Perth and WA

[juliet]

And lo! I am back in Perth again. Where it is sunny and warm and other suchlike things which I was led to believe that Australia would feature but have so far been largely failing to materialise. Also I am staying in the One World Backpackers which is lovely -- cheap wireless, free towel, free breakfast, nice garden with hammocks, lovely sofas in the living room.

The last few days of cycling have featured: hills; trees; a crazed avian cyclist-assassin. Finally, a use for the helmet, viz, protecting my delicate scalp-fleshes from the CLAWS. Shouting at it had no discernable effect, so I sprinted instead. Apparently I can go quite fast when I have the incentive. All scalp-fleshes thankfully still intact.

The trees were all very nice. I climbed to a 61m fire lookout (up pegs stuck in a treetrunk;, went on a tree-top walk on a slightly alarmingly swaying walkway (it was fabulous, though, to see the trees from that height); and cycled for 27km through forest on a road which saw a car about once every 15 min, so it was mostly just me and the trees. And the hills. And lots of birdsong (but no crazed assassin-birds).

I am ludicrously healthy at the moment: lots of energy, clear skin, cold wet nose[0], that sort of thing. Apparently getting 8 hrs sleep a night and lots of outdoor exercise, on a diet of lentils, rice, veggies, and porridge, with very little alcohol, is good for you. Who knew? I have developed legs that Chris Hoy would be proud of[1] and I laugh in the face of hills[2]. I look forward to all of this deserting me in the New Year when I go back to *not* spending my entire time on a bike. On the downside, WA is apparently Mosquito Central, and my legs are all over bite marks/scabs where I've scratched too much. Bah.

I have also developed a list of Good Songs For Cycling To, which includes:

• Bad Touch (Bloodhound Gang)
• Baby I Don't Care (Transvision Vamp)
• Up In Our Bedroom After The War (Stars)
• Born To Run (Springsteen) (sadly I do not actually have this with me on this occasion, but I once got from Trafalgar Sq to home via the Embankment in 17 min flat with this on repeat.)

Since I am of the opinion that if you're not capable of singing at least a bit whilst cycling, you're trying too hard[3], I have been able to cause much alarm in roadside cows. Transvision Vamp in particular seem to make them stop and stare, although tbh roadside cows will stop and stare at pretty much anything. I guess there's not much entertainment for them.

Off back to Adelaide on the train tomorrow; for now I think it may be dinnertime.

[0] This is actually true on occasion, e.g. when going downhill fast into the wind.
[1] This is a gross exaggeration, which is probably for the best as Chris Hoy, whilst a splendid and very impressive chap, is also a freak of nature who has leg muscles where normal people just have, like, skin.
[2] This is an outright lie.
[3] This is not actually as lazy as it sounds. Broadly speaking the higher your heart rate, the more you're using carbs instead of fat, and breathing hard is a decent stand-in for heart rate. And high carb usage = more chance of bonking. Which is bad, if doing long-distance.

Comments

[sbp.livejournal.com]

No long-distance bonking?! :-)

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

Your journal is informative, as ever. Until now, I had no idea that bonking was also a verb relating to glycogen depletion. I've never experienced 'hitting the wall' in the athlete sense but I am quite convinced from all the reports that it is not remotely as much fun as the sort of bonking I am more familiar with.

(I have also learned it can also mean hitting a tree with your snowboard whilst in midair. Again, not sounding like an enjoyable experience.)

[juliet]

Bonking I think is cyclist-specific - I've seen "hitting the wall" from runners, I think. It's not very pleasant, no :)

I hadn't heard the snowboard use, so I have learnt something today as well!

[jhg.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I am a naturally quite healthy person, both genetically and in my predispositions as to what I eat and do.

Alas, at the moment I can only dream of how healthy I'd be if I was able to quit the office job and live somewhere warmer and greener than London.

[(Anonymous)]

Excellent use of footnotes here!!

Cathyx