A little bit of Friendly Competition

There once was a time when I only had to compete with the bikes, for time with CH. That was, until the iphone was invented. This small piece of technology has practically been grafted onto CH's hand, only to be ripped away when it needs to be charged, or, when he is riding - at which point the iphone takes a back seat, in the pocket of his jersey. CH is NEVER without his iphone. It has been fascinating to see him develop a whole new addiction whilst still maintaining his cycling addiction.

So curious was I, as to what CH found all encompassing about the iphone, that I decided to have a peek at it. And as I scrolled through cycling app, after cycling app, after cycling app, I began to see why there was such a strong connection to his beloved iphone. It was bursting at the seam with cycling apps, It was his tool for organising rides via text messages and he could access any cycling website whenever and wherever he wanted to. The iphone was the hub of his cycling life. It is the glue that holds it all together.

So, as I peeled back the layers I realised that the bike and the iphone weren't competing for CH's time, they were working harmoniously together to create some sort of super power that I will now need to try and conquer if I am to see CH at all anymore.

The Perfect Gift

Recently some gorgeous friends of ours celebrated their anniversary. On the eve of their anniversary weekend, S had just discovered that T had organised a surprise for their weekend and was elated by the fact that her hubby had taken the time to organise something special for them on their anniversary.

As I shared this story with CH over dinner that night, we began to speculate about what romantic gesture T must have planned for them. CH thought for a moment before exclaiming - 'I know! I bet he is taking them to do the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride!' CH was deadly serious about this being the ultimate thing you could possibly do for someone you love.

Ahhhh, CH - such a romantic.

Local Newspaper Famous

CH has escaped the mundaneness of everyday existence and fled south for the 'Tour of the Murray River' for the past week. Our daily phone contact, which is squeezed in between stages, bicycle maintenance, eating and sleeping (not much time left over once you fit all of this into a day) allows me to hear CH whinge about how sore he is and how exhausted he is, but underneath it all he is truly happy.

Today the phone call was to share exciting news, with CH ringing to tell me his photo had made it into the local paper. I assumed it was for cycling and asked what stage it was from? CH responds, with enthusiasm .........'No, it wasn't for cycling. It was a photo of me smashing down a Vanilla Slice at the Great Australian Vanilla Slice competition!!!!'
Of course, if he doesn't get in the paper for cycling, eating is his next favourite hobby

This clever little town of Ouyen has organised the event to coincide with a flood of cyclists hitting town, as bakers from all across Australia battle for the title of Best Vanilla Slice in the country. I am sure CH was only too happy to oblige in doing some taste testing.

The Michaelangelo

In a desperate attempt to create a little more space in our house, for the constant flow of visitors that filter through our front door, we are trying to congregate all of the bikes in one common area. Of course, when you assemble them all together you have a little 'wow' moment when you realise just how many bikes two poeple can own! So in creating clever storage solutions, CH brought home this bike rack - 'The Michaelangelo'.

Once assembled, and safely nestling two fixies, CH stands back to admire his handywork, and says - 'You know why it's called Michaelangelo storage? Because it's carefully holding works of art'.

The works of art

New Additions and Battles Won!

Many Apologies for the lack of posts over the past few weeks! Life has been slightly hectic, hence my extremely neglectful behaviour towards the blog!

Since I last posted, we have welcomed yet another bike into our ever growing fleet. This spunky commuter has been faithfully getting me to work each day for the past few weeks. I uptraded my old commuter bike for this fabulous bike adn it feels amazing to ride! I finally have panniers - which means I have rid my journey of a great bulky backpack!! So, with no backpack on and this super new, super light (well - it's light compared to what I ride - I know CH will debate this and proclaim - 'It's heavy!') fabulous bike, I feel like I practically fly to work and back - It feels so easy now!

I have also finally won the battle of cool! After much debate, CH finally admitted defeat and surprised me with this fabulous new seat for Old Red. Goodbye Flame seat! Hello Funk!

Rainy Days

CH greets this drizzly morning with 'Stupid rain!'
Knowing that he would get soaking wet, be riding in slippery conditions and his bike would get dirty, he still chooses to go out riding.


After arriving home looking like a drowned rat, he then spends the next three hours pulling apart, cleaning and rebuilding his bike.

The rest of the day........well that is spent whinging about the rain and the impact it had on his cycling.........yet I guarantee he will repeat this cycle again, and again, and again.

CH and his Handyman Skills (or lack of)

CH is a fabulous cyclist - there is no doubt about it. He is dedicated and passionate about the sport and to be as dedicated as he is takes a lot of time. Much of CH's time is spent on the bike, talking about the bike, watching bikes, racing, driving to a race or hanging out with other cyclists.

With so much time being dedicated to cycling, CH does tend to lack in other areas. These cracks in his expertise only appear in the midst of a crisis such as the one that follows......

