Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Shots, Shocks & Service: The ANZAC Day Long Weekend Update
[Life] Tethered to the office with a work phone, I didn't have any great expectations of a massive weekend. Good thing a few spontaneous decisions were made to mess things up a bit.
(Continues with photos...)
Friday Night
Where else but the pub? Beer and shots make us strong, but that last vodka waterfall seemed to push saturation to the limit. After a couple of hours of mixing drinks, I had to escort Kombiman to the couch, set him up with water & a bucket, then returned for more. Continously flowing drinks, singing & mystery guest interviews; such a pub night hasn't been had in a while & f*ck it was fun.
Kombiman went for a little sleepwalk during the night & ended up calling my phone at 3am trying to get back into the apartment. Apparently he'd been wandering around the complex for a bit before coming to & wondering where he was & why he wasn't wearing any shoes. Bizarre.
Saturday
I don't know how many times I'll say this before it finally sinks in - mixing drinks is bad. Sure it's fun at the time, but the kicker's only a few hours away.
We needed food, and magazines for distraction. Kombiman got - surprise surprise - a cycling mag. Over the recovery breakfast, we got talking about bikes. He spends a hell of a lot of his time on his bikes, and he'd helped the good Capt get his now-mothballed two-wheeled wonder, so I started asking him what sort of things I'd need for general riding around town. It wasn't too long before we were at the Ride Shop in Braddon.
After umming & ahhhhing over whether or not I'd actually use a bike during the colder months, trying out a few frame sizes to find the right fit, and getting Kombiman to use the sums he spends there as leverage for a good deal (they threw in a helmet, bottle & drink holder etc), I walked out of there with a brand spanking new Trek 3700! Hardcore cyclists will likely scoff at this, it being the most basic of Trek's mtb range, but it's my first new bike (all the others were secondhanders) and I reserve the right to get a bit excited.
After picking up a few more bits & pieces for the bike, Kombiman & I did the lake circuit - well 23km of it - during which I thought I was going to die. It'd been at least six years since I'd done a ride that was any more than a quick trip up to the shops and boy did my body tell me so; legs & lungs were burning, head ached and I thought I was going to throw up on some of the hills. It got better once I figured out the gears properly (it's got 7 gears & 3 gear ratios) but I still have a lot more riding to do before it gets any easier. I've picked up the cycle map of Canberra, but I'm sticking to bike paths for a while yet & avoiding road riding whereever possible.
Sunday
I'd expected to be completely paralysed by lactic acid build-up from the ride, but woke feeling pretty damn good, so went for another ride. Rode around the lake, up through Civic & into Braddon to show the northside crew the new toy.
They weren't home, but were getting into a late brunch down at Debacle, so I headed down there with the cunning plan to do a really cool-looking sliding stop. Problem was I underestimated how tight the brakes still were & when the front wheel stopped, the back wheel kicked out to the side towards one of the guys sitting at the next table. Fortunately I think it only hit his chair & that it shocked me more than him. I apologised profusely, but he wouldn't let me buy him a beer. Live & learn; probably best to get such a stupid mistake out of the way earlier rather than later.
The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the Ride Shop, as Brenton was bitten by the buying bug & was seriously considering getting some new wheels. Ultimately he deferred that decision and we hit Glebe Park for a good hour & a half of frisbee action.
The evening was spent deflecting the housemate's questions during Alien: Resurrection, finding out he'd never seen any of the Alien series & then educating him with Aliens.
Monday
Up at 4am to get to the ANZAC Day dawn service at the War Memorial. I've been in Canberra since 2000, but this was my first dawn service. It struck me as odd to be there, commemorating a military defeat, but really it's about the good that came from it. My housemate asked if I'd enjoyed it; I don't think it's the sort of thing one's meant to enjoy, but I'm glad I went. 
Kombiman, Capt Roger & I skipped the traditional gunfire breakfast at the RSL, got some food in Civic and then spent most of the day down at Kombiman's Bastion o' Bikes watching Gallipoli and The Lighthorsemen.
Just as a sidenote, I wouldn't be surprised if the Turks told us where to go over 'the road' given the condition Gallipoli was left in once all of the tourists departed.
[Tags: Life, Canberra, Australia, MTB, ANZAC Day]
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