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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. Meer informatie🇦🇺Melbourne
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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    Dark Days for Victoria

    14 juli 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    A few minutes ago the latest figures for new COVID 19 cases were released. These showed a staggering increase of 270 new cases in the last 24 hours. Each time there is even a small decrease in the new cases, we are inclined to look at it as a step in the right direction. When yesterday's count was announced to be "only" 177, it almost seemed like a cause for celebration, now it is apparent that the trend line is still steadily getting worse.

    Perhaps even more alarming is the rapid increase in the numbers in intensive care and on ventilators. This might be due to the fact that many of the latest cases are in nursing homes. We well know that the illness is generally far more serious for older people, hence when outbreaks occur in nursing homes the consequences can be disastrous.

    We have already been told that, for most students, their education will revert to remote learning. Cafes and coffee shops are closed again, our group rides are nothing but a memory. A really worrying development is that there are now several outbreaks starting in NSW. These mostly are due to irresponsible behaviour of people attending pubs and clubs. Queensland has just announced that residents of 77 Sydney suburbs will not be refused entry to the sunshine state.

    And all of this is happening at such a rate that we can just watch in amazement. I think the next couple of months could be a rather bleak time.

    On a personal note, I am happy that my back pain is very much less. I am able to move about and ride my bike without much discomfort. I will be visiting the osteopath again tomorrow, and it might be my final visit.

    Yesterday Maggie and I took advantage of the fine weather to do a hilly ride around the northern part of Pakenham. In fact it would have been really hard if we had not had the advantage of two ebikes. Even with some electrical assistance, the climbs still had us gasping. On the way home we stopped to buy a couple of cakes to enjoy with our coffees when we finished. The shop looked forlorn as it has had to revert back to takeway only. We were the only customers in sight.

    Yesterday Qantas announced that it would not be resuming international flights unil at least March 2021. According to my original plans for this year, I would have been leaving for Europe in just 4 weeks time. I might just as well have been planning a trip to Mars. The only travel we can look forward to now will be within a couple of km of our own home.

    At least we have food in the pantry and sufficient toilet paper for the next few weeks. Most important of all - our family is still well and safe.    Meer informatie

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

    Covid 19 - Mk II, History Repeating

    8 juli 2020, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Just a few weeks ago we all thought that the worst was behind us. Unfortunately the past two weeks have changed all that. Due to serious blunders on behalf of the state government and the inability of many members of the public to obey social distancing, we now find that history is repeating itself.

    At midnight last night, the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan area entered into a second period of compulsory lockdown - this time for at least the next six weeks. This means that cafes, libraries, gyms, playgrounds, etc are all shut down again. The supermarkets have been beset by hordes of panicked shoppers, all struggling to buy the final roll of toilet paper and tin of sardines. It's crazy, but sadly it's true.

    Yesterday we joined a very small group of Ghostriders for a final ride before the lockdown took effect. We met at Woori Yallock and rode to Warburton East and back again along the Warby Trail. It was a beautiful sunny day and that made it even harder to accept that it was going to be our final such ride until at least late August.

    It is impossible not to feel pity for the battling business owners who struggled to stay viable through the first lockdown. Just as their businesses were starting to rebuild again, the rug is ripped right out from under them. It must be heartbreaking for cafe owners to, once again, just stack their chairs and tables and try to limp by on takeaway orders only.

    We cannot even make a trip back to Inverloch. The instructions were clear - "you must spend the next six weeks at your prime place of residence". Apparently thousands of people did not take any notice of this as the major roads out of Melbourne were all jammed yesterday with loaded cars and vans heading to regional Victoria. This was exactly what they did not want to happen, but it looks like it may become the latest in a long sequence of bungled actions by Dan Andrews and his bumbling team.

    And so the sad saga begins all over again.....    Meer informatie

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

    Back in the Dark Again

    7 juli 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    A few weeks ago everything in Victoria seemed to be heading in the right direction. So much so that our state was the envy of much of Australia. After the long period of lockdown and social isolation it felt amazing to be able to share time with our families again. Small group bike rides became possible and we were even able to sit down for a meal in our favourite cafes. It was going so well that we all began to believe that the worst was finally behind us. For that reason I thought that there was no longer any huge reason to keep up this daily diary.

    That was then.

    Then it all started to go pear shaped. Horror stories started to emerge of botched quarantine operations at various Melbourne hotels. Instead of using police or military personell to ensure an enforced lockdown, for some unknown reason the state government gave the job to completely untrained and inept private security operators. Within days the viral genie had escaped confinement and was running unchecked in the community.

    Each day the number of detected infections grew rapidly. Firstly 25, then 50, then 75, 127 and so on. A few days ago several Melbourne suburbs were placed in lockdown again. But it was all too little, too late. Today we were told the horrifying latest figure of 191 new infections. This afternoon the premier made the announcement that we had all been fearing - the entire Melbourne greater metropolitan area would go back into lockdown. If that was not bad enough, it was to be in place for at least the next SIX WEEKS.

    That now means that Victoria's borders are closed, as are cafes, libraries, theatres, gyms, etc. You name it, it's almost certainly closed. It will be a further disaster for an already struggling retail sector. For the Ghostriders it will mean that no resumption of rides can occur until late August at the earliest. Schools will shut down again. We now face the gloomy reaility of enduring a wet and cold Melbourne in shutdown. It will not be easy.

    On a personal note, I do have some good news. The back pain that has been tormenting me for the past few weeks has greatly subsided. I have regained a lot of movement in my back and I can even put on my socks and shoes without help. The extreme irony is that, just when I could resume my cycling, it has been taken away from us by the reimposition of strict level 3 restrictions. We have even been told that everyone must stay at their principal place of residence. That means we cannot even break the monotony by spending some time at Inverloch.

    If 2020 had gone according to plan, I would be leaving for Europe in 4 weeks time for our 2020 rides. That trip has now been postponed till next year and any sort of travel, even interstate travel, seems a distant dream.    Meer informatie

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

    Light at the End of the Tunnel

    29 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    As I rode up the final hill to my drive yesterday, the bike computer said that I had ridden 21.9 km. It certainly was not a marathon ride, but I was very excited nonetheless. After all, it was a lot longer than the 5.5 km I had achieved in my first comeback ride a couple of days ago.

