Lessons from cycling

1. Take any opportunity to get out into a beautiful sunny afternoon 
2. Barossa 'Valley' should offer some hints about the terrain 
3. Flat to a car and flat to a bicycle are not the same thing
4. Turns out the climb with the greatest altitude gain might be the shallowest
5. Sometimes given exhaustion and an opportunity to give up I keep going anyway
6. It is okay to get off and walk if you need to but...
7. When you do get to the top of the hill the sense of accomplishment is wonderful 
8. When you look back and realise you achieved more than you thought you were capable of the feeling is pretty good too
9. Sometimes you may have to brake for livestock and wildlife 
10. Bicycle mechanics are amazing, as is the difference when you add 30psi and don't have a brake jammed against the wheel
11. If you stop cycling for several months, whatever your reasoning, walking and climbing the stairs at work will not make up for it

By the end of Autumn I will substantially improve my time and reduce the number of hills requiring contact between shoes and path.

Found Alphabet - Q

I interrupt your conference review coverage because it's high time that this found alphabet got back on track if it's to have any hope of being finished this year...

This Q was found in Brisbane - a selective angle-and-crop of a statue of a rope knot in the general vicinity of Southbank. I've been trying to find another Q since but nothing half as good has popped up. About the next best is the anthill-and-stick formation I found on a walk at Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park a couple of weeks back. A lovely walk, if lacking in Qs. Hopefully R is not so elusive!

The Breakfast Rave - Barossa Valley

Today I'm making a second bonus post - I just have to mention The Breakfast Rave which was held in the beautiful grounds at Cimicky Wines this morning. I found about this in the Barossa Vintage Festival brochure and loved the idea.

The turnout was enormous - I'm not sure if that is normal or if they had a big boost from the festival. Large events can get a bit unfriendly but there was none of this here. There was a wonderful, relaxed community feeling and everyone I met was wonderfully friendly. While we were waiting to order the staff came around with free hugs for everyone!

There was even a table with seeds, flowers and home-grown gardens - people were encouraged to leave something and take something, but if you didn't have anything to leave to take something anyway. I got some parsley seeds which I'll get a pot for soon. Maybe next time I can take some parsley!

So long as I can I will continue going to these, and I hope more friends will join me next time. If you're interested like their facebook page to keep in touch. It looks like they hold one roughly every three months. Maybe I will see you there next time?

Found Alphabet - J

This is the first photo post for a while! Since I last posted a photo I've moved house, started a new job and spent some time waiting for my internet connection. I intend on resuming weekly posting with these.

This is the first J photo I took, just before I moved. I tried to use the statues in Moonta St before but wasn't happy with the outcome so it didn't make the cut for G in the end. I had another go for J and this one came out well.

Three of the other photos were taken in the last week around Gawler while I've been out walking - Dead Man's Pass is a great place to go for a walk, and work's within walking distance so I've had plenty opportunities to spot possible future photos for this alphabet. I'm looking forward to see what I can see this next week!

All credit also to Mum and Dad's garden for the cactus. The second and third rusty machinery photos were in a couple of locations in the Barossa Valley. I went up there last weekend for the Barossa Vintage Festival, which was amazing. I'm hoping to see a lot more of the Barossa Valley while I'm living so close to it.