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!