    After that first ride I had been a little apprehensive that the level of pain in my back might have grown worse. To my relief it actually seemed to get better. I had already read that long walks are good for back problems as the release of endorphins act like a natural anaesthetic. If long walks have a positive outcome, then I figured that modest bike rides could not do any harm after all.

    Our eldest son had also joined us for the ride, so that added an extra layer of enjoyment to the afternoon. At the end of the day I was able to head to bed, without feeling the terrible sciatic pain that presages a restless night's sleep. It turned out to be the best night that I have had for at least the past week.

    When today dawned cold and clear I decided that I would get back on the bike for another ride. After a delightful ride (with even a few more hills thrown in), the computer told me that we had ridden 25.9 km. I am beginning to feel that I am getting close to being able to rejoin regular rides.

    The irony is that Victoria has just experienced a huge surge in COVID infections., so much so that it has become the epicentre for contagion in Australia. We have just heard that no less than 75 new infections were detected in the past 24 hours. This is clearly the worst result since the very height of the pandemic. It is now looking more and more likely that we will be returning to some form of lockdown. That means that any resumption in regular Ghostrider rides will be quite some time off. The toilet rolls have already disappeared from all the supermarkets once more !    Meer informatie

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

    Good News Follows an Outing

    28 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    Over the past couple of days we have been informed by the media that we are apparently living in the middle of one of Victoria's "hot spots". Unfortunately they are not referring to a real estate hotspot, but an epicentre of COVID19 contagion. In fact, if we believed half of what is being said, we should probably not leave the house unless we are covered from head to foot in a hazmat suit with its own breathing supply.

    "Anyone who has the misfortune to live in one of these infested areas should be tested immediately", we are warned.

    Of course these repeated messages are obviously going to have deep impact on a person's mind - especially when you are married to a female who insists on covering herself in hand sanitizer every time she even looks out the window.

    "I think we need to get tested", she informs me. "I think I might have had a sore throat once", she adds, "so I am pretty sure I must be infected".

    Over the past 47 years I have learnt that it is futile to argue against that type of logic.

    "When would you like to go?", I obediently asked.

    She replied that she had already done her homework and she had discovered a clinic in Berwick where we could be tested without any waiting period and (best of all) it would be FREE OF CHARGE. The second part certainly interested me, so she made the call and booked us in for 1.30 pm Friday afternoon.

    I tried not to think about all the horrible stories I had heard about how dreadful the test was. I had visions of enduring something akin to a frontal labotomy, with a huge probe being forced so far into my nose that it would scrape the base of my ageing brain. It was definitely nightmare material.

    At the appointed time, we drove the short distance to Berwick and found the clinic. There was no huge line of waiting cars. I was not sure if that was good news or bad news. We entered the car park and were met by a young lady covered from head to foot in protective gear. I looked at her hand to see if she was carrying the huge corkscrew that she was going to drill into my head with. All she had was a clipboard.

    She introduced herself as a doctor, checked our names and told us to wait. I took a few deep breaths while she disappeared back into the clinic. A short time later she emerged with a couple of plastic bags, each containg an instrument looking like an oversized cotton bud. Perhaps I could ask her to clean out my ears while she was at it ?

    I was asked to open my mouth while the cotton bud was tapped around somewhere near my tonsils. Although I gagged once or twice, it was nowhere near as bad as I had been expecting. The same probe was then inserted into my nose, but fortunately it went nowhere near my brain and the process was over almost before it began. Maggie and I looked at each other as if to say "Was that it?"

    We were then told that we would get our results within three days and to keep away from outside contact in that time. We drove home with a great sense of having done our duty. In all seriousness, we had no fear that we were infected, but we did want to play our part in getting the pandemic under control as quickly as possible. If a few minutes of minor discomfort is all it takes, it is a very small price to pay.

    The tests were conducted on Friday afternoon and by Saturday evening we both received SMS messages informing us that there had been no traces of COVID19 in eiether of our test samples. At least it was now official.

    In case anyone reading this footprint is interested in knowing where the test was carried out, it was done at the O'Shea Medical Centre in Berwick. We simply rang the clinic to make an appointment and there was NO waiting at all.    Meer informatie

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

    Small Steps

    26 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Sometimes you do not appreciate how much you enjoy doing something until you can no longer do it. Since the onset of my back problem, just over two weeks ago, I have not been able to even consider getting back on my bike. In many ways that is the cruelest impact that the injury has had.

    I have already had to cancel two small group rides that I had been greatly looking forward to taking part in. Every time I look out the window and see a beautiful blue sky beckoning to me, I think how much I would have enjoyed getting out on the bike. It might be a simple pleasure, but I have learned afresh just how much it means to me. Over the past eighteen years cycling has become a major theme in my life, and one that I am not ready to let go of without a struggle.

    The good news is that, since my first visit to the osteopath two days ago, I feel that I have started to regain some more mobility in my back. It might be a case of two steps forward and one step backwards, but for the first time I have started to feel empowered enough to risk getting back on two wheels. So that's what I did !

    This morning I donned my helmet and gloves and got back on the bike. I had no idea of how comfortable or painful it might have been, but I knew that there was only one way to find out. To my intense relief it was not as bad as I feared. Nowhere near as bad in fact.

    My first intention had been to just ride around the block to see if I could achieve it without falling off. When I managed to reach that milestone, I did not want to get off. I decided to go a little further.

    Five and a half kilometres later, I rode back into my driveway. You have no idea of how good it felt. I had experienced no stabbing lower back pain and no pain rotating the legs either. It was a great start, but I did not want to push things too far. If I experience no unpleasant after effects, I will try a longer ride next time. After all the bad news in the media over the last few days, it was just the thing I needed to lighten my mood.    Meer informatie

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

    It was the Shortest and Darkest of Days

    23 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    The past week has not been an easy one. That is the main reason why it has been a week since I posted my last footprint. So what has actually been happening ?

