Sunday 1 June 2008

ARRIVEDERCI!

When one is planning for overseas departure, intending to ride her bike for 15 weeks in some of the biggest female cycle tours in the world…generally she doesn’t take ten days off the bike! Being sick was a novelty at first, but I didn’t appreciate being plagued past the 48hr mark, and after two weeks I had developed a true hatred toward this sickness. Being confined indoors isn’t such a bad thing when it’s 0 degrees outside, but when entertainment comes in the form of study, you know your grasping at straws. It was a good time for me to bury my head in the books as not much of that has been happening lately, but karma struck and I received a call from the head of my course at Swinburne. Instead of being sent a course outline for my Certificate IV in Fitness, I had been sent one for the Certificate III in Sport. In short, I had been studying the wrong course!! Although similar context, the outcomes are entirely different and I must start from the beginning.

For a while, I was in no mood to study, until I woke to -2 degrees and decided that anything beat going out in that weather! My first day back proved a tough one, with serious head spins sending me home after 15 kms, while my second day back saw the bunch I was riding with hit by car! Eventually my bad luck ran out, and after a presentation at the local Bowls Club I even won two grocery packs. Just to make sure luck really was on my side, I went for a mountain bike ride (pictured-note to self, white and mud don‘t mix). I’ve only ever done this twice in my life, so to say I came close to serious injury is definitely not an understatement. So now, it is with great confidence that I depart for Europe, after having Kurt and Annie Jensen educate me on how to order pancakes in every possible language! I’ll be back in 15 weeks, and no doubt my Italian will be no further developed than it is now, but until then, enjoy winter without me…ciao!