A few weeks ago our kitchen tap began leaking around the base. Pointing this out to CH, I assumed that he would be able to fix it, or at least look into it. A few weeks went by and still there had been no action with the tap, despite multiple reminders. I offered to call the landlord and arrange a plumber. Horrified, CH declined my offer, as he doesn't like his manhood challenged with the suggestion that someone else may have to come in and do a job that he feels he should be able to do. I left it at this, hoping that the suggestion of a plumber might prod him in the direction of fixing the tap............No such luck.

This little leak in the tap all came to a head one Saturday morning while I was filling up the kettle, only to find that the tap wouldn't turn off on it's own. With water gushing everywhere I called CH to the scene. He looked at it, obviously confused about what to do. I would love to know what thoughts ran through his head before he finally blurted out 'I need to go to the toilet'. Obviously needing to buy some time while he thought of a strategy to avoid the disaster which had occurred, he scurried off, down to the bathroom. Whilst he pondered his next move I fashioned a temporary contraption which stopped the tap gushing out water, yet also made the tap unusable.

CH finally showed his face - looked at the tap and said "I have to go - I need to ride to work. Don't touch that tap today okay!" With that great bit of advice he took his beloved bike on a journey far far away form the tap problem that he couldn't solve.

Finding a spare moment amidst my day I dedicated some time to researching how I could fix the tap. Unfortunatly, I didn't find the time to actually fix the tap, but I am armed with knowledge which I passed onto CH later that evening. CH was skeptical about the information I gave him and after scoffing at my findings he challenged a few facts I shared with him. At this point I gave up talking about it and planned to fix the tap myself the following day.

The next day CH had beaten me to it, and I find that he has managed to get our neighbour down to fix the tap. As I listened in on the conversation I found CH rattling off all of the details I had shared with him the day before! Yes, the ones he had scoffed at only hours before. I couldn't believe it! He was obviuosly feeling the need to show that he does have the knowledge, just not the time to fix this small problem of a leaking tap.

Finally, Thanks to our fabulous neighbour, we are back to having a functioning kitchen!

CH has gone back to what he does best - cycling.

And I have learnt the lesson to bypass CH for all future plumbing situations and either do them myself or get a professional in.

Lazy Monday

The last day of a fabulous four days off! CH and I decided to celebrate the first half of it by going for a Mountain Bike ride. We had heard rumours that a local park held some MTB tracks in the back of it. After taking the longest, yet least hilly route there, we were pleasently surprised to find a maze of tracks hidden behind this suburban park.

After a ride through and failing to end up where planned on several occasions - thanks to poor signage, we were finally spat out onto a road (both of which neither of us recognised) and were then left to navigate our way to a coffee shop.

With both of us being avid coffee fans and desperate for a cup of the good stuff, finding a coffee shop was an easy task. Finding one that was open - not so easy.

Coffee Shop 1 - CLOSED

Coffee Shop 2 - CLOSED

Coffee Shop 3 - CLOSED

Coffee Shop 4 - CLOSED

CH was lost, unsure what to do. A strange feeling no doubt, for one who ALWAYS ends a ride with a coffee.

Our quest to find an open coffee shop led us close to home, so we decide to stop in, clean ourselves up, swap bikes (CH's idea) and take the fixies out to hunt down more coffee shops that may be open.

On the road again, and we finally strike some luck - an open coffee shop!

Our hearts and tastebuds rejoice as we park the fixies out the front. CH puffs out his chest with pride as some passer by comments on his handy work with the bikes.

We are finally fed and given caffiene and I instantly become a more pleasent person to be around once that caffiene starts pumping through my body. As I sip, I watch CH inhale his waffles and skull his coffee. This man is not satisfied though - he needs more, and he suggests we continue riding to the next open coffee shop for round two.

Round two, and we fill our bellies a little more. We leave feeling very greatful to those who worked on Easter Monday as we cruise home on the fixies.

Everything is a Competition

With a race being held up on the glorious Sunshine Coast Hinterland today, a friend and I thought we may as well head up and enjoy the glorious sunshine.

After the race it was the usual mandatory stop at a Bakery for a refuel and some caffeine, before heading up to Kondililla Falls.

After a swim in the ice bath that was Kondililla Falls it was time to do the trek back to the cars. I was the first to be organised and began to lead the way. Trouble is, being with a group of cyclists means they cannot handle having someone in front of them. Absolutely everything becomes a competition and the walk back to the cars was no exception.

So, after a wee while on the front, I hear some fast approaching footsteps from behind, accompanied by a commentary.

'She is in a breakaway, but Cycling Buddy is coming up from behind......and he has bridged the gap!

This was just the very beginning of an endless vocabulary of cycling commentary the whole way back, as we fought for our positions, battling slow walkers, sight-seers and a few injuries.

Cycling lingo was flying through the air as our 'peleton' ascended to the car park.

Knowing that cyclists hate to lose - I very kindly let them all overtake (except CH - who claims he wasn't even racing). I don't think I could have handled the car trip home if I hadn't.