    This time of the year is always a rather depressing time, even without the added anxiety due to the COVID19 pandemic. The effect of steadily decreasing hours of sunlight is to increase feelings of meloncholy. In far northern countries it is an established fact that this time of the year brings widespread depression and an increased number of suicides.

    It is therefore a very significant date when the winter solstice is finally reached. This is a cause for celebration as it marks the point in time where the days finally start to grow in length. Although we do not suffer as much as those who must endure the bitter Scandinavian winter, it is still a great feeling to know that we are finally heading back towards those longer and warmer days of springtime. What has been worth noting is that, over the past few days, there has been a surge in new COVID 19 infections. Victoria has now become the epicentre for new cases in Australia.

    This has happened at a time when we were finally beginning to feel that the worst was behind us. Now we have a reminder that we cannot relax at any time soon. Family gatherings have already been slashed from 20 people to 5 people. Outdoor gatherings have also been cut back to only 10 people. This will mean that the special ride we had planned for Sat July 4th will no longer be able to proceed. We will have to wait longer before we can celebrate our liberation.

    I am also sorry to say that my back has not improved. After suffering for a week, I finally went to see my doctor. She convinced me to see a physiotherapist. It turned out to be a painful exercise. After my first visit I left with a pain that was many times worse than I went in with. In fact it was so painful that I spent the rest of the day (and the next) imobile. This was not the result that I had been looking for. Not only can I not ride the bike, but I can now barely hobble from room to room.

    So what happens now ? Tomorrow I have an appointment with an osteopath. I have cancelled my next appointment with the physiotherapist (and I doubt I will ever be going back). I have never been to an osteopath before, so I already have a degree of skepticism as to how it will go. I will let you know the outcome in my next footprint.    Meer informatie

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

    Don't It Always Seem to Be

    16 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    In 1970 I was a gangly 19 year old second year Physics student at Monash University. In that same year Joni Mitchell reminded us that "we don't know what we got till it's gone", Fifty years have now been and gone, but now I know what she was talking about.

    When our backs are functioning normally, it is so easy to take it for granted. Simple tasks like putting on your shoes and socks we can do effortlessly. It is only when you have a problem with your back that you are reminded that absolutely nothing is easy any more.

    Three days ago I awoke with a pain in my lower back. I have learned that, as you grow older, it is not uncommon to wake with a pain somewhere in your body that wasn't there when you went to bed. I must be getting more and more accident prone in my dreams as these sort of random nocturnal injuries are becoming more common.

    I did not worry too much at first, however when the pain persisted for the entire day, my anxiety level went up steadily. Simply getting up out of my favourite chair became a painful and laborious exercise. I hoped that, since it had appeared out of nowhere while I slept, that it could disappear in the same way. It didn't.

    The next morning the pain was still there. I spent much of the day sitting with a hot water bottle propped behind my lower back. We are now up to day 3 and the pain is still quite intense. About the only activity that I can do without stabbing pain, is walking. I am learning alternate procedures of getting in and out of the car. We had been planning to do a bike ride with some friends tomorrow, but that is now out of the question.

    So what happens now ? Honestly I don't know.    Meer informatie

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

    A Sneaky & Unprovoked Theft

    11 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Maggie and I usually try to avoid trips to the inner suburbs of Melbourne. The combined effects of heavy traffic, lack of parking spaces and too many people, are enough to keep me heading in the opposite direction. Over the past decade we have spent a lot more time in Paris, than in the Melbourne CBD. Sometimes, however, there is just no avoiding such a venture. Today was such an occasion.

    Maggie's bike was overdue for its first service, so we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather, load the bike and head into the city. After dropping the bike at the bike shop, we had a couple of hours to fill in, before it would be ready to collect it again. Since we were ready for a coffee fix (and Maggie needed a toilet), we drove to the St Kilda Baths and visited their coffee shop.

    A few minutes later, Maggie's bladder was happy and we both had a coffee and a cake to enjoy by the pier. We sat down and looked out over the bay. It was absolutely still and I had to admit that it was beautiful. Out came our cakes and we started eating. It was here that things took a terrible turn for the worse.

    Out of nowhere came a flapping of white wings, a large seagull swooped over Maggie's left shoulder, neatly collected her cake and disappeared into the distance. And that was that. She was rightly miffed.

    "I was enjoying that", she sadly stated.

    "Well the seagull is enjoying it now", I added.

    You might think that such events would be very rare. The problem is that Maggie has a history of such attacks. Three years ago we were sitting by the waterside in Dinard, France. Across the water, we could see the famous stone walls of the citadel of St Malo. It was an idyllic place to enjoy our lunches.

    On that occasion, we had both bought a baguette and Maggie had just started on her raspberry tart. Anyone who has traveled with us would know that Maggie absolutely adores those cakes, and she was obviously looking forward to eating it and savouring every single mouthful. It wasn't to be.

    She had barely started when a huge seagull appeared from the sky and snatched the entire treat. If that wasn't bad enough, it also simultaneously emptied the entire contents of its bowels all over her. She was left without her tart, but liberally covered in fresh, warm bird droppings. It certainly put a rapid dampener on the mood.

    The next twenty minutes were spent wiping off the poo and remembering the tart that might have been. It was a day that will go down in the annals of infamy, but today indicated that history really does repeat itself.

    Fortunately, the rest of the day went in a more positive fashion. After picking up the bike, we returned via Bentleigh East. This was the area that I grew up in the 1950s, and I am always interested to see how it has changed over the decades.

    Ever since I lived in Harper Ave, there had been a run down milk bar on the corner of Tucker and Paterson Rds. For decades this decrepit looking shop somehow managed to stay open, even though the peeling paint and grubby windows made it look like a place to stay well away from. We were surprised (and pleased) to see that it has now been completely remodeled into a lovely cafe. It was a perfect place to enjoy a late lunch.    Meer informatie

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

    I've Done It

    10 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    When I knew that I was going to be heading into lockdown for an indefinite period of time I looked for a new hobby to keep me occupied and challenged during those long idle hours. Since I had always liked puzzles and ciphers, I decided that I might turn my mind and fingers towards lock picking.

