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The World on Two Wheels
The World on Two Wheels

The World on Two Wheels

After discovering the joys of cycling in 2002 I took a group of fellow riders to China in 2006. Since then we have gone on to complete 54 other overseas cycling and trekking adventures which have taken us all over the planet. En savoir plus🇦🇺Melbourne
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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels
    1

    Back to Toora

    18 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    A couple of weeks ago Maggie and I rode the Great Southern Rail Trail from Fish Creek to Toora and back again. We enjoyed it so much that we could not wait to repeat the ride. When Dan Andrews announced that we could start to participate in small group outdoor activities again, it was just the opportunity we were looking for. All we had to do was wait for a suitable fine weather day.

    When the forecast was for perfect conditions for today, we contacted David and Carol and also Sue and Gordon to see if they would like to join us. They were obviously just as keen as we were to exercise our new freedom and so we all met at Fish Creek for the start of what was to be an amazing ride.

    Although it was the first time we had seen our good friends for many weeks. we resisted the urge to hug and kiss. Instead, we talked to them from a distance of about 3 metres away. We were soon on our way under a clear sky and without a breath of wind. It certainly felt fantastic to be able to share a ride in such perfect conditions.

    After a stop at the lookout at the top of the Hoddle Range, we continued on past Foster and onto Toora. That is where we made our way back to the Latte Dah cafe for lunch (take away of course). I sat down to enjoy my hamburger and chips, but I had barely started when disaster struck. When I picked up the hamburger, I did not take into account the fact that the rest of the tray would be unbalanced. In the blink of an eye the tray somersaulted off the seat and spread my entire serve of chips all over the ground. To say I was not happy would be an understatement. At least the hamburger was delicious. I suspect that the chips would have been also.

    After lunch, we rode back down the main street back to the bike trail. We then rode in the opposite direction, past the huge dairy factory and out to Toora Beach. Actually there is not much of a beach there as it is all surrounded by acres of mangrove swamps. In some ways it reminded me of Le Croisic in France, except there were no salt pans at Toora.

    The ride back was achieved without incident and we stopped for more coffees in Fish Creek. We feel it is our duty to support local coffee shops in this way. It was one of the best day rides we have ever done and we all rated it as the perfect ten.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    The Indians Have Arrived

    17 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Autumn has always been my favourite time of the year. I have never liked really hot weather and winter brings challenges of its own, especially for cyclists. So that leaves spring and autumn as the times to be savoured. Autumn usually brings extended periods of fine and cool days, with clear skies and warm sunshine.

    Well that is what autumn usually is like. In the "Year of the Pandemic 2020", it has not been quite like that. According to the Weather Bureau, we have been setting a succession of new records for wet weather and high rainfall. Maybe it's just as well we are confined to quarters as the weather has been a bit of a letdown (unless of course if you are a farmer or a duck).

    That has finally changed. The past few days have been absolutely perfect. I don't mind a freezing cold start when you can look forward to lovely warm sunshine through the rest of the day. In addition, each day has been completely windless. They are the sort of day when you can read in the sun and feel the warmth slowly filling you to the core. Such periods of fine weather at this time of the year used to be called "Indian Summers". I am not sure if that term is still used, or whether it has somehow become politically incorrect.

    Whatever they are called, it has certainly proven to be a wonderful tonic for a population that has been anxious and fearful for the past couple of months. It also happens to coincide with the relaxation of the travel restrictions, so that was a perfect conjunction of events.

    Tomorrow we will be riding the Great Southern Rail Trail again. I can hardly wait.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    The Newest Ghostrider

    16 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    On June 3rd 2019 I was on my way to Melbourne airport to catch a flight to Warsaw when I received a video call from my son and daughter in law. They were ringing from the hospital to tell me that their first child had just come into the world. On the screen of my mobile phone I was able to catch my first glimpse of the little bundle that was going to bring such joy to our whole family. The problem was that I had to wait for 6 weeks before I was able to see him face to face for the first time.

    On March 2nd I was again on my way to the airport, this time to catch a flight to Vancouver. This was the first leg of my journey to Cuba. At the time I had no idea of the dark shadow that was soon about to descend over the whole planet. It was only after I arrived in Cuba that the awful reality of the global pandemic started to hit home. Life was not going to be the same.

    For a time it was not even certain whether I would even be able to get home from Cuba to Australia. One thing that was certain was that I would not be able to see my youngest grandson for quite some time. It was a horrible feeling.

    When I did finally get back to Melbourne, there was a 14 day period where I couldn't see anybody. Then we entered the extended period of travel restrictions which isolated us at Inverloch. The only contact we had with our children and grandchildren was via the Internet. It was a very poor substitute for genuine human contact.

    Today our separation from our youngest grandson finally came to an end. It was a time for celebration and it was even more exciting when we found he obviously had not forgotten his Nan and Pops after all. He seemed as happy as we both were.

    In a couple of weeks Jossi will be turning one, but we had already chosen his first birthday present. What better way could there be to get Jossi started on a lifetime of cycling enjoyment, than getting him his very first bike ? So that's what we did. Well technically it is a three wheeled balance bike, but as far as we are concerned, it is a real bike.

    We were not sure how he would react to a device that he had never seen before. We needn't have worried. Once he was placed on the bike, he took off. He was not only going forwards, he even mastered the skill of reversing as well. The smile on his face was enormous. You can only have your first ride once, and he was obviously enjoying his.

    At one stage he even tumbled off, falling backwards and hitting his head on the concrete. Fortunately his helmet did its job and he immediately wanted to get straight back on. There was not even a hint of crying. We all looked at each other in amazement. It had proven to be a day we will never forget.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Catastrophe Strikes !

    15 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    A chainsaw has been an important part of our lives for at least the past 40 years. I bought my first chainsaw soon after we built our first house in Belgrave South. Over the 8 years that we lived there, that saw was used almost every weekend. We cut down numerous trees and sawed untold tons of firewood. When we purchased the block next door, the saw was busy again, clearing numerous large trees, cutting fence posts and sleepers for landscaping. It was an essential part of our life there.

