There's no place like home

There is no place like home... and i have been home for around 10 weeks... back at work for 9 of these. its taken a bit to get back in to going to work each day and noticing i only have weekends to do things like sort out my photos, read, clean a house (and not my tent) catch up with friends and pay bills.

I have found that i'm too fit now to just settle back into riding 12kms to work each day.. so now i ride 25kms through the Swan Valley (photos on the way). I have to contend a bit with a few cars but its not too bad. I also get to ride a bit along the Swan River... this has prompted my enrolment into swimming lessions to improve my ability to do freestyle.. So i'm also swimming twice a week.

The long term plan is to buy a kayak and paddle this on the Swan River after work during summer. I hope to get the kayak b4 Christmas... but finding the time is proving hard...

I have been very lucky with work as in the last 9 weeks i have travelled to our outback twice. My 1st trip was to a town called Onslow via Exmouth. The 2nd trip was to Halls Creek, via Broome, Kununurra, Warmun and back to Kununurra... then to get home i had to spend the weekend in Darwin. This was great as i was able to visit family I haven't seen for some 15-20 years.

I have decided that i'll keep the weblog going. Not sure who is still going to read it now i'm home. perhaps my friends i met overseas. Stories I will write will be about my cycling trips i do at home on weekends and sometimes my trips to work...

One day i'm going to workout how to get my new Ricoh to talk to my new iMac so i can send load up some photos of Perth... Somethings aren't ment to be easy!

soon photos and a short story about cycling in the south west with friends...

Tuscany Touring

(Written 20/10/06 based on diary notes)

The WREN was a hoot! and i needed to make sure i wasn't flat from having all those fantastic people around me 4 a week... so i booked to do a cycle ride tour in the hills around Florence with Tuscany Bike Tours... It was a great day... only 3 people and one was the tour leader. We visited a winery and oil maker in an 11 century castle. From here road the bikes through the hills of Chianti for few hours... stopping to have lunch at a charming Ristorante before cycling some more...up hill back to the castle..

I worked out i think it had been 5 years since i had last riden a mountain anywhere, least of all up a hill. I can say that i prefer my bent.

I returned to Florence that day very pleased i had sean some of the countryside by bike.. one day determined to return with my bike.

The next day i ot ready to visit the island of Elba on the west coast of Italy. I spent my last day in Florence visiting shops, having a meal and taking in the artwork of the buildings.

I was up bright and early for my drive to Elba. I managed to get out of Florence by following signs to Siena... i tryed to avoid using the motorway because i wanted to see the countryside and if i found something very nice would stop.. but this is not so easy to do by yourself when you have to drive, remember to stay on the right and read the map.... But i had a great drive south ish and managed to find the coast... I was given great help by a local who got me to follow him in his car for around 10ksm so i would end up on the right road to get to Elba.... The world is such a friendly place

I spent 3 days on the Island of Elba reading, eating, suning myself and swimming.... It was a short freshing holiday

But it was soon time to head north and return Mini and get ready for coming home