    I started out the same way that anyone learns any new skill nowadays - by watching videos on YouTube. These gave me some ideas of where to start. All I needed next were some suitable tools and practice locks. I was able to secure these items via Amazon (thus further adding to Jeff Bezos' massive fortune).

    The next stage was to sit down with locks and picks and see just how the unlocking process works. I have to admit that the first time I opened a padlock, it really did give me quite a buzz. Then I opened it again, and again, and again. I looked for other locks of different shapes and sizes. No lock was safe while I was around. In each case the thrill was the same when it yielded for the first time.

    As part of my progression, I ordered a set of "progressive locks" from Canada. These are a structured set of numbered locks, each one a little (or a lot) harder than the previous one. They say that, by the time you can open the final one, you can regard yourself as a moderately good lock picker.

    A couple of days ago I succeeded in picking the full set and I have the photo to prove it. If you look closely you will see that it would be impossible to put the locks in that state without picking them. In case you are confused by that, the key would still be stuck in the core if I had unlocked them using the key. The fact that the keyway is clear shows that they were all picked.

    Just in case you want to know something of the technical side of things, I can tell you that they were tensioned using the top of keyway method, a short hook was used and they were single pin picked.    Meer informatie

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

    Back in the Madding Crowds

    8 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

    Today I was able to join a few others from the Ghostriders, for our first small group ride in several months. We met at Mullum Mullum Reserve to ride the trail to Diamond Creek. This was a ride we had done many times in the past, so we thought we knew the route pretty well.

    Twelve riders set off from the start in near freezing conditions. In spite of my numerous layers of clothes, I was still still cold. I was so glad that I had brought along my long fingered gloves, or otherwise I am sure that a few digits would have been turned to ice.

    There was a much more significant challenge than the low temperatures. It soon became apparent that every man, woman, child and dog in the district had also chosen to share the trail with us. Every corner we turned, we were confronted with crowds of walkers. I am not just talking of ones or twos, I am talking of large groups of people.

    If the walkers were not challenge enough, the cyclists were even worse. One of the unexpected side effects of this pandemic has been a huge rush to the local bike shops. It seems that everyone has decided that they needed to buy a bike, even if they had no idea of how to actually ride the thing.

    Maggie and I had already noticed this phenomenon on every bike paths we had ridden in the past couple of months. Whether it was at Inverloch, Pakenham or DIamond Creek, they were all jammed with hordes of people relishing their new-found liberty. The famous "Thousand Steps" walk at Ferntree Gully has had to be closed most days by the police, simply because of the enormous throng of people trying to cram onto the narrow walkway.

    I could not but wonder how long this new love of walking and cycling will last. Now that we are heading into another Melbourne winter, will all these people still continue their newfound passions, or will they banish their new bikes to the garage and go back to spending all day on social media again ?

    Even if it is only a temporary manifestation, it certainly has been interesting to see. As we approached Diamond Creek the crowds became even thicker. At one point there were hundreds of people gathered at the local netball courts. It looked like it was some sort of organised event to help teach kids how to ride their bikes. Children of all ages were happily wobbling all about, looking for a suitable place to stage their first crash. By some miracle, we managed to avoid riding into any of them, and we all arrived safely at Diamond Creek.

    By this time the sun was higher in the sky and the temperature had soared to around 8 or 9 C. It was positively balmy in the sunshine. We ate our socially separated lunches while trying to solve some of the world's problems, before remounting our bikes for the return ride.

    The crowds were just as thick on the way back, so we had to continually concentrate hard to avoid coming to an untimely catastrophe. We had planned to stop for a second coffee stop at Petty's Orchard, but discovered that the cafe was closed.

    Apart from the crowds on every bike path, Maggie and I have noticed another manifestation of life in lockdown. In our previous lives, we used to go to bed around 11 pm each night. Since the start of the isolation period, we find that we are now ready for bed at any time from about 8 pm onwards. It is hard to watch nighttime TV anymore. Our body clocks seem to have become readjusted to a different sleep/wake cycle. I would be very interested to hear if others have noticed the same change.

    Another, not so welcome, change that has taken place is that our weekly timetables have started to fill again. During the height of the lockdown period, we had no regular commitments. Every day was much the same. Now we have returned home we are already finding that the days are refilling with appointments and schedules again. I guess that is an inevitable result of life returning to normal, but I have to admit that I am already starting to miss those long unstructured days we shared by the beach.    Meer informatie

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

    His First Orbit Around the Sun

    7 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    One year ago I was sitting in a car on my way to Melbourne Airport. In a couple of hours I was due to depart for Warsaw for the start of our 2019 Baltics Cycling Adventure. As a recent adopter to Whatsapp, I was a little surprised when my phone started making an unfamiliar noise. It turned out to be an incoming video call from my son and daughter in law.

    The birth of their first child was due in about two weeks time, so I was resigned to the fact that I would be on the other side of the planet when the little one actually arrived. Of course babies sometimes run to the own timetable and this one had decided that it couldn't wait to say hi to his parents and grandparents.

    When I took the video call the new baby had only just arrived. Mum and dad were still a little in shock, but wanted to let me know the exciting news, before I headed off. It was a tremendous way to start a new adventure, but I was a little sad that I would have to wait a few weeks before I would see the little guy face to face.

    Officially his name is Josiah, but very quickly he picked up the knickname "Jossi", and I think that is what he will always be called. Over the past year we have seen him develop into a beautiful baby, full of smiles and curiosity. He has brought joy to our entire extended family and it has been amazing to see the way that the new parents absolutely adore him.

    Yesterday Jossi celebrated his first birthday and we were so glad that we were able to share it with him. In spite of worldwide pandemics, race riots and everything else, nothing is more beautiful than to witness a new little person developing and learning.    Meer informatie

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

    On the Move

    4 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    About 40 minutes East of Pakenham, on the Princes Highway, is the small town of Yarragon. The short drive from Pakenham to Yarragon takes in some of the delightful rolling green hills that Gippsland is famous for. It is one of our favourite drives, and the choice of lovely little eateries at Yarragon makes the trip very worthwhile.

