Scott T: The Blog
The photo-post (Oct 2012)
Posted Sat, Oct 06, 2012 at 6:55pm by ScottTagged: cycling, everyday, sailing
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Turns out it's been a while since the last post (again). So I decided to have a little bit of fun - here's a snapshot of some of the random goings-on from the last few months.
There's actually less photos than I expected but the weeks seem to have flown past and I can't recall having nothing to do. The weather during July and August turned on the winter weather, with plenty of rain to go around (particularly halfway through a ride... end result: dirty bike). In July I clocked my longest ride to-date (151km) as preparation for the 4th Grand Slam ride in August. Although GS4 ended up being shorter (only 145km), it was ~12 degrees, westerly winds, and showers continually passing through the area. That said, I'm happy I finished a challenging ride, even if it wasn't too enjoyable during part of it.
Recently the weather has started to improve dramatically and it's been nice not having to rug up when heading outside (some days even pass 25C, so been great to get outside, eg day on the river, sailing opening regatta on the lake at home). Still some cool days thrown in so we're not quite into summer yet. And if you're curious of the significance to the 'garden' photo, that was my birthday present from my sister+parents :)
Mad March
Posted Wed, Apr 04, 2012 at 10:06pm by ScottTagged: cycling, everyday, sailing
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What a hectic month... March 10/11 kicked things off with Paper Tiger state titles held back in the Riverland, which I travelled back for. To throw more things into the job-list for the long-weekend, I took a few extra days leave in order for my road bike to go back for its free check-up as well as a scheduled car service. Squeezed in two rides (one each on Friday and Saturday morning) at 44km each, but then spent the rest of Saturday, all of Sunday, and Monday morning down the yacht club (on a club boat Sat+Mon, up on the balcony hoping for some wind on the Sun).
After the presentation over lunch on Monday, was time to drive home again (although seemed like someone didn't want me to leave).
The following two weekends were also fairly full, despite nothing overly post-worthy (yet). Mostly cleaning, planning, cooking and cycling (more details on the 'plan' phase might come later, depending how things unfold).
Lastly, April 1 - usually associated with April Fools, but this year also home to BikeSA's Grand Slam #2. Based out of Mount Torrens this time around, the original course was intended to be just shy of 100km circuit through the hills. Unfortunately, roadworks on one of the roads meant a detour had to be put in place which dropped the distance down to 'only' 93km but it was still a fun day.
It was a fairly crisp start to the day however I've been slowly stockpiling warmer cycling gear, so was pretty comfortable once we got underway at 8am. It also warmed up pretty nicely during our brief rest stop between the two loops (for those interested, here's the final Strava track). Was pleasantly surprised by my performance up one or two of the climbs in the area as well. Next up - 120km around Yankalilla at the end of May :)
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Fun stuff: A pretty large lightning storm went through the Riverland last Monday and my sister managed to capture a few cool photos, including these two.
Summer Fun, Part 1
Posted Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 8:29pm by ScottTagged: cycling, everyday, sailing
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(Warning - post content cycling heavy, with a splash of sailing and other stuff thrown in :P )
Hard to believe two months have flown past already! Must be something to do with keeping busy...
January had the 'typical' summer weather: warm sunny days which were great to be outside in - something I was more than willing to do. Mid-month I headed home for another weekend at my parents, while also turning the weekend into a cycling getaway. A ride each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday included three laps of the lake, as well as a stint around the back-blocks. After all the riding around here, the change of scenery was great. Combined with three more rides over the following four days, I covered almost 190km in the single week. Not to say the weather wasn't trying to keep me off the bike.
Then up came the Milang-Goolwa yacht race. Somehow I got talked into acting taxi, which involved dropping my sister off at Milang in the morning and picking her up from Goolwa a few hours later. Not to miss another chance for riding in new scenery I also squeezed my bike in the back of the car - if it was windy I wouldn't need to wait long, while if it was calmer I could ride to fill in time.... Or at least that was the theory.
