Sunday 22 July 2012

T minus 48 days and counting...

I can't believe that it's almost that time of year again. How can it be almost twelve months ago that I embarked on my inaugural Cycle Qld event?

It was a great adventure, a huge challenge and the most amazing sense of achievement. The only regret I had was not being able to enjoy those things with my family. There's no way I could imagine bringing along my daughter. After all, she's fourteen and "so, like, totally, not into riding a bike." I had visions of the four of us on matching tandem bikes, until I realised that Miss J would be on the back of my bike with her feet up on the handle bars, texting her friends and listening to her iPod!

Top that off with the fact that hubby is self-employed and couldn't afford the time off, and then poor Hayden was on the back of an unpiloted bike! So I re-evaluated my little vision, and began planning a tandem ride with my boy.

In February we bought a secondhand Apollo Tandem bike. We started with a couple of 10-15km rides to find our legs and have progressed to 20-40km rides in the last month or so. Today is our longest ride so far - 55km and a really nice scenic route.

The bonus today is that we rode with a young fellow (Brodie) who is riding with his Grandma in CQ this year. Sue (his gran) rode in CQ a couple of years back with Brodie's older brother Jackson, and in what has become something of a family tradition, is riding this year with Brodie. And there's another brother to come after this one. Sue is an avid rider, and unlike any nana I've had the pleasure of meeting. This is her 10th long ride. She missed last year's ride because she was overseas - riding around England and France on her bike. I told her today that I hope I'm as active as her in 20 years!


Me, Hayden, Brodie and Sue enjoying a quick break at Cleveland Point


She and Brodie showed us some great new cycle paths that I didn't even know existed. Hayden did really well on the ride, with plenty of power on the hills and consistent stoking. Our return route found us riding up Ringara St at Manly West after 50km and I'll be honest when I tell you that Hayden got us up that hill! He pumped those legs and got us up and over the top.

Hayden, Brodie and the bikes at Cleveland Point

In another fit of honesty, I'll tell you that all afternoon I've felt like having a little nana nap to refresh, but with Physie Club Day this afternoon, have not had the opportunity to do so. Hayden on the other hand spent a good part of the afternoon next door playing and running around. Oh to be young and fit again.

So with only 48 sleeps to go until we find ourselves in Gayndah, I'm looking forward to getting a few more training rides under my belt before we spend 8 glorious nights under the stars on CQ2012. Watch this space...

PS - Brodie is fundraising for Rosie's as part of his riding adventure.  Check out his FB page where you can keep up with his training rides, and make a donation to this great cause - https://www.facebook.com/#!/BrodiesCycleQueenslandFundraisingForRosies