    Yesterday morning we were both keen to get out of the house and head off somewhere in the car. Since Yarragon seemed like a good idea, that is where we headed. It soon became obvious that many others are keen to get out and about again. The highway was comfortably full of other vehicles. mostly heading away from Melbourne.

    We arrived at Yarragon around noon and brought some take away lunch to eat. After lunch I had a multiway video chat organised with some of the American ladies who were on the barge with us last year in Provence. So much has happened since that trip, that it now seems a lifetime ago, but it has been good to renew the memories we shared together.

    Considering that I was in the Victorian countryside, the video chat worked very well. They were able to tell me that the situation in Portland was similar to what was happening in so many other towns, all over the USA. They are now subject to an evening curfew and there had been widespread rioting and looting in the city. They all agreed that Australia looked like a much better place to be at the current time. All things considered, I would certainly prefer our current prime minister to the idiotic clown that the USA has.

    This morning dawned fine and clear. That gave us all the motivation we needed to get out on the bikes again. We continued our exploration of a number of new bike paths between Pakenham and Berwick. It seems that every time we start, we discover more and more freshly laid concrete. We even discovered a new underpass under the Monash Freeway that we did not know existed.

    We stopped at the Main Cafe in Berwick for lunch and enjoyed a lovely time in the winter sunshine. Although things are still not the way they were, they are moving in the right direction and we are beginning to see brighter times ahead.

    On the return ride we followed some different paths, arriving home soon after 1.30 pm. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days. The stock market has also made some significant gains over the past few days, so that is finally making retirees breathe a little easier.    Meer informatie

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

    Simple Pleasures

    2 juni 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    It seems a very long time since Maggie and I have been able to sit down in a cafe and enjoy a meal together. Although we have reluctantly had a few take away meals, that was mainly to support the struggling businesses, rather than to share a fun time together.

    Yesterday marked something of a significant milestone in the return to a more normal existance. Restaurants and cafes are now able to open their doors to a small number of customers, provided that the all important "social distancing" can be maintained. The proprietors also have to collect names and contact details of every customer. Even with these restrictions, we thought it was still worth celebrating.

    Even though it was a less than perfect day, Maggie and I really wanted to get on the bikes for our first shared ride on our familiar paths since February. So on went the wet weather gear, on went a couple of extra layers and off we went. It was freezing, but fun.

    My biggest challenge was to convince Maggie that it would be safe to sit inside our favourite cafe and have lunch together. She was not entirely convinced, but smothered herself in hand sanitizer, held her breath and walked in the door. At least it was warm inside and the other patrrons were well spaced apart from each other. I did not think that even the most energetic coronavirus cell could jump across an abyss that wide.

    The owners were obviously very excited that they were able to finally reopen and did everything possible to make us feel welcome. When our meals arrived, it really felt great to be able to sit and share a meal and coffee together again. It was something we had missed enormously.

    After lunch Maggie applied another litre of sanitizer and we climbed back on the bikes to continue our ride. The rain held off and the temperature had risen slightly above zero. We explored some more new paths, before returning home. It was a small, but very significant step towards recovery. I wondered whether the cumulative effects of applying hand sanitizer every few minutes might be a greater risk than the virus itself.

    Across the Pacific we see that the USA is slipping closer to civil war, with huge crowds of demonstrators in cities across the nation. Hundreds of buildings have been looted and/or burnt. While this is happening their lunatic president gets ever closer to complete insanity. An interesting time in history    Meer informatie

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

    Maggie's Back

    31 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Whenever I go overseas, Maggie prefers to spend the time at our little place in Inverloch. When I left for Cuba at the end of February, that is where she headed. At that time the plan was to stay there for about a month and then be back in Melbourne when I arrived home from Canada. Of course all those plans went out the window when the world was enveloped by the global pandemic.

    My time in Cuba was truncated early and my entire Canadian adventure was scrapped due to closing of international borders. I had a frantic return journey from Cuba, finally arriving back in Melbourne on the 24th March. By that time it had become mandatory for all international travelers to undergo 14 days of isolation. I had a lonely period of quarantine in Pakenham, while Maggie stayed on in Inverloch.

    It was not until early April that I was finally able to join her by the coast. I took a car full of food, supplies and clothes with me. Our two bikes were mounted on the bike carrier as I made the journey to Inverloch. Since there was still some doubt whether or not such a trip was even legal, I half expected to be stopped by an over zealous law officer on the way.

    I did manage to arrive without being intercepted and we settled in for another two months of relative isolation. We were very glad to have our bikes with us, or else we might have torn each other apart. We were also grateful to have the NBN to give us reliable Internet, so that we could have regular video chats with our family and friends.

    With the progressive relaxation of restrictions over the past few weeks, we have started to feel that it is was getting closer to the time to return to Melbourne. Last Tuesday I made the drive back home and started to reawken the house from its long slumber. On Saturday Maggie drove up and joined me. In many ways it felt like our disrupted lives were slowly returning to something closer to normal.

    On Sunday evening we were even able to celebrate our eldest son's birthday with members of our family now able to finally share a meal together. Our latest grandson is on the brink of turning one, so we had a wonderful time having the longest play with him that we have been able to enjoy for a long time. At the end of the evening, the house was a mess, but we didn't mind at all. That is what family life is all about.    Meer informatie

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

    Rediscovering my own Backyard

    29 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    It had been over 3 months since I had last ridden around the bike path network in my own neigbourhood. Considering the incredible rate that new paths are being constructed, that is something like a lifetime. Now was my opportunity to take advantage of the spell of fine weather to see for myself what had been going on in my absence.

    I have now spent the past two days rediscovering my own backyard by bicycle. On Thursday my first stop was the big level crossing removal project on Cardinia Road. After months of preliminary work, it was interesting to see that that have now erected the first three supports. It is still a long way from competion, but it will certainly make a big difference to the traffic on Cardinia Rd at peak times.

