Ride 12 - Final ride! Ride to shops on Halloween

My final ride done last Thursday! Just had to do a short one to finish off, which is fortunate, because something was having a go at my energy levels last week. May be a virus, may be hayfever. Who knows!

Anyway, took a quick ride to the shops for some essentials and stopped by a friend's place on the way home for some neighbourly garden bartering. Lemons exchanged for lettuce and snowpeas.

The shops were in the next suburb and when I arrived in the suburb, Halloween was in full swing. I don't "do" the Halloween "thing" myself, so it wasn't even in my mental frame of reference. It's also usually a bit of a non-event in my own suburb. So I was a bit taken by surprise to find it full swing over the "border" and having to negotiated little pods of children (and some parents) every 100m or so! And a whole gathering of families just milling around outside the shops (and a few adults inside restocking with lollies, thaving been cleaned out already!!). Was glad to get back over the border into my home turf where things were much quieter!

Anyway, all done for another year. It was pointed out to me on the weekend that I have done 944km towards the GCC over the last 9 years. Given that I didn't have a target of 100km for the first few of those years, I'm pretty pleased with that! (Though if I'd realised I was this close to 1,000km, I might have pedalled a bit harder!). Oh well, next year!

No photos from this post, as it would only have been of crowds of kids, and I don't like to post photos of kids without parental permission.

Rides 9 and10 - 2 lakes

2 more rides done over the weekend, including a group ride and an unexpected achievement or two!

One of the best things about this cycle challenge is the amazingly supportive community you get to be part of. Everyone who rides the challenge is a hero, and I have found everyone that I've encountered, either through Facebook, or in person, so inspirational and supportive. With my goal being very humble compared to some others (up to 3000km!!), I should have expected to feel inadequate, but no-one allows that to happen. Everyone is lauded for whatever they achieve and not an unkind, judgemental, or competitive word is uttered.

Yesterday, on a group ride around Lake Tuggeranong, I met some of these lovely people, on a ride that totally suited my fitness level. It was great to meet them and ride with them and talk about our reasons for riding and the challenges we all face. The group leader suffers himself from cancer, so the cause is poignant for him. His daughter was with him.

And my unexpected achievements? Firstly, this October I have incorporated rides around all the lakes in Canberra! - Yerrabi, Gungahlin, Ginninderra, Burley Griffin, and Tuggeranong! Added to this is my other favourite waterway, Sullivan's Creek, which features every year. I didn't really plan this, but they are all great places to ride, easy-going and scenic! I think I shall try to make the lakes an annual thing.

Secondly, yesterday my Samsung app let me know I had ridden a huge 1,500km since starting to use the app on my current phone (late 2020). Pretty happy with that!

Well, nearly done now. Only 3 km to go. And I've got a whole 4 days to do it in! Just as well too, as I now have a cold so the energy levels have waned somewhat! But I think I can manage 3km.

Ride 8 - Another ride to work

Another go at riding to work yesterday. A little less stressful than last time, on account of deciding not to try and use the indoor bike storage, and not having a broken basket and riding in the dark (thankyou daylight savings!).

Thank you to the National Circuit EPIC group and Trek Cycles, who treated my trusty steed to a free health check while I was at work. I'm pleased to report that after 10 years together, she is as good as new. Or will be after a couple of routine maintenance items are sorted (new break pads and chain). She also looks a bit shinier too after they gave her a clean (though not in this photo because it was before the check up)

And a big thank you again to the team at Capital Clinic Physiotherapy, for their ongoing support. They sponsor me every year, and also keep me flexible and fit enough to ride!

Thought I'd give a shout out to Lake Burley Griffin in this post, as it has just turned 60!! It features regulary in my ride photos, because it is such beautiful and easy place to ride! And it has been part of my life for all of my life. A man-made lake only a few years older than me, it was officially "finished" in 1964. (Although the dam was completed in 1963, a severe drought over the summer meant it took a whole year to fill!). I was born by its shores, played by its shores in Commonwealth Park as I was growing up, and have been working by its shores for the last 30 years at the Nash! (that's the National Library for those who don't know the lingo). I've even seen The Queen there!! And for at least the last 10 years, I've loved riding along it's shores and taking photos as I go. Although man-made, it is such a beautiful place. It looks different at each hour of the day, and each season of the year. It's wonderful to watch both the humans and the creatures bring it to life one way or another, every day! Happy 60th Birthday LBG!!

On the downhill run with my kms now. Nearly there!

Ride 6 and 7

2 more rides this week, which is better than I'd hoped, given the weather forecast. But the full week of rain never eventuated, so riding it was. Only a short ride during the week, as I had been a bit unwell, but I needed a ride to re-oil the hip joints after the extra time in bed. And it was good to get out in the lovely weather and enjoy the birds, both in sight and in sound!

Then today, I did a longer ride, this time with the sound of frogs for company (all very active and alert after yesteday's rain). It was election day in the ACT so instead of the local primary school (5 minutes walk away), I followed the alluring aroma of democracy sausage to one in a neighbouring suburb! Voting done, I sat down for a couple of the ole snags, then continued on my merry way. Rode through the town centre, stopping by the bakery to pick up some treats for afternoon tea, and by the time I got home, 11km had clocked up and I am now very much on the downhill run to my target!

