Whinging pom

My mother says yes, she has been having kittens.

So I am on here to whinge again about the weather. Riding a bike in the winter isn't much fun as you have to get all bundled up, then get too warm when you are going up a big hill, stop to remove various items of clothing, continue uphill, then come down the other side of the hill, get cold, stop to put clothes on, etc, etc. It would be OK if I lived somewhere flat, but Scotland is a wee bitty on the hilly side. Also there's less oxygen in the winter and less sunshine. I cycled to Edinburgh to be with my girlfriend, Laura, on Friday and took one of the longer, hillier routes, via pretty Elsrickle and Lamancha (which sounds to me like a location for Westerns). Over this 65 mile journey, with not much bullying from the wind, I averaged 11.7 mph, which is pathetic. This is only partly to do with the temperature. It is also to do with a lack of fitness. When I cycled across the US in 2008 on an average day I was doing 14 mph over 70 miles. This might not sound like much of a difference, but actually in car terms, 14 is cruising speed and anything below 12 is like being stuck behind a tractor.

Of course I should be training more, although this brings me back to the weather and whinging again.

In other news, out of the 59 nights I will be on Australian soil or sand there only remains 13 nights where accommodation has not been arranged. At least three of these will almost certainly be spent in hotels or roadhouses, as the population is so thin on the ground in certain parts. Of the other 10 I'm sure to cobble together a few more hosts. This is excellent and I'm a happy pom once more.

I have been receiving more colourful messages from down under such as this one :

Hi again actually Manly itself will have all you need while waiting. Restos. Pubs. Cafes. Beaches. Swimming in 23 degree water two blocks away. Cheers P

Sounds good to me.