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

Canada, Cuba and Covid 19

In March 2020 a group of 16 riders from the Australian Ghostriders cycling group travelled to Cuba to complete an extended cycling adventure around the island. This journal documents Cuba and the COVID aftermath that cut our trip short. Meer informatie
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  • The World on Two WheelsCanada, Cuba and Covid 19The World on Two Wheels

    A Grey Day by the Coast

    12 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Meer informatie

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

    It Must be Whensday

    13 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Meer informatie

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

    Seeing the Family Again

    14 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 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.    Meer informatie

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

    Catastrophe Strikes !

    15 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 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.    Meer informatie

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

    The Newest Ghostrider

    16 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 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.    Meer informatie

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    The Indians Have Arrived

    17 mei 2020, Australië ⋅ 🌙 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.    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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    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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    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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    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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    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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    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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    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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    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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    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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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