    My next stop was the Toomuc Creek, still running at high level after the spell of heavy rains. I stopped to have lunch by the creekside, before continuing along the creek to the new trail alongside the Monash Freeway. I soon discovered that many of the previously missing sections of this trail have now been filled in, so that it is now possible to ride it all the way from Toomuc Creek to the centre of Officer. I understand that it will soon connect right through to Beaconsfield.

    The next hour was spent exploring the network of wetlands in Officer, before riding through to Princes Hwy and a little cross country riding alongside the highway, before rejoining the sealed paths and returning home.

    Yesterday I headed straight down to our lake and was amazed to see just how many people were taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine. I have never seen so many walkers, joggers and cyclists all riding around the lake. After a long period of closure, the lakeside cafe had also reopened and was doing a brisk trade in take away food and coffee. I bought a coffee and toasted sandwich and sat down by the lake to enjoy it. In so many ways it has been a bleak and anxious autumn, but maybe we are starting to see some relief in sight.

    I then decided to ride in the opposite direction and complete a circuit of the Toomuc Creek park, before continuing towards Pakenham. A few minutes were spent savouring the view from the lookout near the old shire offices, before cutting back through some side streets to rejoin the highway. A meandering route then took me home via the long way.

    Maggie will soon be joining me in Pakenham and I look forward to doing some longer rides with her in the coming days.    Meer informatie

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

    A French Reunion

    27 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    In August last year we were arriving in Provence, to begin the first stage of our 2019 French rides. After staying for a week in Caumont Sur Durance, a small village about 10 km outside Avignon, we boarded the MS Estello for an 8 day bike and barge trip along the Rhone River.

    Although the small boat was almost fully occupied by Ghostriders, there were three American women who shared the adventure with us. They were all from Portland in Oregon and, over the course of the week, we got to know them all quite well. Although they probably initially did not know what to make of the Australian contingent, they soon settled in and started to understand our irreverent senses of humour.

    When the boat arrived at Aigues Mortes, we parted company with the American ladies, not knowing whether we would ever seen any of them again. The rest of us moved on to Nevers to begin our 23 day ride along the Loire.

    A lot has happened in the 9 months since that trip. The Covid 19 pandemic has put a temporary stop to all international travel, but the Internet still functions. Thanks to the wonders of applications such as Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp, we are now able to conduct video chats with people from all over the planet.

    After some email exchanges, we decided that it would be fun to conduct a multi way video chat between some of the people who were part of our 2019 trip. We carefully compared time zones and worked out a suitable time which would suit those in Melbourne and those on the other side of the planet in Portland.

    "It will be 12 noon Wednesday our time, and 7 pm Tuesday your time", I explained. It should have been simple.

    At the appointed time I rang Mira, the main Portland contact, only to be told she was involved on another call. I waited a few moments and tried again. She was still busy. Fifteen minutes later she was still talking. I wondered which part of "7 pm your time" she didn't understand. I tried ringing one of the other Portland women instead.

    At least Kay answered, but she seemed quite surprised to get my call. I explained that I was ringing from Melbourne and that this had all been pre aranged. After a few minutes she seemed to remember who I was, and so we started chatting. Carol Yates had also been one of the Ghostriders on that trip, so I invited her to join as well. So then there were three.

    I decided to try Mira once again. Still engaged. It looked like she had suffered from the proverbial seniors' moment and forgotten the whole thing. The rest of us continued our chat for the next hour. At that time I thought I would try just once more to contact Mira. After all it had been her idea in the first place. This time she finally answered.

    "Where the hell have you been ?" I politely asked.

    "Oh, was that today", she said. "I thought it was tomorrow". At that point, I could have been excused for thinking that Donald Trump was a typical example of his fellow Americans, but I decided to be forgiving. After all, I have (very occasionally) made mistakes myself.

    After a few minutes of four-way chat, we realised that it was getting late. We all had other things to do, but we did decide that we would try again. Hopefully, everyone will have their clocks and calendars correctly synchronized then.    Meer informatie

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

    Home Again

    26 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After two months at Inverloch, I felt the time was right for me to finally return home. The time spent by the ocean had been beneficial in many ways. We had absolutely no schedule to stick to, we were able to read to our heart's content, we were able to enjoy picnics by the oceanfront and we had our bikes to explore some new routes that we had not ridden before.

    In some ways it would have been tempting to stay even longer, however we are missing our family and friends and are ready to take the first steps back to a "normal" life. It is obvious that some things have changed permanently. I think we will be very wary whenever we are in close proximity to other people and I am not sure when we will ever be able to enjoy a relaxed meal in a cafe or restaurant. There will be that fear lurking in the back of our minds that contagion could be hiding on every exposed surface. I know that I will be terrified to ever cough in public, for fear of being a suspected Covid carrier. If you see me going blue in the face, it will probably be because I am struggling to swallow an impending cough.

    Yesterday had been rather stressful, due to Maggie being quite unwell. I am pleased to say that she is much better this morning. She even took up the paint brush to complete oiling some outside screens. She is planning to stay on at Inverloch for a few more days, before joining me this weekend.

    Now that I am back, I am looking forward to resuming riding with the Ghostriders, although our rides will be size restricted for at least another month. In July the Ghostriders will be celebrating their 18th Birthday, so that would be an appropriate time to resume our 2020 calendar.    Meer informatie

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

    An Unfortunate Change of Plans

    25 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    When we saw the weather forecast for today we immediately decided that it would be an ideal chance to get on the bikes again. After considering several different options, we eventually decided that it would be fun to ride to Cowes. We pictured ourselves enjoying our coffees and lunches sitting in the sunshine and watching the waves gently lappinb the shore.

    It never turned out that way.

    At 5 am in the morning Maggie woke up with severe stomach cramps. A few minutes later she was retching violently. It was not the day we had planned. For the next hour she alternated between feeling hot and cold. There was no way she was going to be able to get on a bike. I began to fear that we would be going to Wonthaggi Hospital instead of Cowes.