    When we moved to our property in Emerald in 1983, the chain saw worked just as hard as ever. The woodshed was always packed with wood, and there were always serious cutting jobs that needed doing. Eventually, some time in the mid 90s, the old saw breathed its last. I went down to Monbulk Mowers and purchased a new Stihl 025 saw.

    That saw was one of most useful tools in the 30 years that we lived there. It worked tirelessly and never failed me once. In my spare time I would often roam the hills looking for fallen trees to cut for firewood, returning with the trailer loaded to bursting with fuel for the next winter.

    When the time came for us to sell the Emerald property, most of my power tools, tractor, etc were sold in a big garage sale. My huge garage was emptied for the first time in many years. Well almost emptied. There was one item that I just could not bear to part with - my faithful Stihl 025.

    And so it came with us to Pakenham. And there it sat languishing in the garden shed. About once a year there was a job that required a chainsaw, thus validating my decision to keep it. With such extended periods of not being used, I was always a little worried that it might not start. If one chainsaw year is equivalent to seven human years, then my saw must be about 175 years old !

    But the Stihl always rose to the occasion. I never had a problem starting it and, although it probably did not have the pep it once had (and neither do I), it always got the job done.

    The rear of our property at Inverloch has a row of cypress trees. And I hate them. When I am down there I take to the low hanging branches with a bow saw, and lop a few of them off. It is hard work, but we have made a little progress. Since we were coming back to our Pakenham house yesterday, I had a good idea. Why not bring the trusty old chainsaw down and stage a more serious attack on those trees ? What could possibly go wrong ?

    So I packed the chainsaw, mixed up a new tank of 2 stroke, and brought it back to Inverloch with us. I could hardly wait to get started. I could almost feel those cypress trees quivering in fear.

    The morning broke fine and clear -a perfect day for chainsawing. I balanced at the top of a rickety set of steps and started working. Branches started falling. Soon I had a huge pile of debris scattered about. The cypresses had taken a serious, but not mortal, hit. It was at that point that my endeavours came to a sudden halt.

    I was happily cutting away at some of the fallen branches when I heard a loud noise from the saw, accompanied by the unpleasant tinkling sound of pieces of metal falling onto the concrete path. "That is not good", I thought. It wasn't. I immediately shut down the saw to examine the carnage. Closer inspection revealed that the entire muffler assembly had dissociated itself from the saw and lay in fragments at my feet.

    I then somehow stopped thinking clearly and bent down to pick up the largest pieces, forgetting that they were still extremely hot. The result was burnt fingertips. I decided to wait a while before collecting the rest of the remnants. I did not realise that mufflers had so many components and I had no idea how to put them all back together again. They all ended up in a big plastic bag, and I ended up at the local mower shop.

    The friendly mower man assured me that the chainsaw will be back together again "in a few days". I did not ask him if it will be good for another 25 years, but I can't see why that shouldn't be the case. What it does mean is that my sawing has now come to a temporary end. I suppose worse things could have happened.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Seeing the Family Again

    14 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    The hardest thing about being in isolation is being separated from our children and grandchildren. At least that part is drawing to a close. With the latest relaxation of the restrictions, we can now have up to five people visit our houses. That meant that we would finally be able to spend time together as a family. It had been over ten weeks since I have been able to talk face to face with my grandson and I was missing our fun time enormously.

    Our plan was to make a quick day trip back to our house in Melbourne, so that we could share a meal and some time with our eldest son and our grandson. We arrived home just before lunchtime and were relieved to find that everything was just as we had left it. It did seem a little strange to have so much space to move around in, after being in much smaller quarters for the past two months.

    One of our favourite local eating places is the Oven Kraft cafe, but we were worried that the pandemic might have closed it permanently. We were quite happy to see that it was still open and serving their normal range of food, albeit take away only. Although it would have been great to sit outside to enjoy our lunches, that was not possible. We sat at our dining tables and opened the packaged food. It was a reminder of our previous life.

    I then packed my chain saw and went to our son's house to help with some tidying of the back yard. The saw does not get used very often nowadays, so it was a bit exhilarating to hear that old ear splitting roar once again.

    Later in the day we all sat down to a take away pizza dinner. I showed my grandson how to pick padlocks (they are never too young to get started). I even unearthed my old collection of marbles to show him that I used to be something of a marbles champion. It was probably the only sport that I was any good at, and I still have a huge number of old marbles as evidence. I am not sure if marbles still have a place in the modern world, but he seemed interested enough to want a bagful to take home with him. Since I am unlikely to play with them again anytime soon, I had no problem handing them over.

    We even had time to watch a fascinating video about the landing of the ESA probe on a comet. What a staggering piece of astro navigation that was.

    Then we locked up the house and drove back to Inverloch. It had been a long day, but a very significant step in our return to regular life.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    It Must be Whensday

    13 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    In this strange time, most of the world's population appears to be living in a sort of parallel dimension. A dimension which is not punctuated by the events that usually help us to mark the passage of time. Without these scheduled events, every day is really the same as any other day. Maggie and I really have slipped into a different pattern of life. While in some ways that can be rather monotonous, in many other ways it is refreshing and restful.

    The only constants in our new world are the weekly visits from the garbage man and the Woolworths delivery man. Since we know that these both occur on a Wednesday, that gives us one chance to reset our body clocks each week. For all the other days, we have no plans. Mostly we decide. not because of some prior schedule, but because of what the weather is doing. Maybe it is a return to a more primitive, simpler way of living. I suspect that we will have some difficulty in returning to a structured and busy way of life again.

    There was not much to record about today (apart from the aforementioned visits from our only external human contacts). At least the pantry is now restocked. We have plenty of toilet paper and sanitizer. Life is not too bad.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    A Grey Day by the Coast

    12 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Some days don't stand out for any particular reason. The weather was neither especially good, or especially bad. We weren't belted by gale force winds, there were no earthquakes and Inverloch was not attacked by a raging Godzilla emerging from the inlet. It was just another day in isolation.

