15 January 2022

So, what’s been happening?

Although I’ve done quite a bit of riding since my last post in mid-November 2021, Christmas and New Year have passed by. It is way beyond time to write a new instalment.

Today I finally got around to publishing a review on the Commuter Cycles‘ web pages, thanking them for their excellent service and the superb quality of the custom bike build.

During the intervening time, our family has been busy. Six weeks ago today, my wife, Rita, had an operation to insert an artificial knee. Life has been dominated by supporting Rita through pain management and rehabilitation. We had a quiet, Covid-safe Christmas at home with just Rita and me and my daughter, Jo. We avoided visiting the wider extended family to ensure Rita’s lowered immunity system was not compromised by any chance of Covid-19.

This summer’s Il Nina weather has bothered our highly anxious Border Collie, Manneke. Numerous thunderstorms with lightning and hail have sent Manneke berserk, causing him to run around the house like a loon, barking very loudly and jumping at the windows. We have struggled to placate Manneke, wrapping him in a tight storm shirt sprayed with Adaptil, a calming aromatic oil, cuddling him, playing distracting mood music, and using treats to divert his attention. In trying to cope with Manneke’s storm-driven behaviour, I’ve reflected on my own struggles with anxiety. Perhaps I can learn from the ways we have attempted to keep Manneke calm? Perhaps I should be trying distraction techniques, along with mood music, and snack treats?

This summer’s storms have also wreaked havoc around our neighbourhood. Lots of hail damage has occurred, smashing the tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, and pumpkin plants in Rita’s garden. One extremely bad storm was like a mini-tornado pulling down lots of trees all around our suburb. Afterwards, it has been a lot of work, cleaning up the yard, and attempting to coax our vegetables back into life.

Meantime, I’ve been testing out new bike bags, and camping equipment, getting used to cycling with the altered weight distribution.

Gradually, I have managed more time for bike riding, amongst my carer duties. But I haven’t found time to transfer the cycling stories from my Strava logs to these pages. I promise to publish more Strava maps, photos and ride descriptions over the coming weeks.