    I did my best to make her comfortable on the sofa, then covered her with a doona. The dog also sensed that all was not well and insisted on making her bed as close as possible to Maggie. I could not help but recall the unfortunate events that took place here about 2 years ago. On that occasion she ended up having emergency abdominal surgery in the middle of the night. It was an extremely stressful time that we never wished to go through again.

    On a couple of occasions Maggie started to become a little delirious. This led me to suspect that she might have food poisoning, although we had both eaten the very same food and I felt fine.

    Eventually she fell asleep. When she awoke, she felt quite a bit better, although she was still very weak. After a cup of tea and some snacks the lights started to come back on again. We never did get to get on the bikes, but I did take her for a drive along the coastline.

    We still don't know what caused the episode, but I am pleased that she is now almost back to normal.    Meer informatie

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

    A Surprise Announcement

    24 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    I have to admit that it came as something of a surprise. After ten weeks of being warned about the dangers of venturing outside our front doors, now Dan Andrews has decided that it is something we should all do. It was only a few days ago that he reluctantly allowed us to have a maximum of five visitors to our homes. Now we will soon be free to have a party with 20 guests. We will also be free to resume travel within the state and stay overnight wherever and whenever we wish.

    I think it would be fair to say that we were not expecting such rapid changes. It was the Premier who had been saying over and over that any changes would only be introuduced slowly and carefully. His favourite mantra is "we only have one chance to do this right". I don't know what brought on such a drastic change of mind. Perhaps he watched some of Donald Trump's announcements and was inspired to follow suit.

    Although things that were formally regarded as extremely risky are now apparently quite safe, I still think that there is no real imperative to drastically change our behaviour. Of course the freedom to travel, without worrying whether or not you were going to be pulled over by the next Highway Patrol, will be a great relief.

    This also means that we will no longer be restricted to a maximum of ten riders on Ghostrider rides, although personally we feel that the time is not yet right for unrestricted rides. I think that June will be a transition period and maybe we will be ready to return to something resembling our previous ride schedule at the beginning of July. I guess time will tell how effective the state's new strategy will turn out to be.

    In the meantime, we are getting close to returning to Melbourne. It has been a wonderful time to relax, think, write, ride and also do some much-needed maintenance, but it was never going to be permanent. At this stage our plan is to return home sometime in the next few days.    Meer informatie

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

    A Trip or Two to the Tip

    23 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Ever since we bought our house at Inverloch about 12 years ago, the back border had been dominated by a row of scraggly cypress trees and an impenetrable barrier of lilly pillys. While the lilly pillys are on our side of the fence, the cypress trees belong to the elderly lady on the adjoining property.

    Although these all combine to give us a lot of privacy, they have been progressively getting larger and larger and encroaching more and more into our space. Whenever the kids play cricket in the yard, any ball hit in that direction is almost certainly destined to be lost in the wilderness.

    While we have been spending our time in isolation, we have turned our attention to the wilderness. What started as careful "pruning" gradually evolved into a wholesale frontal assault. With the aid of my chainsaw, hedge trimmers and bow saw, we have thrown ourselves into mortal combat with the green enemy.

    For a time it became a bit like the DIY haircut. Every time we had another look, we noticed another branch that needed lopping off. The trees got progressively smaller and the pile of branches grew ever larger. The "just one more branch" became a recurring theme. I started to lean further and further over the rear fence to cut off ever more of the neighbour's trees. I kept telling myself that I was actually doing the dear old lady a big favour and saving her paying for an expensive professional tree lopper to do the job.

    Today we reached a point where we could really go no further, without possibly risking backyard conflict. Besides that, the pile of cuttings had grown so large that we could hardly move in the backyard. We had to do something about the mess, but the problem was the Bass Coast Council told us that the local tip was "only open for professional gardeners". Apparently it was still closed for ordinary ratepaying residents.

    We decided to ring the local Inverloch tip directly and ask them if we could pay them a visit. They obviously knew nothing about the council policy and assured us that there would be "no problem". That was just the news we were looking for. So off we went to retrieve my trailer (which is on permanent loan to my brother in law in Wonthaggi) and started filling it to the brim.

    A couple of repeat trips (and about $40) later, we had cleared the pile and the backyard started to look open again. Maggie and I were very much reminded that we aren't young any more, but we did feel pleased with ourselves at what we had achieved. And what about the neighbour ? I don't think she has noticed yet.    Meer informatie

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

    Life in a Parallel Universe

    22 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    This morning I was reading a fascinating news article. Apparently NASA has detected weird neutrinos in Antarctica that were travelling in the opposite direction to that which was expected. This led to the startling possibility that they may have originated in some parallel universe where the normal laws of Physics no longer apply. Even stranger, in such a universe time may even run backwards !

    Of course, we could have saved them a load of money and a lot of time. They don't need to search in Antarctica for a parallel universe - we have been living in such a universe for the past two months. A universe where the normal things of life and work no longer apply and a place where time not only runs backwards - it actually stands still.

    I don't feel the need to watch science fiction movies anymore, as I feel that I have been living in one. In some ways, I regard myself as Captain Kirk in tracky dacks. I am sure that Dr Spock would have explained it this way "It's life Jim, but not as we knew it".    Meer informatie

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

    It's All Happening Here

    21 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Although most days in isolation can tend to blur together into some sort of grey continuum, every once in a while one day will stand out from the crowd. Today was one of those days.

    Back in Pre Covid days, one of our favourite ways to spend an afternoon in Inverloch was to go to the nearby Country Club. There we could sit by the fire and enjoy a lovely Devonshire Tea and coffee. We could even take advantage of the free wifi and make one coffee last the entire afternoon. In these lonely days of isolation, such restaurants are all closed. Even the memories are quickly fading into oblivion.

    For that reason Maggie and I decided to make our own "virtual Country Club", complete with cappucino and scones. Although we tried unsuccessfully to buy scones at the local bakery, we decided that the easiest option was to make our own. So in went the flour (slightly past its use by date), the cream and some lemonade. Mix the whole lot together and throw it in the oven.