    The main topic of popular discussion seemed to be what effects the slight easing of the restictions would have on our everyday lives. There are still so many "grey areas" that do not seem to be specifically covered by the Premier's announcement. We still don't know how far we can legally travel from home in our cars or whether the local tip is open again. The common consensus seems to be to just act reasonably and hope that the police would not fine anyone who was trying to do the right thing. That's our theory anyway and so far it has worked.

    The day ended with a delicious crock pot stew and another relatively early night. At least it was another day closer to seeing our grandchildren again.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    A Cool Ride to San Remo

    11 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    You can really feel it in the air. The seasons are changing and summer is now just a distant memory. The past couple of days we have woken to very icy mornings, with temperatures in the single digits. While you are still safe under the doona that is not an issue, but when you plan to get on the bike it can be a little more challenging.

    Now that we have explored most of the bike paths in the vicinity, we have been looking for alternate options. Today our intention was to ride from Kilcunda to Anderson and then ride the new path to San Remo. I already knew that this section has some of the best ocean views in the state. The only problem is that it is also very exposed, and the winds can be absolutely freezing.

    Even though the early morning weather was less than encouraging, I went ahead and packed the bikes anyway. We managed to make it to Kilcunda without encountering any rain, but we could certainly see it falling down in the distance. So on went the warm gear and wet weather jackets. We were soon pedaling up the hill to Anderson.

    Although we had ridden this section just a few days earlier, the surface was much softer than it had been on that occasion. The recent rains had made it feel like riding through treacle. In many spots there were soft, muddy patches to negotiate.

    When we reached Anderson, we turned left and joined the path to San Remo. The first part of this section climbs steeply and, just to make it even more interesting, the builders put in some chicanes and sharp corners. It required considerable concentration to avoid falling into the numerous mud puddles.

    About mid way to San Remo there is an elevated lookout that is worth stopping at to savour the panoramic views out over Phillip Island and Westernport. Once you pass this point, the remainder of the path to San Remo continues its undulating nature, but the hills are relatively short.

    We rolled into San Remo soon after midday and went in search of a place to buy our lunches. Although most of the coffee shops were closed because of the pandemic, we did find that "Beand" was open for takeaway. I ordered two sandwiches and two coffees and nearly dropped my wallet when I was told that it was going to cost just over $40. I suppose that it is hard staying in business at such a time as this, but I am not sure that charging a price premium is the best way to attract new customers.

    We took our sandwiches and ate them by the big bridge to Phillip Island. About 600 hungry seagulls also joined us at the picnic table. The combination of aggressive avians and freezing wind did not make for a relaxing picnic, but I had to admit that the sandwiches were delicious. Maybe you really do get what you pay for.

    The skies finally started to clear for our return ride, but we decided to skip the bike path and ride the main roads instead. Fortunately, there is a wide bike lane, so we did not feel in imminent danger of becoming roadkill.

    On the way back home we learned that Dan Andrews has very slightly relaxed the restrictions to allow up to five people to visit someone else's home. It is now also possible to enjoy outdoor activities with a small number of others. I guess that means we can cautiously begin to ride with our friends again.

    I arrived home to find that a new padlock that I had ordered from eBay had been delivered. It looked serious, but it only took a few minutes to successfully pick it the first time. I have now opened it over 50 more times, none of them using the key. It was not as big a challenge as I was hoping for.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Mothers' Day in the Pandemic

    10 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Way back in PC (pre COVID) days, Mother's Day used to be a time of family celebrations, of shared meals, hugs and kisses. In 2020 those simple things are now just a memory. This has been replaced with a technology battle to get everyone on line at the same time. Even when you have achieved the holy grail of getting a simultaneous, multi way link up, then begins the familiar dialogues.

    "I can see you, but I can't hear you".

    "Now you have gone blank"

    "Where has (name removed) gone ?

    "Your camera is facing the wrong way"

    "Stop all talking at once"

    "Stop moving the camera, it's making me feel seasick"

    And so it goes on. It is really not the same as a good shared meal and lots of kisses and hugs. Such is life in the pandemic age.

    After about 30 minutes of shared Skype time with the family, Maggie and I were exhausted. We needed a rest, so that's what we did. Much earlier in the morning I had driven to the township to buy some take away breakfast. The businesses that were open were doing a thriving trade, with queues right out the door and up the street. Even though it was only 8.30 am,, by the time I was served many items had already been sold out. I think the lesson to be learnt is that the businesses that adapt to the new trading normal, have the potential to do very well for themselves. Those that simply give up, will be left by the wayside.

    Later in the day we enjoyed a very long walk along the oceanfront. We were keen to see the changes that had taken place over the past couple of days. While it was true that the sand had certainly been shifted around dramatically, the damage was not as great as we had first feared.

    There is still a wide expanse of sandy waterfront, but it now has a lot more trapped expanses of water scattered about. This does make it a little more challenging walking the full length of the beach, as you are never sure whether your way will be blocked or not.

    Our day finished by watching Legomasters on TV. How refreshing it is to finally see a show which makes stars of ordinary people and nerds. I am not even sure if any of them would have a single Instagram follower. But the show is great fun for kids of all ages - including us.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Tides of Change

    9 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    One of the interesting things about Inverloch is the ever changing seascape of the inlet. Over the past decade we have witnessed a fascinating evolution of the coastline as the huge volumes of sand are shifted about by the tides and storms.

    For the past few years there has been a dramatic deposit of sand near the mouth of the inlet, so much so that the coastline had progressively moved many hundreds of metres into the inlet. The sand had then progressively got covered with grass, so that it was looking more like an extension of the mainland, than a beach.

    This vast new region of reclaimed land became home to nesting plovers and a popular area for sandwalkers and joggers. It was even home to a mysterious collection of conical shaped piles of driftwood. These woodpiles have become something of a local attraction.

