Irregularity

So much for regular posts that were promised when I started the blog
Since I last posted, much has happened

• house renovations have been completed
• relatives have visited from South Africa
• I was knocked off my bike by an errant bus just before Christmas..

The bus incident is clearly a standout event and one that landed me in hospital with 9 broken ribs and a collapsed lung ( pneumothorax , for those who are medically inclined). It took a while to recover mobility , there are still a few twinges in the chest area but I am largely back to normal , although it has been pointed out to me that injuries such as these flare up from time to time when age becomes a factor.

How did it happen? I was riding along, minding my own business on the way to the train station, when a bus appeared in my rear view mirror.
The bus decided to overtake , despite there not being enough room to do so. As the bus overtook, I realised he was next to me , about 1 meter away but as he passed me, he turned in too soon and walloped me with the tail end of the bus.

I was thrown to the ground, on my back and head, the helmet saved my head but my ribs took the brunt of it and when I tried to stand up, all I could think of was getting out of the road before being run over by another car, I managed to pick up my bike and get it to the side of the road, despite the fact that my ribcage sounded like a coffee grinder and lay down at the side of the road in agony until the ambo arrived with a sweet smelling sedative.

It may seem trite to say it but my life really did flash before my eyes - I thought of my daughters and Catherine and wondered what would have happened if the accident had been worse ( it might well have been MUCH worse ).

I've recovered with the help of a friendly neighbourhood physiotherapist and now am able to ride to work once more. My rides are no longer as carefree and are longer because I avoid the roads religiously.

Although a cyclist is legally entitled to ride on the road, there is no satifisfaction to be gained from being in the right when you are lying in hospital nursing your wounds and with pipes emanating from every orifice.

Rest day

For a change I left the bike at Warwick train station and took the train into work - good to have a rest day every now and again, if only to realise that the train is not nearly as much fun.
Banal overheard teenage conversations are no match for sound of the wind in the trees and the tyres on the track.
I timed the trip, from door to door was 50 minutes, about 5 minutes less than by bicycle, including time for showering at the destination.
It looks like I'll be at 3000Km by the end of August - the computer reads 2770 at the moment so I'm banking on 100km a week at least. Now that the weather seems to be improving and the sun is coming out earlier , its much easier to get onto the bike and go in the mornings.

To Work

This is the route I usually take to work , from Carine to the Mitchell Freeway bike path and on via Osborne Park to work in West Perth.

It is normally ridden at quite a brisk pace - due to my penchant for setting off late - which is not all bad since it gets the heart pumping.

It's not a long ride - 14.8km, nor is it taxing since it is mostly flat aside from an exhilarating downhill into Gwelup - on which I have achieved 51.4kmh one morning when I pushed the bike ( and myself )a bit and probably had quite a big load in the panniers to help me downhill.

The initial downhill next to to the house is more of a hindrance than a help as on a cold morning I'd rather get the blood flowing with a burst of energy up a hill or at least flat than get the chill wind in in my face without any countering warmth from pumping the pedals.

But the discomfort soon dissapears once I hit the Carine Open space. The fellow early morning masochists including dogwalkers ( some in shorts...! ) trot along providing entertainment and obstacles and weaving amongst them while trying to ring the bell with gloved hands proves a challenge.

As I ride past Gwelup and through the Erindale Road underpass I pass the little old Italian lady wheeling her grocery cart toward the supermarket and the man carrying a box of lettuce from his plot to a market ( it sometimes occurs to me that I should introduce them and they can cut out the middle man and save themselves a trek but I digress ) .

Then the Karrinyup road crossing where 4x4's jockey for position at the traffic lights , daring me to cross in front of them and get flattened - I wait impatiently for a green light and cross with eyes in the side of my helmet.

A little while later I cross the Freeway on the pedestrian overpass and ride past the Stirling council administration building , then over the bridge to Osborne Park and beyond where truck and trailers, cement trucks and modified hummers and cyclists compete in uneven competition for the road. Luckily its a wide road and the only part of the journey that is not undertaken on the bike path.

Soon after Lake Monger appears and I have to veer past joggers with ipods ( no point in ringing a bell at someone with white earplugs on ) and , in summer, admire the black swans in their thousands on the lake, with the occasional migrating turtle to add a speedbump to the path.

I arrive at work with 10-15 minutes to spare, lock the bike up in the cage , run up to the showers and catch a 3 minute shower then dress hurriedly and try to appear calm, unruffled and rested while conducting the 9am meeting. Sometimes this may not be a convincing performance - the sweat beads break out on my brow and tissues are proffered by workmates while stage whispers are made about getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier - none of which makes the slightest impression - if I did , I'd just ride slower.

I like to keep the average speed at about 27kmh but I suspect it goes over 30kmh when I am running late. This is good exercise and keeps me from needing the gym which never feels like a natural environment to me for excercise.

Flat Perth Society begins

So this is the first post for the Flat Perth Society, which I am starting with all the best intentions, If these become reality my posts will be regular and stimulating.

They could of course go the other way - my average post frequency to other blogs is about 1.0002 per century so far which is not a record I am proud of.

Why would this blog be any different? I have discovered a new interest in my dotage - cycling - which should be grist to the blog and provide hours of stimulating reading... well thats the intention.