T-157: It's my birthday! 57 & born in 57..is that lucky?

Today is No 57..how good is that..

BTW: I plan to keep celebrating  them for at least another 43 years!

It's been a wonderful day with great presents, phonecalls & best wishes but best of all its being able to share it with my lovely lady Susie who has made it a very special day.

I arrived home at 6.30 this morning to the tantalising smell of a freshly baking chocolate cake..what an aroma...who needs MKR or MasterChef when I can arrive home to this smell...must admit being a tad disappointed in being told ...no I could not have chocolate cake for breakfast...so its on the menu this evening..after we do some fine dining at the finest restaurant in Townsville. more on that later....

First time I have arrived home to balloons and check out that amazing cake (ignore the candles!)

 

 

Thanks to Susie, my family and friends...you have made it a very special day...can't wait until the next one.

 

T-158 Welcome to the twin girls: fantastic news!

More joy arrived in the world yesterday evening as my niece Prue delivered not one but two beautiful new baby girls.

Welcome Philippa and Annabelle Spencer...we can't wait to see them. Pictures will follow.

Mum & Dad very proud and one extremely happy set of grandparents (my younger brother Scott & Libby).

Oh & of course one set of great grandparents who are also extremely proud. Grand-Great Henry will be claiming more responsibility for us all being on the planet.

As for my riding, managed to do a quick 50 kms with the Papa Smurf early crew. We are joined by my fellow Melb-Brisbane rider Janet C. which was really nice. Such a positive person to be in our peleton. I'm really beginning to look forward to our ride in October.

Training load will ramp up as I well appreciate so just have to be smart with my training & recovery strategies. Good sleep is the key apparently so after we move into our new apartment in a few weeks all will be good in our life.

Please remember to donate to our cause as I heard today another colleague is not doing well with her cancer. I hate this disease & makes me more determined to ride for research & promote prevention.

Just follow the link to my donation page.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross

T-159 Valuable friends, Sunday lunch and laughs

Monday means a rest day. The body is very appreciative of that small fact.

Susie and I had another actioned packed weekend with lots of highlights including

• our successful garage sale and associated activities
• an easy and safe ride on a beautiful Sunday morning
• and a long leisurely Sunday lunch with great friends

Which brings me to my point today: all the lunch guests were funny, thoughtful and fully present in 'life' which to me is the whole purpose of life: enjoyment and connection with others.

We human beings crave connection and due to Lee & Didi's invitation and fantastic lunch we had 4 hours of 'perfect connection' where we enjoyed healthy food, the odd glass of wine,stimulating conversations and shared many laughs.

No-one sought to dominate proceedings, each of us contributed to the atmosphere and it concluded with tasty cups of coffee and free interpretive readings of the 'milk froth patterns'.

Not sure what Dr Sigmund Freud would have made of some of the interpretations but who cares we had fun...and surely that is the essence of 'life'...

Good friends, good food and lots of laughs.

Thanks Lee & Didi for lunch and to all my friends who attended...a perfect Sunday by my definition.

T-160 Sunday: a day of rest..sort of..recovery anyway

T-160 days until we hit the road for the Final Leg.

Just spoke to Mark 'Sharky' Smoothy, the inspiration behind Smiling for Smiddy and we are all systems go for October.

Today has been a 'recovery day' for both Susie & I.

I managed to do an easy recovery ride with Clint Spencer, the soon to be proud Dad. He and Prue are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new twins..big week for them all coming up. Good luck to all....

Susie (aka Ms Gum Tree) & I sorted through the Garage Sale debris & sold a few more items..there is absolutely no point in judging the value of things...let others do that...as they say 'one person's junk is another person's treasure'.

Be warned:

May will see the beginning of my fundraising in earnest..so expect some targeted emailing.

If you wish to avoid the potential harassment why not donate now....just follow the link to my donation page..

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross


Cheers and enjoy your Sunday read

T-161 Garage sales: got to love the amount of 'stuff' we acquire....

Good morning all,

As predicted we had our first customers before 7 AM this morning as we continue our 'downsizing' as preparation for apartment living.

Why do we manage to surround ourselves with so much stuff I wonder? I guess at some stage it the 'purchases' made sense & we talked ourselves into the belief we needed it....or the item in question had some designated 'utility' (e.g. a lawnmower).

So hopefully we have cleaned out & moved some more stuff onwards...

Hamilton Island seems like a good but distant memory...nice to be this flexible....just where is that yoga mat? Must have been sold in the garage sale.

Don't make me try that pose please!

T-162: ANZAC Spirit remembered

To all our past & present military personnel: we salute you all for your service and sacrifice so we may live in the best country in the world.

Their service and commitment allows us to enjoy the likes of Hamilton Island and the beautiful Whitsunday Islands...which we did to the fullest this week.

