30 November, 2013

• Rode to meet Great Vic, saw TracE + Terry. Awoke, fell asleep again, Felix knocking on door woke me again. Had coffee, rushed out the door, forgot to have breakfast :o However, the delay in starting worked to my advantage - came to turn onto Blackgate Road, stopped to take off wind vest (with Felix going on, despite me saying to stop), and Terry & TracE went by :) Rode off after them, had fun dodging the other 5500 riders, leading them along Blackgate, through Breamlea, over 13th Beach, stopped at Barwon Heads for refreshments, then up Wallington Road to QQueenscliff Road, where they turned left towards Leopold/Geelong, and we went right around into Drysdale for coffee - this being the 'price' for Felix to come along! Other sights along the way included: chatting to a chap re larger frames, and I suggesting to look at the CAAD10 option; coming over into Barwon Heads, with a sudden turn right before bridge, and some stopped slowly, running into the people in front; spread out all over Wallington Road, stopping cars from passing, so I rode through the 'peleton' to clear a path, then waved the cars through; Terry losing TracE - apparently she stopped at top of pinch, Terry rode past, did not feel anything was amiss until Queensclif turn off, where we waited for awhile; and, Felix having no capacity to look over shoulder, so nearly caused several accidents ... Grubb Road was a bit hard - stiff headwind - with Felix sitting behind all the way, then turned off towards Clifton Springs, before realising his error - normally he does not hear me screaming at him - and catching up to get to enjoy a coffee. The trip back was not as easy as I had hoped - expecting more of a tailwind - but survived :) Did my little sprint past Apco, then paid the price when turning into Tryboys road - severe calf cramp, so I stopped to relieve, whilst Felix rode on ... Bit bloody sore at the end of that one, but ended up doing 73km for the day :)
• CassE came to visit. Finally got it together to catch up with CassE prior to Xmas - offered either a Saturday night closer to Xmas or a Friday night catch up, and she went for the more contemporary ... which was okay, except that was a day when the trains ran late, so I got in about 20 minutes behind schedule :o but this was compensated by a TA ringing late to discuss submitting a formal compromise offer ... No idea how that worked, but I worked it out - a NPE to Perth with TA details - and managed to catch the Warnamabool train ... which was horrendously packed, not very comfortable at all :( Anyway, she decided to jump on at Geelong, and come back for some tomato sauce on pasta.
• Vegies are coming on nicely :) Have been giving Barbera a lot of silverbeet, zucchini, cauliflower, and kale - indeed, kale is proving very popular with the older ladies, as have dropped some off for Carole (White Eagle) and Viv (BoQ), as well giving some in a 'care' package to Anne as well. Seems all a bit one sided in my down moments ... Took the plunge and prepared a spicy vinegar mix to pickle a cauliflower with - mind you, did take me longer than should have, as I have a paucity of suitable containers - ended up getting 2 spring loaded glass jars from Woolworths one night. Anyway, prepared up a good mix, so they should be ready in time for Xmas - might even give one for a Secret Santa? Still have about 1 quart left - the recipe I was using has been with imperial measurements, which caused quite a bit of consternation working out proportions! Anyway, the red cabbages are starting to come on, so I might use the remaining juice on one of those - pickled cabbage! Of course, I fix the same problem I had before - no jars ...
• Wrote to Mark, possibly the only person that I ever write to in any sort of ongoing sense! Oh, I do send out postcards, such as on CQ13 rides, and/or Xmas cards, but there are inevitably either to people as a lark, given that I usually text to them, and/or just as infrequently drop a line to them. Mark is the one person whom I consistently write to, especially as he refuses to get get connected electronically, whether by getting an email address, a twitter account, a FB account, etc. To say nothing of the more 'modern' linkages, such as DropBox or SnapChat friends, hey? Mind you, after reading about the revelations from Snowdon re NSA capability, maybe he is on to something? In any case, printed up about 20 photos to go with the letter of verious people that I have seen over the years, so that may amuse him as well? Wonder what he will think, not having seen many of the people for many years? Anyway, it is posted now, so time will tell ... I wonder if he will send me a Xmas card this year?
• CQ13 ride
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  Is there any other news?