    All of that has once again changed dramatically. This afternoon we braved the rain and freezing weather to spend some time parked by the water. To our amazement, a vast quantity of the sand had been swept away and the water was lying in places where it has not been for years. It was quite a surprise and another reminder of the enormous power of nature.

    A couple of kilometres further along to the surf coast we found the tide was in so far that the waves had completely washed over the breakwater and were crashing against the exposed cliff face. This could mean that the Bunurong Coast could be about to suffer some serious erosion. I guess time will tell.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    We Wide to Woolamai

    8 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    As soon as we saw the blue sky, we decided that it was going to be too good an opportunity not to get back on the bikes. Although we had ridden the Bass Coast Rail Trail many times from Wonthaggi to Anderson, we had not had the opportunity to explore the section between Anderson and Woolamai. Today was going to be our chance.

    We first packed the thermos and sandwiches into the pannier, loaded the bikes onto the car and drove to Kilcunda. Soon we were riding up the steady climb to Anderson. This section of the trail rewards with amazing views out over Philip Island and Westernport. Today we could see one of the huge off shore drilling platforms was moored off Rhyll, presumably for maintenance.

    After passing the bus stop at Anderson we continued on to the newer section of the trail. This part was completed a few years ago. The old train line used to extend from Cranborne, all the way down to Wonthaggi. Although the train stopped running many years ago, in many places you can still see remnants of the old tracks. Apparently there is a dream to progressively reopen the old train route as a rail trail. If they could ever complete this project it would surely become one of the finest and longest rail trails in the state. Unfortunately, due to the economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, I don't think that there will be much funding available for anything in the future.

    We were pleased to find that the trail between Anderson and Woolamai was of an excellent quality. The surface was generally smooth and, even after the recent rain, it was well drained and easy to ride on. The countryside consists of rolling green hills, populated by large herds of contented cows and sheep. The more distant views down to the ocean are breathtaking.

    About 7 km from Anderson, the trail comes to a dead end at the Woolamai Racecourse. Apart from the racecourse, there is nothing else at Woolamai - no coffee shop, no general store, nowehere to buy food or drink. It is a pity that the trail does not go a few more km through to Grantville, where all of those facilities are available.

    We spent some time riding around the Woolamai district, but decided that it was starting to look like the weather was threatening to deteriorate. Since we could not find any tables or seats, we stopped to have our picnic lunch seated on a large fallen tree. In the distance we could see rain starting to fall near Philip Island, so we did not linger too long.

    The rain did not eventuate and we were able to get back to Kilcunda without getting wet. It had been a most enjoyable ride and one that we will certainly do again. If we had started at Wonthaggi and ridden to Woolamai and back the total ride would have been around 50 km.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Thursday in Lockdown

    7 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    According to our 2020 calendar, today should have been spent riding the Warby Trail with the rest of the Ghostriders. We should have been sharing stories and jokes while we lunched at the Carriage Cafe, Gordon would probably have picked up a couple of punctures, David would have bolted off the front within the first few minutes and we could have shared plans for future rides and adventures. Those halcyon days seem a long time ago.

    Instead of riding the trail, we spent another grey day in isolation. I practised picking the same few locks that I have now opened hundreds of times before. Although I have ordered some harder ones from Canada, they seem to have somehow got lost in transit. In the meantime we watch the news for any updates on the restrictions. The Premier Dan Andrews seems to be enjoying his new role of harsh schoolmaster and insists that there will be no relaxation of restrictions in his lifetime.

    A few days ago I started reading Daniel Defoe's account of the 1665 Plague Year in London. It certainly has made for interesting reading, and the parallels with the pandemic of 2020 are uncanny. I have now reached the part of the story where the plague is starting to abate. As soon as the daily death tolls (the "bills") started to reduce, it is worth noting that the population suddenly thought that it was safe to return to their old ways of life. The shops reopened and people filled the streets and churches. Unfortunately it did not end well, as a new surge of infections followed. They had to learn the lesson a second time.

    It was also worth noting that the mortality of the plague reduced as it neared the end of its course. A much larger proportion of infected people actually made full recoveries. In spite of the abatement of the plague in London, England's trading partners were still unconvinced that the danger had passed and were reluctant to accept goods that had originated there. Some exported goods were soaked in vinegar in an attempt to kill the plague that they might have been carrying.

    A final note that I found interesting was the fact that people's generosity to the poor dried up as the plague finished. While the plague was in full flight, the rich were extremely generous in making sure that the poor were looked after. Perhaps they thought that they would be rewarded for their good deeds. Whatever the reason for their generosity, the flow of funds dried up as quickly as the plague disipated. Defoe also makes the point that the people quickly returned to their wicked and promiscuous behaviour, apparently having learnt little from the suffering they had endured.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Coffee by the Inlet

    6 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    With Mother's Day now only three days away, everyone is starting to wonder whether it will be possible for families to meet together, or whether the strict lockdown will continue. Things seemed to be heading in the right direction for a relaxation in the restrictions, but a recent outbreak of cases at a Melbourne meat processing plant may have thrown the proverbial spanner in the works. We might have to wait just a little bit longfer to see our kids and grandchildren.

    Today was a relatively exciting day on a range of separate criteria. Firstly the sun was shining and it was modestly warm. Secondly, we had our weekly visit from the friendly garbage man and thirdly (and most important of all) we had the weekly delivery of groceries from Woolworths on line. How could we not feel elated on such a day ?

    We were still on something of a high from yesterday's ride, so chose to climb back on the bikes for another (albeit shorter) ride around Inverloch. It was a great opportunity to explore some paths and roads we had not ridden before. Even though we have had the Inverloch home for over 10 years, there is still much of the township and surroundings that we are not familiar with. This has been a good chance to fill in some of the blanks in our local knowledge.

    Mid way through our ride we detoured to the shops to buy a coffee and cake. We then took them to a picnic table neat the inlet to savour the warm sunshine and pretend that we were actually sitting in the RACV Country Club. It was not quite the same, but it was still a very pleasant way to spend a morning.

