Here we go again!
Wasn’t surprised to hear from Deb that Redskyride 2009 was gearing up. The butcher birds had taken up residence in the Banksia again and established their spring routine of attacking my helmet every morning as I leave home. Like them, Deb’s first email is a sign of spring, and just as welcoming. Both have the same insistent quality and are hard to ignore.
With the butcher birds though I’ve realized it’s nothing personal. If I’m not wearing a helmet they don’t give me a second glance but if I put it on the letter box they go nuts and swoop it repeatedly. It now bears the deep scars of their daily attention.
This time last year I was struggling with the enormity of committing to the ride; never having ridden regularly in a bunch, or ridden more than 60km at a stretch, let alone 100 km day after day, and definitely not up and down hills or at an average speed of 30kph. The physique wasn’t exactly in the classic cyclist category either. Then there was the fund raising. Another great unknown.
In the end I made the distance, all 800km. It’s amazing what 8,000km of training, yoga, Dr Mary’s nutrition advice, the support of Iceman, Flex, Maverick, Robbo, Towtruck, Youngie, Deb, assorted others and, above all, Jan’s unflagging support, can achieve.
And the fundraising? A respectable effort but fell short of the $5,000 target in spite of the great support of the many Santa’s little helpers. That’s the challenge for this year.
So if you log on, log in and donate generously to help Santa support Solariscare.