Hanging around on a Saturday

I like being home. I've never really understood people that just treat their place as a docking station. I mean, you put a lot of effort into making your house a home - even if you don't realise it - so why not strive to enjoy it?
Anyhow, it's nice to have a free weekend, after being away for the last two. A chance to catch up on a few chores, and to generally reacquaint myself with the vegetable garden, the shed, and the telly.
As my mate Pete is fond of saying, it's good to be King.

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Sheffield Shield

I finished up work a little early today and went down to Adelaide Oval, to watch some cricket. I wasn't particularly interested in the contest, it was more that I like the idea of sitting at the cricket on a warm afternoon and having a relaxing beer. Enjoying the therapeutic sound of bat on ball. Although, at $7 a pop, the two beers I had were something of a luxury and, quite possibly, a hardship to boot.
In front of a very small crowd (double figures at best), South Australia laboured to dismiss Western Australia, who ended up declaring with seven wickets down. The home team showed why they will probably struggle in this competition by losing their opening three wickets in the last half an hour of the day.

In any event, it was quite a meditative few hours. I sat in the Bradman Stand, reflecting on the week thus far, watching cricket, and counting my blessings. And my beers.

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High Flying Birds

I bought the new Noel Gallagher album on Monday. I've been listening to it ever since. It sounds very much like Noel's songs that featured on the latter Oasis albums. Not much of an extension, but all very listenable. I'm not complaining. I like his songs, and his voice.
As time has gone on, I have found myself much preferring listening to Noel singing his songs, over listening to brother Liam's faux Lennon (which I also happen to like, let's call it a guilty pleasure).
Oasis were my band for a long time, a less than popular choice here in the antipodes, but I don't give a monkeys; I loved them.

In December 2005 I went to see Oasis in Melbourne and they were loud, full on, and pretty brilliant. A year later I was in Perth watching England meekly cough up the the Ashes and I got wind of a surprise Noel Gallagher gig. It was scheduled for the Perth Concert Hall on the Saturday night. The gig had sold out in no time at all, so I had to buy my ticket from a tout on the day. Costing me a small fortune, I was somewhat relieved to actually get in and then ecstatic to find myself about four rows back from the stage. The band comprised Noel, Oasis' Gem Archer, and Terry Kirkbridge on percussion. The low-key show was reminiscent of the much-bootlegged and never officially released "MTV Unplugged" concert, and I was lucky enough to be there. Another great moment in my life.

So now I have Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and the Beady Eye's Different Gear, Still Speeding. I just put them both into the player and select shuffle. Voila, an Oasis double album! I feel all warm inside...

It's a long way from Definitely Maybe, but it's still better than most of the Pop Idol crap that is prevalent these days. What we need is another punk rock revolution. Stage-managed as it might have been, it changed the music world's landscape when I was a teenager, pretty much completely for the better. Let's do it again.

Who's with me?

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Lower Lakes: Day Nine - Riders in the mist...

I emerged from my tent at the irrationally early time of 5.55. Although the sun wasn't up, I could tell that I was walking around in a very thick mist. It wasn't cold, but it was foggy. Extremely foggy.
The sun rose, its disc as easily discernible as a full moon due to the filtering of the thick atmosphere, and I admired the spectacle as I drank my first cup of tea for the day.
Because of my early start, and that of the others, we left camp just before 7.30.
It was a great ride, one of the best of the trip. We headed north, through the mist, and I was glad I had my lights on. It got a little lighter, and a little warmer, once we'd got to our turnaround point not far from Mannum. It was a lovely drop into town, and shortly after our tea break we boarded the ferry and crossed the beautiful River Murray.
We followed Burdell Road just about all the way down to Murray Bridge, climbing and cruising in equal parts. The sun came out, the wind stayed away, and the views to the west were nothing short of superb. It was a shame it had to end.
We crossed the bridge into Murray Bridge and completed our tour, where it began, at Sturt Reserve. It was handshakes, farewells and lunches before we packed up and headed back to Adelaide.
A great ride, but lovely to be home too!

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Lower Lakes: Day Eight - Bush Camp

We left Strathalbyn in pleasant, if a little overcast, conditions. Because of Saturday morning traffic concerns, the published route had been altered to take a more relaxed road into Wistow. Perhaps it was more relaxed as far as cars were concerned, but it contained a stonking climb that seemed endless. Oh well, it got the body into gear...
Another rise, followed by a beautiful downhill, took us into Mount Barker and morning tea. After a quick break, we headed through town and out the other side, via a decent climb up the Old Princes Highway, before passing through the pretty town of Nairne.
From there it was up and down all the way to the zoo. We enjoyed some very fast downhills, and worked our way up the hills. We endured one more big climb up the old highway before turning left at Schenscher Road and heading to the bush camp.
In the afternoon we went on a tour of Monarto Zoo and had a good look at the collection of exotic animals.
Our last night together was spent eating and drinking under the stars, enjoying the music, the open fire, and the chat.
Almost done.

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Lower Lakes: Day Seven - Wet Feet

Friday. The seventh day of the tour, and probably the coolest conditions yet. It wasn't cold, far from it, but it was overcast and threatening to rain. We left Goolwa, and spent the bulk of the first 40 kilometres climbing in the drizzle. It was a fun ride though, just a shame the scenery wasn't visible because of the mist. We had a fairly serious climb up and over a hill as we approached Meadows, and once we'd descended into town we learned we had to turn around and climb out again.
The last 15 kilometres was a much faster affair. The rain stopped, visibility improved, and there was a lot more downhill to enjoy.
We made Strathalbyn pretty early, enjoyed lunch, then I had a couple of pints at the Terminus while I caught up on a few things. On the way back to camp I visited the second-hand book shop and the newsagent. I found a 10-movie blaxploitation DVD set that set me back $4.95. Win!
The rain stayed away in the afternoon, raising hopes for dry shoes in the morning.

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Lower Lakes: Day Six - Cloudy but fine.

A different, but very enjoyable day. I awoke, once again, to the sound of my noisy neighbours sharing pre-dawn inanities at high volume. I figured I might as well get up. The planned ride was a loop; a 60 kilometre jaunt up through Mount Compass. It was overcast but it wasn't cold. We worked pretty hard to get out of town and onto some open road. The traffic was busy, without posing any real danger, all the way until we reached the Mt Compass turnoff. From there, it was a very pleasant ride in to morning tea, apart from one lunatic in a chicken truck.
We had a decent length tea break before setting off for home. We zipped down the main Victor Harbor Road before turning left for Goolwa. It was a pretty straightforward trip; the only novelty was the crippling climb up and over the hill on Flagstaff Hill Road. I made it with no gears to spare. Someone told me later that it was a 14% incline, which explains the pain. Coming down was a thrill. I got to 72 kmh - not bad for a mountainbike with knobbly tyres!
We rode back along the coast and arrived at camp before noon.
In the afternoon we visited both pubs and also went down to the brewery to sample their beers. We eventually settled into the balcony of the footy club where we watched the rain come in. Pizza seemed like a good idea for tea.

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