First day of my next RDO with a big ride.

Been a brilliant day today.

I decided to do a big ride today and have wanted to get my bike’s gears fixed since last year. I rode down past the bike shop in Tank St and decided to take the bike in for a chat. The attendant put the bike up on a stand and played with it for about a minute, then handed it back to me and said “It’s fixed”. I was blown away and he didn’t want anything for it. It wasn’t much to him, but it’s so great for me. Wonderful to be able to finally put it into first gear easily and quickly.

I went down along the Marina path and saw a pod of dolphins playing around off the point. I’ve included a small video of the dolphins. So lovely to see a few baby dolphins in there.

Then I went out to Yarwun Orica on Reid Rd. There I decided to turn around and encountered a huge headwind. It was a first gear return. On the way, I found a purse with licences and bank cards on the side of the road. So I picked it up and have since dropped it to the police station.

The dark sky wanted to rain, and there was a few spots, but it didn’t rain. So I got back home and had a lovely cool shower. Hit the half-way mark on my journey today.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Walk at Spinnaker before work.

This place sure holds a lot of my attention. Here last night for our Men’s BBQ and chat. Today for a quiet walk with Soni. What a beautiful place. It is also a great riding destination if you are in the challenge.

Today was special because we saw a family of dolphins at the point. Soni got a great photo of a dolphin just near us catching a fish that had jumped out of the water. Amazing.

I got a photo of the final splash after the action. 😳

Today is a relax day. Worn out from the OT and extra-long bike rides. I haven’t ridden for 12 months so definitely feeling it.

Here we go with another year.

War notes.

I remember last year riding through the Gladstone Base Hospital grounds after donating at the blood bank. While there a magpie started attacking me. Must have thought I still had not donated enough. Anyway, I’ve had a great start to the month with zero magpie attacks so far.

Here is what I’m on the lookout for.

(But who am I kidding. If you are an Aussie, you recognise this guy).

How do you eat an elephant?

Well, I’ve finished my 9-day tour and finally got a day off. So this morning was a great opportunity to kick off my series of rides for the month.

So I woke up to a quiet house and threw on the gear. Started Strava and got out on the road. Tried to use first gear and the chain came off. I manoeuvred it on and it came off again. Finally, I got it on and it stayed on. I think it was the bike’s way of telling me it’s time for some maintenance. Last year I had trouble getting it into first gear, but never to the point of losing the chain off the cogs.

Anyway, I came back home to wash off the chain grease and find my way past the “air swing” start.

So off I was. Heading down Dixon past my first potential obstacle. The maggie on the corner of Dixon/ Witney. I was prepared for it. Had my trusty old lecky-tied helmet on. But the artillery wasn’t there. Maybe a bit too early for the nesting season, hey. Anyway, I’ll take the win.

I thought it was my time when I glimpsed a bird’s shadow on the ground beside me later on, but it was just a bird going about its business. For the whole 23km, I was not accosted by a maggie. What a great ride to start the month with.

Thank you for your support.

If you’d like to be a part of every ride that I do this month, here’s what to do.

For every donation of $50 or more, if you send me your email, I’ll share the Strava stats as I ride them. You’ll see every km I ride without sharing the sore legs, maggie attacks and angry drivers.

Cheers for the support and just remember, this is about helping kids fight a horrid disease, when really they should be just being kids. All of your help is appreciated.

Anticipation

I am looking forward to doing my first few kilometres. It’s the ones after that which bother me a bit. 🤣

But seriously, my most memorable moments on the bike were involving our feathered friends. I found that zip ties on top of my helmet helped. But they still attacked regardless. It was actually regular enough that I started a magpie location fb page. These little terrors have been in hiding lately, but soon….soon it will be time.

Thanks to everybody for your donations and encouragement. It is a great cause and I’m honoured to be involved again.

Fourth year

Well, here we go again. It’s time to get into the lycra and hit the road. Hahaha. Not really, I’m a wear my casual gear and hit the road type of guy.

It has been 12 months since my last riding fest. Actually, last time I was doing this, I was running a One Nation political campaign as well. It gave me a great opportunity to go around town and fix up the signs that were torn down or defaced.

So this year is my fourth GCC in a row. Looking forward to getting involved, progressing and helping to fight kid’s cancer. If you’d like to help, check the donations page.

Thanks for your help.