Rides and Reinforcement

Well, as some of you may already know, I've conquered another Great Victorian Bike Ride! This years Ride was from Portland to Geelong, 550 km of headwinds, hills and sore hindquarters. You can check out the ride route for the 2009 and 2010 Rides, for those who are keen or stupid enough to spend 9 days in close proximity to Lycra-bunnies. Apparently next years ride, isn't going to be hilly until the end, so, please, consider it! It'll be good to have some more company.

This years ride was as interesting as it was gruelling. If you can imagine, day 5: Headwinds, 100 km, and two big ass hills! If you can find the height of the route on the Bicycle Victoria website, tell me, and I'll post it here to show the rest of you what I voluntarily put myself though.
This years Ride was better than a lot of the others I've been on, as the school group I rode with, Parkdale Secondary College, with a few Our Lady of the Sacred Heart girls tagging along, was easy to put up with, even with some creepy kids that I enjoyed confusing the hell out of. It meant my old maths teacher, Wayne Youngs, didn't have to freak out about children running rampant across Victoria and there was no need to go out of our way to look after them. I'd done a similar rout about 5 years previous, so I knew what to expect.
The thing that I like about the ride, though, is the people you meet. Sure, I've got friends my own age on the ride, but you can do the ride alone and still enjoy yourself, as everyone talks to everyone else! I had a chat to some volunteers as they were serving dinner, an octogenarian who shares many of the same views on society as I do (that "common sense isn't so common" any more, and people take everything, especially technology and creature comforts, for granted these days, complaining about problems and insignificant issues.) This lady, I didn't even catch her name, reinforced my view that "it's not how you run the race, it's how you cross the line". Or, in other words, it's not the problems that make the individual, but the way they handle their misfortune and struggles that proves who they are.
I'd like to send thanks to that old lady, known by her morning riding habits and to her husband as 'the road inspector', for letting me know my head is in the right place, even if it's two generations too late.

More on reinforcement, I was talking to my new-found friend, who shall be known as C until I know they're comfortable with me penning the things we've said, about something that was reinforced recently.
When I was describing a girl I know as 'fun, loving, childish (in a good way!), comforting, accepting and all around crazy, but capable of being sensitive and sensible at the same time!' and telling C about all the little things she does, and C said "she must be the one. You know. The one". Now, I'm still not sure if C was taking the piss, as I don't think I understand C's sense of humour just yet, but it got me thinking. What if...? I haven't actually felt this way about a girl in a long time, if ever.
Should I be selfish, or selfless? Do I go all out and grab a chance, even if I know I may not be able to support what I want to give, and jeopardise the relationship? Or, do I let it run its own course, letting her decide if things are ready?
Hmm, what to do? What to do?

I'm looking forward to a trip to Bendigo with Caitryn, Matt and Ms. Clovelle! We'll be on our way to find one of the last Pizza Hut restaurants in Victoria! It's pretty much the Holy Grail of Childhood!
There's so much stuff that needs to be done to hold onto what remains of childhood, and I'm glad I can share this with other people.

On the other side of things, it's time for Allicia's Allocation!
Sam Kivell is in the news again, in The Independent. According to the paper, Sam is being looked at for the "Australian [sailing] team for the 2012 Olympics when he competes in the 470 class at the ISAF Sailing World Cup". Holy shit! I knew he was good, but not that good! Hit the hyper-link to check out the article.
Kate gets back from South America on Thursday, and we're doing a mad rush to get her room sanded, painted, re-postered and re-furnitured before she gets back. She's had fun over there, but she'd had a lot of trouble with return flights and so she's coming home early. I didn't even get a chance to decide whether I liked Kate being out of the house for so long!
Do you remember Zap and Renee's kids, Jack and Emily? If you do, Jack's been having a bit of trouble juggling his new diabetes problem and his study, but he managed to pass his course for this year! Everyone's excited for him, but Emily got high distictions for the same course! Excitement all 'round!

Anyway, it's 2:10 a.m. and I've gotta be up and about bright and early. In my next blog, look out for lists of favourite things, childhood memories and possibly more relationship stuff. Oh, and a list of people I need to catch up with!
Be safe, kiddies.
Blogs away!