Big Storm!

This week a big storm came along the coast of NSW. There were gale force winds coming from a SE direction which make for some intense swells! Since Coogee is a fairly protected bay, the swells were manageable and some surfers were making it out. But in less protected beaches like Bronte it was completely unmanageable. I went for a run down to Bronte to check it out and the entire bay was nothing but foam!

I did get the camera down to snap a few shots of Coogee:

Two and three wheeled flyin'

The CBD of Sydney is a fairly congested place. Riding a bike through it is nearly always an adventure. But the other weekend Sydney hosted the major Australian marathon event and very nearly shut down the entire CBD for its route! I started fantasizing about getting up early that morning and flying around the empty streets on my bike before the marathon started, until I received an email calling out for volunteers.

Apparently the 'wheelies' (men in wheelchairs) who were participating in the marathon needed escorts, and cyclists are the best suited for this role. But the email warned that the wheelies average almost 30 km/hr for the event and reach speeds of up to 50 km/hr, so it's not for the faint-of-heart. I responded without hesitation and found myself escorting the fastest marathon wheelie on the planet: Kurt Fearnley (his 3 paralympic gold medals back up this claim).

Kurt needed the assistance of two cyclists: one out front looking for potholes, and another nearer him relaying the information. This is because he's got his head down, pounding out a 28 km/hr pace with his arms. I have to say that I feel that I'm a fairly fit cyclist, but keeping up with Kurt for the duration of the marathon was taxing. And I have the advantage of leverage and gears! Clearly, Kurt is an amazing athlete.

Flying across the Harbour Bridge at 60 km/hr and through the empty streets of Sydney, while escorting a world class athlete, is definitely going down as one of my favorite experiences in Australia. I wish I had photos to share, but obviously taking pictures while keeping up with Kurt is quite impossible. However, since Kurt is such a renowned athlete and he set a new record for the Sydney marathon, there are plenty of photos and even videos floating around where you can spot a Cougs jersey flying by.

How?

Had to share this one!



Also, it turns out Lance Armstrong is coming down under! And just in time for my birthday...

http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/news--and--media/latestnewsreleases/lancearmstrongconfirmed

Lots of green and blue

This last weekend a friend of Kat's and mine, Chris, visited from Wellington. We did a quick tour of Sydney and then Chris and I set off for a few days in the Blue Mountains.

We hiked out to Mt Solitary, which is really a butte in the huge valley outside of Katoomba. The views from the top were stunning, and we made it there right at sunset. Unfortunately we didn't cover a lot of ground the first day since it took some time to travel from Sydney to the trailhead. So the second day was a bit of a long hike traversing the entire length of Mt Solitary and then across the valley floor back to Katoomba.

We managed a successful bushwack that cut off quite a bit of distance for us, but the vegetation was very thick and we both received a fair share of scratches - but thankfully no leeches!

We overnighted the second night at a fantastic hostel in Katoomba, the Flying Fox, and had a good sampling of as many Aussie beers the local pub had to offer. The next morning we went for a nice day hike around Wentworth Falls and found a number of spectacular waterfalls.

The season is definitely changing here as I saw plenty of flowers throughout the hikes! I even found a pine tree that produces flowers and another pine tree that had pea pods.

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