Ride 5: Sullivan's Creek

Just one more update this weekend, then I'll probably go quiet for a while (a week's worth of forecast rain is promising that)

So one more ride yesterday, bringing my total to nearly half my 100km goal! This time I headed for one of my favourite haunts - Sullivan's Creek. Always a good one for windy days, and when it's late in the day I'm feeling a little tired, because it's flat, and there's several ways to do it so I can vary the kms up or down as needed. The whole trail of Sullivan's Creek from Mouat Street to the Lake is about an 11km return. This time, I started at Lyneham shops, and only went a little way into the ANU, instead of all the way to Lake Burley Griffin.

Enough to work off the morning of chocolate indulgence at Murrumbateman Chocolate Co anyway!

As I said, the rain looks set to force me into a week's rest from riding, so I'll be back into it next weekend - Election Day here in the ACT, so at the very least, I hope to ride to my local polling booth.

Ride 5: Sullivan's Creek

Just one more update this weekend, then I'll probably go quiet for a while (a week's worth of forecast rain is promising that)

So one more ride yesterday, bringing my total to nearly half my 100km goal! This time I headed for one of my favourite haunts - Sullivan's Creek. Always a good one for windy days, and when it's late in the day I'm feeling a little tired, because it's flat, and there's several ways to do it so I can vary the kms up or down as needed. The whole trail of Sullivan's Creek from Mouat Street to the Lake is about an 11km return. This time, I started at Lyneham shops, and only went a little way into the ANU, instead of all the way to Lake Burley Griffin.

Enough to work off the morning of chocolate indulgence at Murrumbateman Chocolate Co anyway!

As I said, the rain looks set to force me into a week's rest from riding, so I'll be back into it next weekend - Election Day here in the ACT, so at the very least, I hope to ride to my local polling booth.

Ride 4 - Yerrabi Pond

Decisions decisions! At the end of a work from home day, I've always got a little more time. So today I'm thinking, do I use that time to get the grocery shopping out of the way for the weekend? Or do I go for a ride? In the end, that was a no brainer! After a day of frustrating tech issues, I wasn't up to facing the Friday arvo crowd at the supermarket, and the weather outside was just beautiful. The shopping can wait! Saturday Jenny can deal with that.

Next decision? My hip and my wrist are both a bit sore at the end of the week, so do I do the full circuit of Yerrabi or cut across the bridge at 3/4 point? Well that was also a no-brainer. The bridge was closed for repair! (and not before time! Re-BUILD more like!)

And I remember to include a pic of my trusty steed this time, complete with her replacement basket (now permanently fixed!)

Excited to get another ride over, and at this rate I will be half way there by the end of the weekend. It's the least I can do to honour all my great sponsors, who are helping me give kids a chance. Today, I'm going to give a shout out to a friend who lost someone dear this week, not from cancer, and not a kid, but still way too soon. And he was someone who cared about childhood illness and gave of his time to help sick kids and their families. I hereby add him to the list of people I ride to honour.

Rides 2 and 3 - October long weekend

Two more rides done, and I'm just shy of 30km into my target already! That's what a long weekend can do for you!

No photos this time as both days were a)function rides (I was to shops) and b)VERY windy, so I just wanted to concentrate on staying on my bike! I am NOT a fan of October winds! Also fitted in a swim this weekend, so am feeling happy with myself.

I've made a tradition of giving a shout out to any businesses that support me. Usually it's just my physio, but this year, I'd like to give a shout out to my local Chemist, Capital Chemist Palmerston. They have been my go to pharmacy for all things medical for 24 years now, and they are wonderful, supportive bunch there. This year, they have sponsored my ride and I am so thankful that the minute I mentioned what I was doing the boss' phone was out ready to click the "donate" button!

First rides

My first rides done! It's great to have done my first set of rides today and knocked off 15km already! A set, because it was my ride to work and back, which consists of 4 separate rides, with a stint or two on the tram and a day at work to break them up.

I have mixed feelings about the day. The rides were lovely, with beautiful weather at both ends of the day and lakeviews were amazing. But the bits around it were a bit annoying. Firstly, my ride to work has changed since last year because I'm now at a new location (same job at the Library, just working offsite for a couple of years). It's a lovely new building I'm working in, with lots of great cafes around, the end of trip facilities in the building are not to my liking at all. Access to bike storage is so user unfriendly I ended leaving my bike outside on one of street side back racks, and the change rooms are heaps smaller than at the Library. As well as this, the ride from the city to the Library involves 1 busy road crossing, but the offsite location, though only a few blocks away, requires about 4 of them!

The day did not end well either, when I got to my bike, and was reattaching my removable basket, only to have one of the clamps break! So I had to spend 10 minutes trying to shore it up so it would stay on for my ride home, and I still ended worrying that every bump I went over would send it flying! I was very glad to get home, and not deeply inspired to do another ride to work for a while. I think I will wait until Floriade is over (next weekend) and then ride to the Library, park my bike and change there and either walk or bus it to the other location.

Ride 1 done!