    We then took the long way home, meandering around the most circuitous route we could devise. The forecast for the next few days is not so promising, so we were glad that we could take the opportunity to spend some more time on two wheels.

    At this stage we will probably spend another two weeks down here, before thinking about returning to the Big Smoke. We hope that, by that time, the contagion will have abated enough for us to return without imperiling our lives. We might even be able to share a ride with a couple of our friends.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels
    2

    The Day we Rode to Toora

    5 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    A couple of days ago I had never even heard of Toora. It was only was I was using Google Maps to study the Great Southern Rail Trail that I first saw its name. It showed up on the map as a location about 15km from Foster. At the time I suspected that it was one of the place names that exists only on the map. Australia has hundreds of those places, bearing all sorts of weird and wonderful names.

    We had been planning to ride the Great Southern Rail Trail, starting at Fish Creek and then riding towards Port Welshpool. Since we did not intend to ride all the way to the end, I had been looking for a logical place to stop and U turn. I had absolutely no idea of what a delightful town it would turn out to be.

    On the day of the planned ride, we awoke to a rather threatening sight. It had obviously been raining overnight and it looked like it might not be the fine day the Weather Bureau had promised. Never the less, we are eternal optimists, so I packed the bikes on the car, hoping that the sunshine would break through.

    About 30 minutes later we had arrived at Fish Creek and the clouds were finally starting to break up. After the torrential rain of the past few days, we were not sure what sort of condition the trail would be in. We were pleased to find that, apart from quite a few fallen trees, the trail was actually in excellent condition for riding.

    The first 7 km of the trail is a steady climb up the Hoddle Range, but the effort is well worth it. At the top of the climb you are rewarded with what must be one of the finest views in our state. The view is even better when the sky is clear and the wind is still - just like it was today.

    After taking some time to enjoy the panorama, we continued down the other side of rhe range, past Foster and on to the mysterious Toora. I had never ridden this part of the trail before and was keen to see just what it was like. We certainly were not disappointed. It is every bit as beautiful as the section between Fish Creek and Foster.

    With fewer trees to shade the sun, we even started to warm up. It turned out to be a perfect day for this type of ride. Since we did not really know what to look for to know when we had reached Toora, we started to look out for any signs that might indicate we were getting close.

    We eventually came across an old guy walking the trail (well he was about our age). I asked him if this was the way to Toora. He explained that there were many ways to get to Toora and this was one of them. About 10 minutes later we rode into one of the prettiest little towns we had ever seen. With its single main street and old classic Australian shops down either side, it looked absolutely idyllic.

    Even though it was about 12.30 pm, we must have somehow beaten the peak hour traffic. The street was pretty well deserted. We went in search of a place to buy coffee and lunch, but did not hold out much hope. We had packed a couple of muesli bars as part of our contingency plan, but we did not need them.

    At the high end of the Main St we discovered a lovely little cafe, bearing the name "Latte Dah". Although the sit down part was closed because of the COVID 19 pandemic, they were still serving take away food and drinks. We took them across the road to eat and drink in the warm sunshine. It had not taken us long to decide that Toora was a place that we definitely wanted to come back to.

    The return ride was completed without mishap or puncture, but when we arrived back at our car we had a rather unsettling time. A police car slowly drove past us and then pulled into the car park in front. We expected that we were about to get a thorough grilling from the two young police officers.

    A police woman climbed out and looked towards us. I tried to put on my "I'm only a silly old man" look to get her sympathy. It must have worked, because she walked right past us and went off to inspect the nearby picnic ground instead. We took the opportunity to drive off.

    While driving back to Inverloch we both decided that it had been one of the most enjoyable rides we had done in some time. Although it was only about 50 km in length, it was certainly a ride will will repeat whenever we are staying in the area.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Star Wars and Screw Creek

    4 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After the miserable weather of the past few days it was a relief to wake up to relative silence. Although the skies were still overcast, the torrential rain had finally stopped.

    In these monotonous days of lockdown, any break in the routine is more than welcome. The highlights of our week are undoubtedly the visit from the rubbish man and the delivery from Woolworths online. They are the only visitors we are allowed to have, so their arrivals are an occasion for much joy and rejoicing.

    Today was special for an entirely different reason. It was the famous "Star Wars Day" - May 4th. In case you still don't get it, this day gets its name from the famous space blessing "May the force be with you". If you say it with a lisp,you will get the idea.

    We decided to take advantage of the meteorological respite by going on a long walk along the coast to Screw Creek lookout. The views across the inlet to Venus Bay are quite magnificent and Maggie did her best to actually fall into the inlet when she missed her footing on a section of the path that had been eroded by the recent storms.

    A couple of brief passing showers did little to dampen our enjoyment, but we were tired when we made it back to the car. Tomorrow we plan to get on the bikes and ride the Great Southern Rail Trail to Toora and back.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    In the Plague Year of 2020

    3 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    With all the doom and gloom that we have been surrounded with over the past few weeks I looked for something to read that would lighten my melancholy and bring a smile to my face. After a brief search for free downloads from Project Gutenberg, I found an entertaining book written by Daniel Defoe. It bore the title "A History of the Plague in London". It was just the sort of lighthearted book that I had been looking for.

    I sat down with the kindle and was soon mesmerised by his Defoe's account of London in the plague year of 1665. The first thing I decided was Defoe must have been quite a child prodigy. He was born in the year 1661, and therefore was only 4 years old when the plague was running rampant. He must have had either had an excellent memory, or relied heavily on third party accounts of the events that took place.

    The second thing that struck me was how similar the events were in 1665 compared to what we are currently going through now. Of course I know that our world is very different to the world of London over 350 years ago. They had no Internet, no Netflix, no mail order shopping and certainly no JobKeeper allowances. On the other hand, the government regulations and accounts of people's behaviour makes uncanny reading.