    Twenty minutes later we were sitting in our courtyard in the sunshine, happily enjoying the scones, (complete with jam and cream) and a cappucino (straight from the Nespresso machine). It was not quite the same as watching the ocean from the Country Club, but it was still pretty damn nice.

    After our Devonshire Tea we packed the dog and drove down to the oceanfront for a long walk. Although the weather was a little threatening, it was still pretty good for walking. The dog was happy too as she found plenty of other canines to bark and growl at along the way.

    But the day's highlights were far from over. About two months ago I ordered some special locks from Canada. They were supposed to arrive in "6 to 9 days", but I had almost given up hope of them getting to me before I returned to Melbourne. You can imagine my delight when I discovered a small, but very heavy, package in the letterbox. The locks and other lock making gear had finally arrived. I was a happy man indeed.

    To cap off a fine day I enjoyed a lovely roast meal of slow cooked pork, potatoes, carrots and onions. It was a perfect end to an eventful day.    Meer informatie

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

    Things That go Boom in the Night

    20 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    According to the bedside clock radio it was about 2 am. I am not sure what woke me up, but I soon became aware of a roaring noise in the distance. We are used to hearing the sounds of the nearby ocean, but this sounded different. I did what any brave guy would do - I woke up my wife.

    "Can you hear that ?" I asked.
    "What is it ?", she replied.
    "I thought it was your stomach growling", I explained.

    The room was soon lit up by a succession of lightning flashes. The distant rumbling resolved into loud peals of thunder. At times like this my first worry is hailstones. Although Maggie's car was safely parked in the carport, mine was parked in the driveway and would be a sitting duck in the event of a hailstorm.

    As the noise grew progressively louder I ran to the next bedroom and grabbed the doona off the bed. My thought was that, if hail started falling, I would throw it over the car and hope that it would protect the panels. Maggie was more concerned about the doona getting wet, than in what might happen to my car.

    She had a brainwave.

    "The guy next door is away" she said. "Why don't you park in his carport".

    Sometimes she does have some sensible suggestions after all. I threw on some clothes and rapidly moved the car to the neighbour's carport. I returned to bed.

    "But what if he comes home ?" she asked.
    "He won't come home in the middle of the night", I replied
    "He might", she added

    The storm raged, the house was shaken by more thunder and teeming rain.
    "I think you had better move it back", she suggested.
    "You have got to be kidding".
    "He might have a bad temper", she added.

    I lay in bed with thoughts of us both being murdered by a disgruntled man who came home in the middle of a storm to find his carport occupied. The storm raged unabated. I tried to sleep, but it was too late now. The seeds of doubt had already been sown.

    Somehow we did drift back into an unsettled sleep. The storm finally passed over and the sun rose to reveal a very damp yard. As soon as first light Maggie went and retrieved my car. We would not be murdered in our beds after all.

    With the car back in our own drive we returned to bed and, by some miracle, managed to sleep in until almost 8 am. The neighbour is still away.    Meer informatie

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

    Goodbye Flusday Tuesday

    19 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    I am sure all heard the great advice given by our medical experts.

    "All very old people over 60 years old should have a flu vaccination". Of course that advice is always metered out by young Doogie Howser doctors, straight out of medical school. In what universe are people over 60 now classified as "very old" ? And where on earth are we meant to get the vaccine in the first place ?

    I had already tried local doctors and pharmacies before leaving Melbourne. Their response was always the same little two letter word - NO. Apparently the vaccine is about as common as hen's teeth. Even genuinally ancient people like myself can ask, but we can't actually have.

    When we moved down to Inverloch I tried ringing the local clinic, thinking that supplies of the precious elixir might be more common in the country than in the city. I soon found out that the vaccine was not available anywhere. Each time I saw one of those rotten adverts on the TV advising us to immediately get vaccinated, I felt more and more like a sitting duck. At any moment I was sure to be struck down by a wandering flu, followed almost immediately after by a dose of the deadly coronavirus.

    I had heard that the local council has free immunization sessions for such incredibly old and frail people like myself. I rang the council and was soon informed that "all the vaccinations for this year were booked out". Perhaps she could have gone on to add that I should just go and hide under a rock and wait for the inevitable end. That was implied anyway.

    Amazingly enough, about ten minutes later I received a call back from the council. They had somehow found one spare space and made an appointment for me to attend on Tuesday (ie today). I wondered if they had somehow found a vial of outdated vaccine in the back of an old cupboard somewhere. I thought about it for about 2 seconds and then answered that I would be there.

    At the appointed time I put on a clean shirt and drove to the Wonthaggi Town Hall for my impregnation. There was already a small group of very old and very frail ladies gathered outside the entrance. All of them were busily marinating themselves in sanitizer. It was a really exciting place to be.

    The nurse looked at me, shook her head in amazement and then handed me a form to fill in. I think it was something about what I wanted doing with my remains should things not go according to plan. I signed it and handed it back.

    After about ten minutes, my name was called and I entered the appointed room. The nurse proceeded to ask me whether I really wanted to do this. Did she know something that I didn't ? Then she forced the needle into my arm, mopped up the blood with a kitchen sponge and told me to wait in the next room for 15 minutes. Apparently if I survived the next quarter hour, I would have a reasonable chance of surviving the rest of the day.

    I joined the group of other oldtimers, waiting on carefully spaced chairs in a large room. It reminded me of all the times I had been kept in detention in primary school. We all sat in silence and watched the clock. I looked around to see if anyone looked like they were about to fall off their chair.

    Eventually the matron came and told me my "time was up". That was not exactly the news that I was waiting to hear, but apparently she was just telling me that I could leave. I staggered out the door and past the long queue that had now formed at the entrance. I made a point of rubbing my upper arm and rolling my eyes, just to encourage the faint hearted ones in the line.

    I did manage to drive home without hitting any trees and explained to Maggie that I was under strict orders to rest for the remainder of the day. Things like washing dishes were definitely a no no for this evening (and probably for the next few days as well). We all know that men suffer much worse than women at such times as these.    Meer informatie

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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels
    1

    Back to Toora

    18 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Meer informatie

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