I did manage to do some kms on a stationary bike and a 45 minute Tabata session at the amazing Peppers Airlie Beach Resort...but mainly it the week's main focus is 'recovery' and I managed to do that in style...

Recovery and rest are just as important as training....just ask any professional athlete...

 

 

See below for a glimpse of my future.........

 

My next pursuit.....go fast catamaran racing in preparation of being selected in the America's Cup Challenger Team Australia based in Hamilton Island...we all have big dreams!

 

 

Red, fast & dangerous....how good would that be in a big breeze?

 

Or maybe I will become a bus driver doing shuttle runs on Hamilton Island...sounds like a more realistic dream.

 

Today's training ride

 

It seemed many were out early to pay their respects and attend the Dawn Service.

 

 I hit the road at 4.30 AM & there were many cars on the road then. Managed to link up with a few fellow Papa Smurf riders which helped pass the time as I cranked out a metric century this morning. Thanks men to making the time & distance pass a bit quicker in the middle sections.

T-163 Recovery Hamilton Island style: what is it about island life?

Whew what a tough few days in the Whitsunday Islands...perfect post-Easter place for a great break.

Susie and I treated ourselves to a few days of R&R plus a lot of Reading and some fine dining experiences.

So that is why I have been off the radar..having a 'technology-break'...did you miss me?

We drove from Townsville & headed to Hamilton Island at midday Monday & had a magnificent 20 odd hours on the island. It's a beautiful place and caters for all.

Great wildlife attended breakfast uninvited but soon made themselves at home....beautiful birds with sophisticated tastes and a great attitude........

Local lorikeets...liked the muesli & yogurt but passed on the coffee for breakfast.

1983 all over again?



Did you know that the Hamilton Island Yacht Club is planning to compete & win the next America's Cup?

 

Won't that be awesome when we win it & have the challenger races in the Whitsundays....it will certainly put the place on the international yachting stage...be like Fremantle all over again!

 

Go Bob & his brigade of brilliant ocean yacht racers.

 

Susie holding up the Hamilton Island Yacht Club.



 

The next wining yacht club of the America's Cup.

Recovery techniques: island style tomorrow!

T-166 Excited! Holiday time

Hi all,

Just a quick early morning blog. It's rest day for my legs & they are very appreciative of that fact!

We're having a mini-break & heading to the Whitsunday Region for a few days. Excited!

I have not been to that area since 1982, that's BC (before children).

Heading to Hamilton Island to sit in the sun & build up my Vitamin D levels.

So I'll have some great photos to post later this week.

Don't worry my fundraising can still occur despite me taking time-out..

Please go to my page by following this link.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross


Cheers

Rossco

T-167 Easter Sunday: why I ride.

Easter Sunday:

Today's sunrise is why I ride early.

It's so peaceful and to see such an awesome sunrise across my river (Ross River) from the Nathan St bridge is extra special.




Ross River, Townsville Easter Sunday Sunrise 06.22

I hope you enjoy it along with the Easter Eggs.

Guess I'll do a few extra kms to burn those extra calories.

Do you want me to do a few for you?

Happy to do so and in return I'd ask you to donate to my cause.

Smiling for Smiddy donations page: please click the link

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross


BTW:
Next post will be after we get back from the beautiful Whitsunday Islands...the logical place to go at Easter time. We are taking a well-deserved break from house packing & getting  ready for our garage sale next weekend.

T-174 Dodged a 'wet bullet' aka Cyclone Ita

Wet and windy outdoors, sweaty indoors.

Townsville although a tad wet, dodged a wet bullet earlier this Sunday morning as Cyclone Ita rolled over us a Category 1 Cyclone.

So instead of riding Mt Stuart this morning (see pictures below) I watched the powerful movie 'The Green Mile' with the brilliant Tom Hanks while pedalling away in the comfort of our lounge.

Afterwards a leisurely ' I Quit Sugar' inspired pile of coconut pancakes replaced the expended calories...thanks Sarah Wilson for the well-constructed recipes.

So its the end of my first week of training in preparation for the Final Leg & one more step towards my unfinished business.

Rossco's Ride Tribe

Care to get involved and become a Rossco Tribe Member?

Please jump online and donate now.

It will take only a few minutes & you can then be part of 'making a positive difference' in our wonderful world.

Just follow the link below

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross



Love the stark contrast in these two pictures..isn't nature amazing!

Cyclone Ita induced cloud cover April 13th 2014.
Somewhere in the clouds is Mt Stuart (as shown below)

Normal view of Mt Stuart albeit early AM

T-175 Cyclone-induced Training Plan B (aka riding with Joe Bonamasa)

T-175

Cyclone Ita, bearing down on Far North Qld, rated as a Category4/5 made sure indoor training became the order of the day. Not a lot of fun riding in torrential rain.