    When the plague first broke out, vast numbers of Londoners fled the city to find safer lodgings in the country. But, before they could leave the city, they had to have a certificate of health to enable them to pass the numerous roadblocks and checkpoints. There was also a serious shortage of horses to pull the carts to transport people out of London. Large numbers of people therefore had to walk their way to the country. The once busy streets of London were left largely deserted. All taverns, cafes and coffeehouses were closed, along with theatres and all other places where crowds could gather. (Sound familiar ?)

    Any house that reported a case of the plague was marked with a large red cross and a "watcher" was stationed outside the door. The purpose of the watcher was to ensure that no one entered or left the house. If the watcher had to leave to run an errand, they had to secure the door with a padlock.

    People who had any contact with an infected person had to undergo quarantine for 28 days. Any bedding, clothes or other goods from the infected premises were also quarantined. And all this was taking place before they even understood what caused the disease in the first place.

    Of course, there were a large number of scammers and charlatans ("mountebanks") who took advantage of the hysteria to make money at the expense of the vulnerable. Dodgy doctors, fortune tellers, amulet makers and astrologers all saw their opportunity to make a killing.

    In 2020 not that much seems to have changed.

    (If you would like to read the same book, it can be downloaded free of charge from www.gutenberg.org If you have a kindle reader it can be downloaded directly to your kindle.The whole process only takes a minute or so. )

    In the afternoon we went for a long walk along the coast. We were interested to see how the recent storms might have changed the coastline. Although it was evident that there had been damaging waves, to our relief the damage was quite modest. It was fantastic to see so many other individuals, couples and entire families out walking and riding.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Happy Anniversary

    2 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    The torrential rain of the previous 24 hours finally started to slacken during the evening. In the quieter moments we could almost hear ourselves talk. When you have been in such close proximity to each other for several weeks, I am not sure that is such a good thing. Long days in enclosed spaces, under overcast skies, are not exactly conducive to happy relationships. This is especially true when your partner does not even laugh at your best jokes.

    Today marked a rather special day for Maggie's brother and sister in law. They were going to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Well "celebrate" is probably too strong a word to use for the occasion. It is hard to stage a serious celebration when you cannot invite anyone else to your home. Such is our strange life in lockdown in this plague year of 2020.

    Although we could not join them for their significant anniversary, Maggie did at least pay a virtual visit and left a small novelty gift on their doorstep. When all of this period of isolation is finally over, we really are going to have a busy time catching on all the events that we missed.

    The weather was still far too miserable to go for a walk or ride, but later in the day, we did pack a small picnic and parked by the ocean to watch the whitecapped waves crashing on to the shore. The spray from the wild surf kept blowing over our windscreen and making it hard to see, but it was still better than sitting in the house.

    Some states are slowly starting to lift their strictest restrictions, but not Victoria. We have been told to expect no relaxation for at least a couple of weeks. I just hope the weather improves a bit during that time.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    God's Frozen People

    1 mai 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    For many years I have dreamt of going to Antarctica. I don't need to go there anymore, because today Antarctica came to us. For the past few days we had been warned that a meteorological apocalypse was heading our way and last night it arrived with a vengeance.

    The onslaught began soon after nightfall. The temperature plummeted, the wind increased to hurricane force and the rain started. It would however be rather inaccurate to call it rain as it was more like a sustained cloudburst of Biblical proportions.

    With the freezing conditions making our house more like an igloo, we decided that the only way we could stay warm was to grab the dog and our books and head straight to bed. For the next ten hours we lay in the bed hearing the deafening roar of rain on the iron roof. I could not remember any other time in my memory where the rain had fallen unabated for such a long time. I began to be thankful that our bedroom was on the second floor as I expected that the level of water in the nearby Bass Strait would have risen considerably overnight.

    From time to time the steady roar of the rain was punctuated by even heavier bursts of rain. It did make sleeping somewhat difficult and we looked forward to the arrival of sunrise, however when the daylight did arrive, it only served to reveal a very desolate scene. The rain was still pouring steadily and the wind blowing viciously. There would be no bicycle riding today, that's for sure.

    Today's downpour follows a succession of very wet months for Victoria. According to the record keepers we have already received much more rain in the first four months of 2020 than we received in the entire 2019 year. April was apparently the wettest month for about 60 years.

    With all this water cascading from the skies, you might be excused for thinking that Melbourne's dams would all be filled to overflowing. After all, the water has to go somewhere. Well you have another think coming. According to the Melbourne Water web site, the total amount of water in our storages actually fell from 61% to 60% over the last four weeks. If we cannot even save any water in the wettest month for 60 years, then I guess we really must be in trouble. Or perhaps someone left the plug out of the dam ?

    Apart from a couple of short respites, the rain continued most of the day. I spent most of the day sitting on the sofa with my kindle, but also took some time to practise with my locks. It was that sort of day.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Home Again, Briefly

    30 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    We always knew that we would have to return home at some stage. When we moved down to Inverloch it still felt like summer. We came with clothes for warm weather and were poorly prepared for a winter by the coast. There were also a few other items that we realised that we had left behind. It was also time to check the house itself. That meant that we would have to make a quick trip to Melbourne and back.

    Since travel between two places of residence still seems to be one of those "grey areas" that no one seems to understand fully, we were slightly nervous that we would be pulled over by some overly keen constable and issued with a "please explain".

    To our relief the 70 minute drive back to Pakenham was achieved without incident. We also noticed that the amount of traffic on the highway had increased dramatically over the past few days. Could it be that people have taken matters into their own hands and decided that they had to get out of their homes before going barking mad ?

    When we arrived at our home it was a somewhat strange feeling opening the front door. Maggie has not lived here since February and it seemed a bit like we were housebreaking. Fortunately the burglar alarm had not been tripped and everything was exactly as I had left it. We quickly checked the house and exterior, packed the car, chatted to our neighbour and were on our way again.

    We decided to make a brief detour to visit our son and grandson from a distance. Although we stayed well apart, it was great to see them in person for the first time in weeks.

    As we began the drive back down to Inverloch we noticed the sky behind us was darkening dramatically. It was obvious that the storms were coming quickly. We had originally planned to stop for a couple of take away coffees somewhere along the way, but the prospect of being caught in a hailstorm was enough to make me press down a little heavier on the throttle and head straight for Inverloch.