Doper

A friend of mine recently found herself in a spot of bother when she broke her ankle whilst embracing the world of Roller Derby.

As part of her recovery, she was required to inject herself in order to avoid her blood clotting. Knowing that we have a sharps bin (purchased upon receiving the news that CH has Diabetes Type 1 - of which his mother is convinced that cycling caused??) she handed the needles over to me to dispose of, as I was hopping in the car to leave her house.

Becoming so engrossed in practicing my singing on the way home, I forget all about the syringes laying around in the back seat of the car.

The next person to take out the car is CH himself - to a bike race of course.

Bike races are great places to show off your new lightweight wheels, your awesome DI2, but it is no place to have syringes laying about.

With CH's posse swanning about the car, it didn't take long before the syringes were noticed.

Cycling Buddy 1: 'Here's the reason you've been riding so well lately - Check this out!!!'

Cycling Buddy 2: 'Someone call Doping Control!'

Cycling Buddy 3: 'Can I get some?'

CH, also unclear as to why there was a pile of used syringes in the back of our car, couldn't explain his way out of that one. Needless to say, I copped twenty questions when he arrived home that afternoon.

The Helmet Measurement

CH has discovered a new form of measurement within our household............

After days of nagging me to give him a haircut, CH came to me in desperation with his helmet on. As he points to his head he says 'Look at this! My hair is so long it pokes through my helmet! That means I really need a haircut. I can even see it in my shadow when I am riding.'

Tim Tamtation Take Two

After multiple coughing fits lastnight I was beginning to worry that CH was coming down with something. Upon closer observation, however, I find that the coughing fits only happen when CH opens the freezer. Trying to figure out the connection I recall placing a packet of Tim Tams in the freezer a few weeks ago. The coughing was simply to mask the noise of the Tim Tam packet while CH smuggled them away one by one.

Hoover

Due to an upcoming big race, CH has had to increase his training remarkably. This means riding before work, after work, to work, from work, during work and the occassional 3:00am rise and shine to go for a ride. He is squeezing every last moment out of every day to ride.

This means that sightings of CH in his natural habitat (our house)are quiet rare these days. While I don't see him in the flesh too often there are some very clear indicators that he is alive and well. Some of these indicators are....

1. There are 'lycra only' loads of washing appearing on the clothes line on an almost daily basis.

2. CH's mail can be found open and littered across the kitchen bench of a morning.

3. New bicycle parts continue to appear throughout the house.

However the most noticeable sign is that every time I open the fridge 90% of the food I bought the previous day has disappeared. I have done about 4 grocery shops in the last six days and each time I think, surely this will last us till the end of the week, only to find it is mostly gone by the following day. Surely one man couldn't consume such copious amounts of food alone? Could he? This question was answered recently as I was treated to a live show of 'The Hoover' in action......................

I was home alone one Thursday evening, when I saw the familiar flashing light roll up our driveway and knew that CH was home. He enters the house, puts the bike away and makes a beeline for the fridge, retrieving armfuls of food. I watch in amazement and within minutes I see a weeks worth of fruit disappear into CH's mouth. Like a vacuum cleaner to a filthy floor, CH vacuumed up 6 bananas, 2 mangoes, 2 apples, 10 lychees, 3 peaches, 2 nectarines and some blueberries. Whilst slurping in that last little blueberry, he turns to me and says 'So, whats for dinner?'

And so I learn that the more kilometres that appear on CH's bike odometer, the more dollars appear on the bottom of our grocery docket. A simple equation really.

The Passport Saga

It always fascinates me just how much of a motivator cycling is for CH. It's like this magic word you dangle in front of him, like a carrot, to get things done. I can ask, encourage, suggest and hint for something to be done and get zero results, yet as soon as cycling is involved things miraculously happen. And they happen with enthusiasm and gusto!

I have been 'encouraging' CH to renew his passport for quiet some time now and it always gets put in the 'too hard' basket for a few reasons
1. CH would have to actually make a trip to the post office to get a form - too hard.
2. CH would then have to fill in said form - way too hard. and
3. CH would then have to be organised enough to arrange an appointment to hand all the appropriate documentation in - definitely too hard.

As you can see the task is almost impossible and this meant updating the passport was out of the question. So I had given up on this passport dream, comforting myself with the knowledge that I had done my bit and CH would be the one suffering the consequences as I stood in the queue at the airport waving goodbye to the passportless him.

However just as I began to resign myself to the fact that operation passport will not happen.........CH was presented with an opportunity to race in an international race. It only took a single suggestion from a cycling BFF for CH to get over-the-top enthusiastic about accomplishing his long forgotten passport task. And the 'too hard' task was completed in the minimal amount of time, without any fuss.

Today I sat and smiled through gritted teeth as he read out the email he had just received stating that 'your passport application was processed and was on it's way.' Then finishes this off with the comment 'Lucky Cycling Buddy reminded me about getting my passport hey?'

Oh so lucky! Guess I will just always have to wonder what his face would have looked like as I jetsetted off solo?