Living Contentedly

ROUTE 1/ Waratah Train Station to Fernleigh Track. Along passed Kmart and the Stadium, left at Garden City. Lots of footpath & cycleway, so flat & safe. (4) 2/ Fernleigh to Belmont & back to Adamstown via  Redhead Surf Club. Well its the Fernleigh, so it's cool, a little busy, and slopey work. Stopped in a Redhead for a surf swim and IGA for lunch. Saw my old house, trees, esp red frangipanni all grown out & lush. 3/ Adamstown to Hamilton Station. Just a downhill blast passed Broadmeadow Station. The 3pm train was chockers complete with a screaming tool. Back to the car @ Maitland , but this train ran on to Dungog.  HIGHS - doing 40+ in really uncomfortable humid conditions.  + swim in the sea at my old beach. + rail employee confirms bikes on Sydney trains = no problem.

Cemented paving blocks on the edge of the verandah in place to stop them creeping. . Mowed and edged the lawn.  Pulled weeds in driveway gravel. Watered garden several times.  Read Don Quixote Listened to reggae Fitted a mirror to bike. Recycled parts.  Measured verandah reframing Laundry Searched for battery charger everywhere. 

Listening to podcasts is a fantastic education. Whether it be about sailing, bikepacking or ultras, its all good and you can pick up the tiniest tidbit that may come in handy. I now feel confident that me and Rastus the Krampus can go far.  We may be slow, but I know from walking two Caminos back to back, that a) fitness will improve drastically once on the trail, and b) speed doesn't matter. Often speedsters will blow you off and them you will see them at the next stop. Besides, besides, it matters only that you're out having a go.  And, the reality is that at age 65 I could easily develop some health  issue that may take my oppprtinities to go, from me. So today I ordered a navigation tool to help me find where I am going and stick to the gravel, dirt or quieter roads as often as practical, and get me home again.  My new bivy, and colour coordinated pedals, should be here Monday!

I ordered these MAXXIS Hookworm  slicks on the net & they arrived from Brisbane fairly quickly.  Man, the old Dirt Wizards were a bitch to break the bead on. Wow, there was only a very shallow valley in the rim and the tyres are very snug. The Worms are quite a bit heavier and I found that on my Salsa: the tyres that come with the new bikes are very light. I wonder if this is a sales gimmick or whether they're actually good quality? I recall the Fat Larry tyre on the front of the Salsa Beargrease had a great knob of glue holding a tear together.  I found getting the wheels off showed the class in this build. Every step was easy and was engineered with quality. I wasn't looking forwards to inflating with my stumpy frame pump, but it worked out fine.  Now on the road, they were killer good. Immediately I guestimated 5% more speed for the same effort. They're faster and smoother and I enjoyed more accurate feedback from the road. Yes, the reality is...

Morning tea brew by the trail & over Leggy Point. My goals today are to build time in the saddle & limit time in traffic. I rode 4.5 hrs on a loop from  Hamilton station, Foreshore and down the coast to  Glenrock and Fernleigh Track.  There were many ebikes on the trail travelling above human speed.  A blend of bike and motorbike, is getting more people riding in a way more sustainable than the car; a good thing.  So goals reached, a very positive day on Rastus.

Following a bit of a failure with mileage and fum yesterday I want to zoom about Newcastle, for a few hours and get some fun, food and miles.  If I cant get enough miles in around town I'll go to the Glenrock  NP and hit the trails there. I've got my stove, so a roadside coffee or 2 will be had.