    The rain did not start until we were safely back in our unit, but the temperature certainly headed south. It was freezing. On went the slippers and the heater, out came our books, the dog assumed her normal place on my knee and we settled down to lasting through the blast from the Antarctic that the Weather Bureau had warned about. The next few days will be interesting for all the wrong reasons.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Yippee, Visitors !

    29 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    In this new life of isolation it is becoming hard to remember what it was like in the olden days when we used to have visitors. The door bell would ring, the dog would bark (actually the dog usually barked first) and then we welcomed them into our home. Those days are now long gone. We now spend each day enjoying our own company. That wouldn't be so bad, but sometimes I really get on my own nerves. I would love to have someone else to talk to.

    This shutin syndrome is likely to get worse as we head into a cold Victorian winter. When it rains all day, we cannot even get out to ride our bikes or walk the dog. In fact we can't do much at all. You might think that it is good to have a rest, but too much rest is really overrated. It soon cascades into boredom.

    Today would have been even more difficult if we didn't have the excitement of having the weekly visit from the garbage man to look forward to. If that wasn't exciting enough, we also had the scheduled weekly delivery from Woolworths on line. Now that really was EXCITING with a capital E. Fresh milk, sanitizer, raspberries, bread, butter, chocolate, bananas and toilet paper. What more could we ever want ?

    Before the sacred cargo was allowed in the house, Maggie insisted on standing in the pouring rain to disinfect every single parcel. Less understanding husbands might have said something about OCD, but I bit my tongue instead. About 30 minutes later the final parcel was brought, followed by Maggie looking like a drowned rat. She tells me that she is NOT neurotic, she is just careful.

    The rest of the day was spent reading, resting and listening to the rain on the roof. Apparently we have 5 even colder and wetter days to look forward to. Fantastic.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Sunshine Before the Storms

    28 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We awoke to a sunny, but very cold, morning. The Weather Bureau has warned us that this will be the last time we will see the sun for the next week. That meant it would be our last chance to finish the painting we have been doing for the past few days. So that's how we spent the morning.

    By noon the painting was finished and we could stand back to admire our handiwork. It might not have been perfect, but I had to admit that it looked pretty good.

    "Now can we get on our bikes ?", I asked.

    My plan was to have a picnic by the ocean and then ride to Cape Paterson to explore the huge development we had discovered yesterday. We packed the bikes onto the car, filled the thermos, and then drove to the bakery to buy some pies and cakes. Since Maggie did not take a breath the entire time we were inside the bakery, I was a little concerned that she might suffocate herself.

    Once back in the car, she proceeded to cover herself with sanitizer. She even demanded that I sterilize my credit card, just in case a rogue virus might have jumped from the EFTPOS machine. Then we were finally on our way.

    A few minutes later we were enjoying our picnic. Well I enjoyed it. Maggie was worried about viruses floating in the window. Then we unloaded the bikes and rode the Bunurong Coast road to Cape Paterson.

    The bikes allowed us to explore a lot more of the huge environmental development we had discovered yesterday. The houses were certainly intriguing and came in a huge range of very individual styles. While some of them were quite lovely, I told Maggie that I thought that others were "butt ugly". She disagreed. She usually does that when I say something. I still thought that some were ugly.

    After riding around the development and exploring some surrounding roads, we rode back to the centre of Cape Paterson. Since the weather was still being kind, we decided to continue to ride back along the highway towards Wonthaggi. We made it about half way, before turning back and returning to Cape Paterson. Finally, we returned back along the Burnurong Coast back to our car. It had been a lovely ride, but it will probably be our last chance to get on the bikes for some time.

    Even though the weather is about to go to the dogs, at least we have an exciting thing happening tomorrow. Well two exciting things actually. Firstly we will have a visit from the garbage collector. That's exciting. Then we have a delivery from Woolworths on line. That's even more exciting. I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    A Rather Grey Day on the Coast

    27 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    The last couple of days have seen us involved in a frenzy of home improvement projects. Well, perhaps frenzy might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but we did pick up our paint brushes and slap a lot of paint about the place. Some of it actually went where it was supposed to.

    Although the sun was far too shy to make an appearance, at least there was no rain. The painting was finished before lunchtime so we had the afternoon free to have some fun. But what could we do ?

    After a short time for thinking, we decided to go to Cape Paterson for a walk. The dog seemed pleased with our decision and decided to come alomg also.

    Although Cape Paterson is only a short drive from Inverloch, it is an entirely different type of town in that it has virtually no shops or other facilities. It is home to a huge new environmental housing development called "The Cape". That is where we chose to do our walk.

    I must admit that I was surprised by the size of the development and the unique styles of the homes that had been built there. These are all apparently designed to be highly environmentally sensitive and many claim to have energy ratings or 9 or even 10 stars.

    The dog discovered that it also had a large dog park, complete with off lead area and all sorts of canine activity stations. It was a doggy heaven and she obviously found the multitude of scents absolutely intoxicating. We enjoyed the place so much that we decided to come back tomorrow and explore the place some more on our bikes.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Not so Sunny Sunday

    26 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Today could have been Sunday. Or maybe it was Saturday or Tuesday. It's getting harder to tell the difference. The only constants in our lives now seem to be the Wednesday delivery from Woolworths on line and putting the rubbish bins out each Tuesday night. The rest of the wekdays seem to have blurred together. Maybe we should give them new more appropriate names ? Wednesday could become "Whensday", Thursday could be "Blurday" and so on.

    If it was Sunday today, it certainly wasn't a sunny day. To the contrary. The rain started sometime after sunset and then continued for most of the night. It was still raining when we woke up (actually the dog woke us up) at 6.30 am this morning. It was apparent that it would NOT be a painting day.