So dusting off the trusty old bike stand, with  the fan on high speed and a line-up of DVDs made life interesting for a long slow training stint.

[See the great picture Susie took this morning in the early hours of Saturday].

I managed to watch a fascinating episode in Michael Moseley's great BBC series called 'Guts', followed by a gripping Wire in the Blood episode (love Robson Green as an actor) & brought home by the brilliant blues man Joe Bonamasa, live in concert at the Royal Albert Hall (complete with a guest appearance from Eric Clapton).

So all in all the 150 minutes passed with relatively low levels of boredom, high levels of sweat and an occasional peak outside at the rain & plenty of gratitude that I didn't venture outside.


Cancer fact: 44 000 Australians will die from caner this year plus countless others undergoing treatment..

We need to get 'cancer' under control. You just don't catch cancer like an infectious disease.

None of us will escape either having or knowing someone who has cancer at this rate

Donations

As you realise I am a seeking to raise a minimum of $5000 so any contribution you would care to make would be appreciated.

Please take 2 minutes to make your donation.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross

Sweating in the dark. Upside: No cars to avoid!

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T-176 Kissing Point ' perfect workout venue'

T-176

What a perfect way to start the day...a walk around the newly re-opened Jezzine Barracks situated on a prominent headland in Townsville known as 'Kissing Point'.

 The redevelopment is brilliant & captures the indigenous & recent military significance to the sight....a perfect vantage point to repel potential invaders.

Also the artwork is amazing & beautifully landscaped.

So next time you are in Townsville check it out..it's spectacular.

We did a walking warm up and a Tabata session on the grassy area behind the gun station.

Definitely a great way to start the day with Magnetic Island aka Maggie in the background.

Supporting our cause:

Here's the link if you feel inspired to assist us 'Smile for Smiddy' and support my fundraising efforts.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross


Thanks for your company John!

 

Magnetic Island from Kissing Point: before Cyclone Ita


 

T-177 Increased determination to make a difference

T-177


Two things happened today to increase my determination to 'DO SOMETHING" about this insidious disease called cancer.

One of my generous donors has lost 2 colleagues in their mid to late 50s to cancer....more good people gone to early. Sorry about your losses Adam.

The second is reading a best seller book by Dr Don Agus, who has become very prominent in America recently. It seems we have made very little headway relatively speaking in reducing the deathrate from cancer and finding a cure when compared to other lifestyle diseases like heart attacks.

So please get behind me on this Smiddy Ride & let's do our bit to rid the world of this disease.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross

Too many people are dying needlessly.

One a more positive note a big well done to Bec for organising our Townsville BUG meeting & getting more people interested in safe cycling.

Love the Aplin Weir in the early morning situated on my river!.

Ross River. Early morning looking towards Hervey Range.

T-178: another early morning blast

Good morning tribe-members;

Just a quick post this morning as I will be watching Spicks & Specks tonight so no night blogging.

Susie and I love that show & getting into the new team & their antics.

Training Ride; quick blast.

So the reliable body clock had me up at 4 AM & out the door to join the Macca's crew for a quick 40 kms to Pallarenda & back.

Thanks to David, Gary Marty & Peter (complete with their new bikes).

Mt Stuart provided the perfect silhouette for today's picture. I love riding at this hour of the day. Little traffic and still coolish.

Tribe members:

Now stands at 10 with another donation overnight. Thanks Lee & Didi.

Please remember if you would like to donate please click the link below.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross

Early morning Mt Stuart, Townsville's great backdrop

Cheers

Rossco

Day T-179 Smiling for Smiddy: my unfinished business

Hi all,

Day T-179

It's T-179 until I get back on my bike to complete another chunk of my original round-Australia bike ride.

This time I am joining the great Smiling for Smiddy Circle & riding the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane leg in October.

So I'm back in the social media world with a renewed passion & challenge!

I am tired and angry about the people I know and love that have been affected by cancer.

So as I said on my Smiling for Smiddy donations page..it's time for action.

Please click this link if you wish to be part of this ride.

https://thefinalleg.everydayhero.com/au/ross

So please join my journey as plan to share with you all my training stories and the quirky things us MAMIL's (Middle-aged Men in Lycra) get up to in order to stay fit and live life to the fullest.

Rossco's tribe of donors.

I have 8 wonderful people who have joined my amazing tribe of donors.

My initial goal is to get 100 people in this amazingly generous Tribe.

To be a member simply make a  donation.

Today's picture

Tonight I'm grateful for the moon and sunset to train with..got to love the  Tropics.

Last of the sunset..must be dinner time!

 

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