We got down to Milang around 8am - the grass on the foreshore was covered with boats, along with a lot more moored on-water. Wasn't much in the way of breeze and even then the sun was rather fierce. Despite this, the race still started and those of us on beach-crew duties watched the boats slowly drift off before departing for Goolwa.
Not to miss the opportunity, I grabbed the bike out and rode along the Goolwa-Victor Harbor bike trail. Turns out it's a rather pleasant ride, although I turned around just after Port Elliot as I wasn't sure where the boats were up to. The trail is a mix of on-road and shared-path however the onroad parts were adequately signposted to ensure not to get (too) lost for those unfamiliar with the area.
Despite the weather's attempts, I managed some 50km (Strava track for those interested) before putting the bike away to find food and something refreshing to drink. I even survived a sailing event with only sunburn to my ankles, so while some might call me crazy, I rather enjoyed it :)
Australia Day also continued the warm weather and while many went to the beach or river, I went on an early-morning group ride, and despite splitting up near the end (heading in different directions) I pushed through to my first 100km milestone. Final total for the month: 500km in ~22 hours. Big news of the month however was the bike upgrade - I now own a carbon road bike and it is a huuuuuge step up from my hybrid. Lighter, faster, and (surprisingly) comfier on the longer rides.
No, I haven't fallen over with the clipless pedals yet. Yes, I also now own (and occasionally wear) lycra.
Goodbye, Winter
Posted Mon, Oct 04, 2010 at 8:32pm by ScottTagged: everyday, sailing, water
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October long weekend is just about over, and the weather was absolutely wonderful - particularly for sailing. Saturday and Sunday held the usual LBYC Opening Regatta - a small selection of photos is available. Both days provided plenty of wind for the sailors, with several people going swimming and quite a number of 'almost' stories being traded on the Sunday afternoon. Also considering that the weekend was one of sailing, I didn't break trend and managed to gain a light pink tinge to my upper arms and nose - fortunately a long way off the bright red glow I've obtained on previous occasions.
Quite incredibly, the water level has also been raised - the current photo used for my header graphic is well and truly out of date.
Not too far off the old pool level at all. Even better news is that with all the recent rain further upstream in the last few weeks, water levels are expected to rise even further which will be great to see.
Obviously, being a long weekend, I was expecting traffic to be fairly hectic. I believe I was ahead of it on the Friday evening (not too many cars to worry about the length of the trip home), however the return leg earlier this-afternoon was a bit busier. One of the ferry crossings was the busiest I've seen it for quite some time, while I've heard that the highway from home to Adelaide got worse, the close to Adelaide you got.
As much as the rain of the past 6 months has been nice, I'm certainly looking forward to the warmer weather of the next month or two - bring on October!
Friday Photos
Posted Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 3:37pm by ScottTagged: everyday, sailing
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It's been quite a while since the last post - 3 months it would seem - so here's a small snapshot of photos of the past few months.
Firstly, I discovered it's possible to get sunburned while surfing the net. Sounds odd, but certainly possible with combination of laptop and mobile internet. While waiting for my sister at an aquatics course back in January, I set up the laptop and was browsing the net in what I thought was the shade of the car - turns out part of my left arm and leg were showing. The view from the car was rather pleasant though.
The SA Mozzie state titles followed a few weeks later, being held this year at Point Turton. Racing on day one was rather pleasant for those involved. For us on the beach, things were slightly warm, but not enough to make it overly unpleasant.
Although Sunday morning provided a lovely opportunity for a photo, there was no wind at all, so the three races were held in conditions pretty similar to what can occur back on the lake.
Finally, my parents bought themselves a coffee machine for Christmas. After a bit of practice (ie, a few weeks over January, and then nearly a month straight in March), I got my first piece of latte art that I've been happy with.
And that just about wraps up the interesting happenings of the last few months. Hopefully I get the opportunity to post a bit more often (and have some news worthy of posting).
