Quote for the Week

CH finally chose to wash something other than his kit today, and contributed to the greater good of the household by doing some washing. This is announced to me this evening in the following words.......

"I did some washing today! Cos that's what I do. The cleaner, that's what they call me!"

Pimp My Ride

I often wonder if CH has convinced himself that he is on a daily episode of Pimp My Ride (bicycle style) as he strives to have the lightest, fastest bike known to man. The constant grooming, upcycling, and purchasing that is involved in keeping his bike up to scratch is phenomenal.

In more recent days, however, he has managed to peel his eyes away from his other love and set his sights elsewhere. I have been dragged into one of the delusional episodes of 'Pimp My Ride with the Notorious CH'.

I should have noticed the subtle clues that have been gradually appearing over the past few weeks...........new handlebars strategically placed in the vicinity of Old Red's resting place, random discussion about Old Red, suggestion of a few 'improvements', and then he hits me with it.........his grand plan to 'Pimp My Ride'.

While I am greatful for any attention that wavers in the direction of my bikes, I have become quite attached to Old Red just the way he is, and I did hold slight concerns that CH's idea of Pimpin and my idea of Pimpin may just not be the same. My fears were confirmed when he arrives home from work this week, and I knew he had a new purchase to show off, because he runs from the car to the back door on the days he has a new toy, and on the days he doesn't have a new toy.........well I am yet to find out what happens on those days! Anyhow....he appears in the doorway with a huge grin on his face and produces the most contrasting combination of bicycle accesories I have ever seen............a wicker front bicycle basket and a bike seat emblazoned with flames. 'Surprise!'

It was like country meets goth, Peggy Sue meets Hells Angels. It's Shania Twain out the front and Metallica out the back.

Unsure as to what kind of a concept CH was trying to achieve, I asked what he thought when he looked at my bike, now that it was 'pimpin', to which he replied........"It's RAD! I've still got more to put on though. It's gonna be pimpin.' And then, accompanied by an evil laugh, he says, 'Wait till you see the flame tires I have for you and the skull grips!'

With such convincing enthusiasm, I wondered for a brief moment if perhaps I had it all wrong? Maybe it does look okay? I guess there is nothing left to do but to rely on the response from the general public now, as I wheel around on the new and questionably improved Old Red.........or I could find someone else who can remove bike seats.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Lately CH and I have been like ships passing in the night. With trips away, busy work schedules and visitors we have had very little time to just hang out and enjoy each others company, until today. Prior to today, CH and I had organised that we would both clear our schedules and hang out together. Unsure as to what we would do I asked CH for some suggestions.

Suggestion #1 from CH
"We should go to a cafe and watch the Tour the night before and then we can sleep in"

I explained to CH that I am feeling in desperate need of an amazing nights sleep, so a late night wasn't really on my agenda, and suggest that perhaps we could grab a DVD to watch earlier and then he could move on to watch the Tour.

Suggestion #2 from CH
"Oh yeah, we could watch a movie..........I've got some Mountain Biking movies we could watch"

Hmmm.......as tempting as that offer was I had concerns that CH could overdo it watching a Mountain Biking DVD as well as the Tour, so was able to gently persuade him to consider other viewing options. We enjoyed some quality viewing which didn't invovle bikes, and the suggestions for the following day rolled on........

Suggestion #3 from CH
"Lets go Mountain Biking tomorrow!"

At this stage I recognise that CH is die hard and will not let up until I participate in some form of cycling related activity - I would much rather participate than watch and I know that CH has been bursting to take McRad (His mountain bike) for a spin, so it is with great enthusiasm that I agree to go Mountain Biking.

We arrive at the Mountain Biking trails and CH chooses then to provide me with the following comforting news

a) He doesn't really know what he is doing as he has never ridden his MTB before and he is unsure as to where any of these trails go, so he isn't sure how long we will be or where we will end up.

b) The MTB that I am using (which is on loan as a demo bike) is a $6000 bike, so try not to break it. No pressure or anything.