    But of course there were plenty of other things to do. While Maggie went off to Wonthaggi to look after her sister, I settled down to some reading, writing and, of course, some lock picking. I have to admit that I am starting to get a little bored with my current inventory of three padlocks. I have opened them so many times that I can now do them with my eyes closed. I have even tried opening them with the picks deliberately held upside down, just to see it was possible. It was.

    I am now in search of other padlocks to practise on. I don't care if they have keys or not, just as long as they are not rusted solid. I have searched on gumtree and ebay, but I had no idea that people would expect so much for old locks. I suspect that lock picking has become a popular passtime for bored people in isolation.

    The forecast for the next couple of days is looking more promising so maybe we will be able to get the rest of the outside painting finished early this week.

    After dinner we watched Leggomasters on TV. It is a refreshing change to see prime time TV devoted to ordinary lovable geeks and nerds, rather than to phony MAFS constestants who are only interested in building their Instagram following.

    Perhaps tomorrow will be Monday.....    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Anzac Day in Isolation

    25 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    With the normal Anzac Day services not possible because of the restrictions currently in place banning gatherings of people, everyone had been encouraged to conduct their own service before sunrise outside their own house. Maggie and I decided to set the alarm for 5.45 am and conduct our own small service.

    It certainly was cold outside and there was still no sign of the sunrise when we donned some warm clothes and walked to the end of the drive. Although the street was still deserted, I could hear someone playing the "Last Post", somewhere in the distance. We appeared to be the only ones in our street who had risen early, but it seemed to be the right thing to do. It brought back memories of my grandfather, so I thought I would take some time to include some of his story here.

    My grandfather, Horace Dawson, embarked for Gallipoli on July 16th 1915 on the HMAT Demosthenes. He was a 2nd Lt with the 23rd Infantry Battalion reinforcements. He had recently been married and left for Turkey only a few days after the wedding. My father was born nine months later. My grandfather did not get to meet his first son until he returned from the war in 1919.

    After the debacle at Gallipoli, Horace went to Egypt to play an important role as adjutant and second in charge of the Bicycle Battalion which saw extensive action in France and Belgium. This is something I only found out in 2012, as my grandfather would never talk about his war experiences. I do remember his eyes being permanently bloodshot, apparently as a result of being badly affected by mustard gas.

     In July 1919 he was Mentioned in Despatches for his exemplary work in the formation of the Bicycle Battalion and his commendation bears the famous signature of Winston Churchill, who at that time was the Secretary of State for War.

    My grandfather never got to see his son until he returned to Australia in 1919. After his return he had another 5 children and lived a long and productive life, living to over 100. His later years were mostly spent in Sorrento, close to where his grandparents had first landed in Australia on the famous plague ship The Ticonderoga in 1852. He passed away in 1989.

    I just wished I had the privilege to know him better. RIP Horace Dawson.

    The main picture shows my grandfather on the left. The other images show some of the other members of the Bicycle Battalion.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Painting Day

    24 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    It was becoming a common theme. Every other person in isolation seemed to be egaged in some heroic feat of home improvement. Some had repainted their entire houses (and the houses of everyone else in the street as well), others had replaced the roofs on their barns, some had hand dug huge swimming pools. The rest had done even more ambitious projects.

    And what about us ? Although we had managed to walk the dog most days, put out the garbage each week and even complete a few bike rides, home improvement had been almost entirely off the agenda. But now we had no excuse to procrastinate any longer. On went the old clothes, our came the paint brushes and old tins of decking timber. We had a lot of exterior timberwork which was in need of some tender loving care.

    We spent all the morning slapping paint on the timber (and copious amounts on the concrete as well). The level of paint steadily diminished. We kept painting, hoping that we would have just enough to complete the first part of the job. As it turned out, we didn't. The last droplet of decking oil was consumed with about 1 square foot of timber still to be painted. No matter how hard we tried, there was just no more. It was a cruel finish to the painting job. We could not admire the vast amount of completed wood. We could only see the small bit that was unfinished.

    In the afternoon we grabbed the dog and headed off to walk to the Mitre 10 hardware store for another (much large) tin of decking oil. It seemed like a good idea until I started to carry the heavy tin back to our house. Due to some strange perturbation in the strength of gravity, the tin got progressively heavier with each metre. The wire handle almost severed most of my fingers on both hands. I was sorely tempted to toss the tin into the bushes, but somehow managed to carry it all the way home. And Maggie ? Well she happily walked the dog.

    Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, we will finish the job.    En savoir plus

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Cake and Coffee by the Ocean

    23 avril 2020, Australie ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    One of life's little pleasures used to be to go to the local bakery to enjoy a coffee and cake. That now seems to be an eternity ago. The coffee shops are now mostly empty and locked - a sad reminder of what life used to be like. One of the hardest parts is not knowing how long the shutdown will continue.

    When we awoke to a fine and sunny day we made the decision to make use of the favourable conditions to go for a long walk. While the walk was hugely enjoyable, we did find ourselves giving every other walker, jogger and bike rider a wide berth. It is sad that we see every other human being as a potential source of deadly contagion. I really hope that this fear will abate in time and we will be able to enjoy the close proximity of others.

    Somehow we found ourselves standing outside the biggest bakery in Inverloch (actually it was because I had planned it that way). I suggested that we could buy a couple of take away coffees and enjoy them by the oceanside. Maggie was not convinced. She peered inside and saw that it had several other customers inside.

    "They all look infected", she said.

    I reminded her that we cannot live the rest of our lives in fear. We still have to live. She did not seem convinced of my logic, but reluctantly allowed me to enter the shop. A short time later I emerged with two steaming coffees and a couple of lovely apple and blueberry crumbles. Maggie proceeded to smother my hands and the credit card with sanitizer (such is our new life).

    We carried the coffees and cakes to the waterfront and sat down to enjoy them in the sunshine. It wasn't the same as sitting at a table with our friends, but it was still quite good fun. While we ate the crumbling cakes, we were joined by a couple of curious and very hungry magpies. I guess we weren't alone after all.

    We then slowly made our way back to the house, still savouring the lingering sensations on our tongues. It was a great way to improve our morale.    En savoir plus

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