Blogs
Thu, 27 Jan 2011
Adjusting to Australia
By Ella Sadler-Andrews - Horizon Fitness Racing Team
Well, I made it. In one piece, both the bike and I. Just... The bike nearly had to come wheel-less after my luggage was about 10kg over, despite me cutting my suitcase down 50%. Running out of underwear already. Only kidding, I'm in my togs every day! Knowing that my luggage was well over, I prepared a little speech to give the check in person. Really didn't think he was going to budge, and I was waiting for the painful 250pound bill (no frikking pound sign in this country). Duno how but I blagged it. Big time. Walked away massively relieved.
The next step was to endure the most tedious journey ever known to man. Twenty hours cramped up like a battery chicken. Usually I've flown with my family, meaning that you can spread out, lay, lean on them. There was no way I was going to get away with that this time. Both flights I was stuck next to buisness men who weren't in the slightest interested in having any sort of communcation. I was on the window seat meaning that to get to the loo, everyone had to get up. Knowing that this would majorly pee my row off, I held my bladder until I actually nearly went. The aeroplane was mega hot and stuffy, so I was drinking litres of water in an attempt to stay vaguely hydrated. Grumpy neighbours + lots of fluid = very, very uncomfortable flight.
My stopover was in Dubai. Why on Earth anyone would ever, ever go to Dubai is beyond me. A city made on a desert with about 100 trees. Big woo. Airport was as awful as they come. Stupidly I had no sterling and the shops had no change for Australian dollars. What was I going to do with Dubai money?! I was gasping for a drink the whole two hours I was there. Thankfully the flight was on time(ish); I could feel myself expiring.
The next leg was awful. Really not looking forward to flying home. Sweaty, cramped, numb bum, dehydrated, hungry. Need I say more? Anyways, the moral of the story is, fly First Class. If you can afford to of course. Unfortunately I can't, it took me long enough to pay for my peasant class ticket.
Bjarne, an old friend of my parents met me at the airport. His wife, Aine is currently working in Christmas Island but will be back early March. Bjarne's great, a real good host, but he's 65. Don't get me wrong, I can converse with all ages. After a while however, I'm finding myself needing teenage company. Thankfully, Bjarne's daughter's best friend lives round the corner. Unthankfully, she has a one year old girl making the time she has free limited. Yesterday we managed to go shopping, go for a swim and have lunch whilst Imogen was at day care. These days are rare. Today is Australia Day so Bjarne and I are going to his friend's BBQ. Hopefully I'll find some people my own age there!
I've been here in sunny Kirra on the Gold Coast, Queensland for six days. Every single day has been bright blue, clear skies with temperatures averaging around 30 degrees. Not bad considering a month ago it was non-stop rain! Fortunately this part of Queensland was unaffected by the floods. I go to Brisbane at the weekend so I'm sure to see some of the devastation.
I've managed to get out every day on my bike. Around three hours each time. Adjusting to the heat and amount of fluid you must drink is vital. I don't want to get sun stroke and be off my bike for a few days. I'm up at 5am every day, out by 6am and back just before the sun is right above my head. By about 5pm I'm knackered! But the sun sets at 7pm and I have no social life so I don't mind going to bed early...(I hope to improve my social life soon, otherwise I can see this being a very long ten weeks...!) The main roads are busy and there are fewer options to them compared to the UK. But once you get in the out and beyond, it's fabulous. Hardly any cars. Big climbs, amazing descents and the only thing you have to look out for are the snakes and toads. A guy who lives next door is a keen cyclist and has been showing me some amazing routes. When I get to Brisbane I'll hook up with a club I have made contact with and maybe even start to race!
As I said earlier, I go to Brisbane at the weekend so stay with friends (they have children my age, yay!). I'll race and train up there for a week then I fly to New Zealand for two weeks. The first weekend I'm there I'm racing the Bev May 2 Day tour (which I think I actually won when I used to live there!). After that it's to Hawkes Bay to see my old friends before they head off back to Uni. On the 23rd Feb its back to Oz for my last month. I'll be sharing my time between Brisbane and Kirra, maybe I'll even trek up to the Great Barrier Reef for a spot of snorkelling. My plans are loose, I just want to ride my bike and get as fit as I can before returning home.
Forgot to mention, Bjarne has got me insured on his 2.6L ute. For those of you who don't know what an ute is, it's basically a big truck used by farmers over here. Something like a Nissan Navara. It's so scary to drive. And as for parking, I have to drive to the far end of any supermarket where no one else is. It's huge! Not tried parallel parking yet, don't think it's such a good idea. Having access to a car is going to make this trip to much easier. Saves me getting trains to here and there. As Australia is so huge, I'll need to drive to some places to meet people for a club run. Seems bizarre I know but I don't want to be training alone.
Time for me to go for a swim in the sea I think. Must get rid of these awful cycling tan lines too...Good thing the sun is shining.
Happy Australia Day everybody!
For more information on the Horizon Fitness Racing Team, visit www.onthedrops.com.