Upon receiving this news it is with little confidence that I embark on my first ever Mountain Bike ride. CH led the way, shouting back instructions to me as I navigated the track a short distance behind him ('stay left', 'jump that log' - the second instruction resulted in me on the ground) and his luck struck again as he took us on a perfect loop, which ended up back at our starting point. The bike that I had was awesome (as you would expect from a $6000 bike) and after a few spills, grazes and lots of mud I was wondering why we had never done this before! It was RAD! The ride was completed with CH exclaiming 'Finally, a type of cycling you really like!'

CH surely needs to be credited 10/10 for trying to come up with ways to spend some QT together. He sure knows how to treat a lady ;).

The Return Home

Having been away visiting family for the past week, I was keen to return and see CH and be back at home. Upon returning it's always interesting to see what CH has been up to and what the house is like, as it paints a picture of what went on in my absence..........

The folding that was sitting in the dining room when I left..........still there.
The chocolate that I left on the bench when I left.........gone.
The fruit and vegies that were in the fridge when I left.........still there.
The money that was in our account when I left.........spent (McDonalds, Grill'd, etc etc).
The bed that was made when I left.........a littering of bankets spatter our bed.
The tiny amount of washing left to do..........well the lycra's washed - the rest of it......still there

Ah, yes it's good to be home?? :)

Tour de No Telly

CH recently got rid of the television from our house, in an effort to declutter our lives and have more time to do other things...........of course this has resulted in us having lots more time to do what else but cycling stuff! HOORAY!

However I recently realised that the Tour is fast approaching and am curious to see how CH will manage this without a telly in our house? Shall keep you posted as the saga unfolds.

I did the trek to go and see CH at work today and as I walked through those great big doors there it was.............a bike I dream of...............A bike that is built for glorious comfort. Beaming out at me from the Schwinn range was this beauty......

I made sure that I didn't leave without making it clear that one of these would be warmly welcomed into our already over populated bike shelter.

OLD RED

Besides, I imagine old red must be feeling like the odd one out at our place and may need some company, as he is surrounded by road bikes and McRad (CH's latest addition to the collection). Poor Old Red is like a rose among the thorns.

Knickers, Knickers, Knickers

Working with two and three year olds on a daily basis means that knickers are a fairly popular conversation point, whether it be them sharing which latest super hero features on the front panel or them simply quoting ‘Well I don’t like them, just cos, well they always give me a wedgie, undies do.’

I never thought knickers would feature so prominently outside of my work life until this week…………

With the rain clouds consistently delivering on their promise and providing us with a constant drizzle, it has been near impossible to keep up with the mountains of washing that magically appear around our house. As a result, clothing supplies have been running low, which proved to cause some trouble for CH.

Whilst he can easily manage to organize a clean kit for each day of the week, organization doesn’t extend to anything outside of cycling clothing. Each morning this week I have emerged from my slumber to be greeted with the mild panic of CH as he returns from his ride to discover that he has no dry or clean underpants left. The door opens as he makes his march out to the clothesline to retrieve a pair of knickers and places them in front of the heater on full blast to try and dry them in time to get to work. One would think you may learn after this happening once……..but this scenario was repeated daily with CH, who had it down to a fine art by Friday.

He survived the week without too much drama, until Saturday………….With wet weather, busy weeks and a slight lack of organization, we weren’t exactly spoilt for choice in the underwear department and CH has no choice but to drag out his very last pair of underpants and don ‘The Brown Hornets’, as they eventually ended up being called. Whilst at a race and changing from his kit back into normal clothes ‘The Brown Hornets’ were spotted by some of his Bike Buddies (BB’s) who were highly offended by the colour of these underpants and voiced this loud and clear through creating numerous ‘nicknames’ for the underpants and having a dig at CH. After being the ‘butt’ of a number of jokes due to his unfortunate undie choice, CH couldn’t get those knickers off quick enough when he got home.
I, of course was still wondering whether I should be more concerned about CH’s underwear choice or the fact that his BB’s cared so much about what CH was wearing under his clothes?

The weekend came to it’s grand finale with us getting ready to head out to a party. As I stood at the mirror blow drying my hair, CH appears in the reflection……….I look up and see his jaw drop, before crying out “We have a hair dryer! I can’t believe I have been drying my undies with the heater all week when we have a hair dryer. The hair dryer would have done a way better job!’

I guess we live and learn?