The Road to...Sorry, Just the Finish Line, Please - Part 1

Penticton is very pretty. Upon recently landing first in Vancouver and then Penticton, I've realized, especially after spending six months in Australia and prior to that, one year in New York, that there's an 'I'm home' feeling. Penticton isn't even in the right province but I have that feeling regardless. Canada is a great country and I'm reminded of that fact every time I leave. We've got some big problems but before I launch into a diatribe, I'll just say it's nice to be home.

As I think about what I've done to prepare to simply get to the finish line next Sunday, August 27th (forget doing well, achieving a personal best, securing a sponsorship, etc.), I am reminded that every participant has his or her own story in doing, at a minimum, the same thing.

As I was reflecting on this the other day, I thought I'd scan the Participant List available on the Ironman.ca website. Identified in the 'Occupation' column of that list were some typical ones - nurses, lawyers, teachers, exotic dancers, police officers, female body waxers, limnologists (not so typical that I didn't have to look this up), chimney sweeps, pastors, zoo keepers, bowling centre owners, food-colour consultants, cytogeneticists (I looked this up, too), pro-wrestlers, sheep farmers and shearers (Kiwis, of course), lipstick and underwear models, poets and firefighters (still my favourite category of all)). Some less than mainstream occupations were also identified - the dolphin flogger, urban lumber jack, mermaid, flamingo hearder, professional owl trainer, coffee master, corporate assassin, secret agent, bear wrestler, Jedi knight and (presumably) a nemesis Death Star Maintenance Manager. Oh, and I mustn't forget the All Round Good Guy and Devil May Care Flying Fool...who I happen to know is my Australian mate, Dan, to whom I passed information which led him to secure a registration spot in the coveted race. He is indeed a good guy and I'll be cheering him on (from behind) as he attempts to qualify for Kona.

How they all found the time to train I'll never know. I've at least been inspired to be a little more creative when filling out forms...

Where Does Time Go? Someone Please Find an Answer...

I left Sydney for Penticton on August 16th. I'm not even going to get into how time has flown by. I think that saying that time flies when you're having fun is kind of misleading. Though I have indeed had much fun, time flies regardless. I will probably write more on my impressions of Australia at a later time but for the moment I will keep things simple:

What I will miss (and already do) about my Australian life:

• living on a coastline and seeing the beautiful blue waters surrounding me
• staring into that unbelievable expanse of open water
• living a ridiculous life of not having to work
• staring out the window and feeling only slightly guilty about the time I've just wasted
• kangaroo meat
• running into a wallaby while cycling
• undulating landscape partly contributing to the already beautiful landscape
• a new-found delicasy...turkish delight (I know we have it in North American but it's not nearly as good)
• talking to Mark, Sharon and Radek on a regular basis
• have I mentioned I'll miss the water?

What I will not miss about my Australian life:

• 4 - 6 loads of laundry per week
• the grocery stores and bakeries
• riding my bike so often
• fighting with Australian drivers, whether on my bike or not

I'll expand the list as I think of things.

North Head

North Head has become my favourite running ground in Manly. North Head, part of the Sydney Harbour National Park, is a headland of approximately 4 square kilometres and has been used in past days for quarantine and military facilities. It's funny, but Paul introduced me to North Head on our first ride (he said that everyone from Manly had to know where North Head was) and for some reason I just "forgot" about it until sometime in May or June when it occurred to me that I should learn to tackle the hill required to reach North Head. The most beautiful views of the city are found here and particularly stunning pictures may be captured along the four lookouts along the Fairlight track, a 1 kilometre track within the larger 5k loop of North Head.

For those interested in Hollywood icons, Nicole Kidman was recently married in Manly and more specifically at a chapel found on that very hill leading up to North Head. I happened to run by on the day of her wedding shortly before she was due to arrive and the large crowd gave me (as well as all other cyclists and joggers passing by the heavily police-patrolled street) a cheer. I really hope that does not qualify as my "fifteen minutes of fame".


One recent day I took some lunch for a long walk up to my absolute favourite lookout on the Fairlight. This cliffside shows off the beautiful sandstone that makes up the headland. As I was sitting on the rock enjoying my lunch, I noticed the plaque on the bench in front of me (you will see it next to my coffee cup). The inscription reads as follows:

"This marks the area

where Adele will hopefully make Ralph

the happiest and luckiest man

in the world.

Dear Adele:

I love you more than yesterday

and less than tomorrow.

September 2001"

I think this definitely qualifies as "romantic"!