posting. If anyone has actually been checking my blog, they would realise that I have pretty much been AWOL (if you don't know, AWOL stands for Away With Out Leave. It is a military term which has been co-opted into popular culture to basically mean away with no explanation) since September 2009.
So what have I been so busy with that I has caused me to so neglect this labour of love I call 'Needle in the Hay'? Well, lots of stuff really.
Firstly, I got married. Here's a pic to prove it. It was a pretty goddamn awesome day too, I might add. Weather was perfect. Venue was perfect. My bride was jaw-droppingly beautiful. The party was pumping with plenty of booze, food and some bangin tunes from a great DJ. Everything went smooth as can be (barring some dancefloor controversy which I won't go into here). It was literally the funnest day of my adult life. I hope everyone gets to experience that once in their life.
Then came the honeymoon. We went to Tasmania. Took the car. Took the bikes. Took the kitchen sink too it seemed. Of course, I didn't actually use the kitchen sink. Hardly used the bikes either. Spent more time packing and unpacking them than actually riding them. I refrained from packing the surfboard, wisely, it seems, as we hardly went near a surf beach.
We had a great trip. Tassie truly is magnificent. I could live there. Launceston and Hobart are both pretty great towns with lots to offer. We did lots of eating out and drinking of wine. We made sure to tell our hosts at each accommodation venue that we were on our honeymoon. It usually scored us a free bottle of bubbly. Here's a photo of us at Cradle Mountain, doing the walk around Dove Lake (which is surely one of the most beautiful short walks on the planet).
Then it was back to work to pay off the wedding and honeymoon. December and January were flat out. Both World Trail Directors went on leave over that time, so I was holding the fort - managing our project at Mt Buller, paying wages, processing bills, invoices etc, responding to tenders, client inquiries and managing staff. Suffice to say, it was a very busy two months.
Luckily, being at Buller a lot over those two months I did find time for plenty of riding. My fitness after the wedding was pretty low, so I was desperate to start rebuilding my base. Rode the hill a few times and got out on the XC trails pretty regularly too.
Did a few handicapped road races with the Mansfield Mt Buller Cycling Club (my former club). I love racing up there - the races are fun and always well patronised. The courses are a bit flat for my liking though.
I've also started racing road criteriums down here in Geelong with my new club, Geelong Cycling Club. I've had three races in C grade, placing 4th, 4th and 2nd. After the 2nd place they have decided to bump me up to B grade. My first B grade race is tomorrow. Here's a pic of me at the last crit where I came second (the guy in white at third wheel was the eventual winner):
I've also been trying to get my stamps for the 7 Peaks Challenge (www.alpineascentchallenge.com.au). So far I have Mt Buller, Lake Mountain and Mt Baw Baw.
I did Mt Baw Baw yesterday. I was accompanied by my mate Mark 'Huddo' Hudson. We rode from Noojee, 98km return, taking about 5.5 hours. The hard part is the last 6km up to the village. The gradient averages 13% over this 6km stretch, with the maximum gradient being 21%. It is a 'Hors Category' climb in the Tour de France lingo - the hardest category of all - and it is certainly the toughest climb I have ever done. It is an absolute ball buster. Even with a the mountain cluster on, I was in my lowest gear for the whole 6km, and was only just managing to keep the pedals turning. It took me 56 minutes to ride that 6km. The quick guys do it in about 35 minutes. Huddo cramped after the first two km, but still managed to ride the whole way.
That just leaves 4 peaks to go: Mt Hotham, Falls Creek, Mt Buffalo and Omeo/Dinner Plain. March is gonna be busy!
