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Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Mandurah Over 55 Cycling Club... Happy Birthday to you!
It just goes to show you that you never know where you'll end up by the end of the week. Who would have thought we'd be
eating roast chicken, baby corn and pumpkin soup at the Greyhound track dancing the foxtrot to John Farnham? We didn't.
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meet joan & lionel
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An article in the West Australian, an email from Ian Campbell, and a few days later we're drinking coffee
and eating scones at Lionel and Joan's house. Let's meet them, shall we?
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How long have you been a part of the bike club? The club's been around for eight years, but we only joined two years ago.
What made you get involved? When we both retired, we needed something to keep us busy. Actually, we needed something to get Lionel out of the shed. Our choices were bowls or cycling, and the bowls club was just too... stiff. Wear white, skirt must be certain length, and so on. So we joined the bike club.
What does the bike club do? Every Tuesday there's an organized ride, and depending on your bike skills, it can be a 10km ride around town or a 50km ride to Pinjarra and back. The club caters to all levels of cycling.
Take any larger rides? Yes, we just got back from a ride from Mandurah to Augusta, which is about 300km in less than a week. Lionel built the bike trailer for the club, so that if you fall behind or get too tired, you can always toss your bike in the support vehicle.
Join the Club:
Age: 8 yrs
President: Mary
Members: 150!
Cost to Join: $10 to join, $1.50 per ride
Money goes toward: Monthly BBQ, socials & upkeep
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How do you like it? It's fantastic. It's a great way to socialize and meet other people with similar interests. We've also become pretty skilled at bike maintenance.
What else do you do in your spare time? Well, for the garden, Lionel's built himself a home worm farm.
A home worm farm? A home worm farm.
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how to build a home worm farm
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A home worm farm? Yes! To reach your full gardening potential, you need worms! Here are a few other things you might need first...
A bathtub, newspapers, carpet, compost, soil, and your lawn mower.
Are you ready? Let's get started!
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1. Mow your lawn and collect the clippings. |
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2. Wet the newspapers until they're miserably soggy. |
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3. Put the grass from your lawn, the compost from your kitchen and the wet newspapers together in a confined area, then run over them all with the lawn mower. You've got mulch! |
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4. Place the mulch in the bathtub, and mix it around with the soil. |
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5. Introduce the worms to one another, then send them into the mix and hope the relationship blossoms. |
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6. Cover the mulch with the wet carpet (to respect the worms' privacy). Water carpet regularly. Let stand for 6-12 months. |
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Over a year, keep adding grass clippings and compost to the bathtub, and watch those little loveworms go forth and multiply! Now and then, dig down deep into the mix and extract the good, rich soil from the bottom of the tub. Your flowers will grow like Brad Pitt's beard!
Another cool tip: Collect the water that drips out of the drain... that super mineral-rich goop is better than Miracle Grow! Tastes great too!
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these are the people in our neighbourhood...
Lynn
Our next 'friend jump' down the coast brought us straight to Lynn. Our connection to Lynn comes through Canada and the teacher exchange program of the Eighties. Who knew we'd benefit so much from the Eighties? Lynn made us feel right at home and we had a quiet place to call our own for a couple of days. Thanks Lynn!
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Fellow Canadians
Speaking of Canada and teachers... we met these two Canadian teachers (told ya!) on our way to Lynn's. Believe it or not, one of them was even born in Thunder Bay! What re the chances that within this two-block radius there would be four people that had actually spent more than a year in Thunder Bay? Gives me the shivers.
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Roy and Gail
She wants to dance. He doesn't want to. Eventually he dances, but ends up confusing a man dancing next to him as his wife... or something like that. It made for an interesting end to the Over 55 Cycling Club Birthday bash!
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Mary
You want something done in the cycling club, you go see Mary. She's the head honcho. The gal in charge. Actually, this is her last week as the President of the Over 55 Cycling Club, but from what we hear, she's done an amazing job.
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wally's amazin' facts!
Just a short drive from Perth is the town of Dalwallinu, which boasts (actually, it doesn't, but it should) the
largest number of single women in the country. It also has a much higher ratio of women to men than you're
probably used to. So, as they say in sports, if you're having trouble scoring, might as well hang around the net!
Har har!
This Week's Amazin' Fact: Munch munch munch. Looking for a good pie? I was! Then I found the Pinjarra
Bakery! This place has won more awards than Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan put together! Best pies, best
vanilla slices, best crusts, best jam donuts, best sausage rolls... now that's better than a squirt of dead horse!
Look at all these ribbons!
While we're on the subject, where's the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere? Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Don't forget to look for Wally this week!
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| Distance this week: 140km | Distance since Day 1: 8423km |
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What is Bikeabout? Click here to find out!
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Day 191: 99% Angel
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0.0km
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24°
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Frank & Sara's
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 we're no fools
It's April, and if you're an employee of the Canadian Consolate, you know what that means... Kevin and Aimee's Australian
Visas should be up by now! Somebody call immigration! Don't let them get away!
Settle down, settle down. Nothing to get all worked up about. Yes, it's now been a one year since we arrived in Australia
and had our one year working holiday visa stamped on entry. You see, anyone from Canada (or UK, or Holland) can get one
of these working holiday visas, provided they're (1) under 30, (2) generally in good health, and (3) holding a return ticket
(or can prove they have enough money to buy a ticket on their way out). These WHVs are a one-time-only deal.
Unless.
Unless you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are in the country under EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, because only
under EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES do they extend a WHV. Well, guess what we qualiied for? YAY! We're extraordinary
individuals! Now we can stay until the end of the year! And that means... we can afford one more day with Lilly!
Now we really understand what they mean when they say 'no worries'.
"CHOKE ON MY LOVE CAKE!"
- Frank.
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Day 192: Kevin?
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15.8km
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26°
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2.5h
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2.0L
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Stayed on the Bike Path
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Lynn's in Cottesloe
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 ya stray sausage
This guy's a sucker for punishment. Look at him. Just yesterday it looked as though his head was going to heal itself and
today he's jumped back in the ocean - headfirst.
Me, I'm on the sidelines, watching with each wave to make sure that he surfaces again. Amazingly enough, he does.
He's like one of those red and white bobbers you use when you go fishing - plunk! down it goes; plop! up it comes.
...or he's a stray sock in the washing machine that you keep losing and finding again.
...or he's a dead goldfish that you're trying to flush down your toilet.
He's all of these things, and more. I'm so proud of him.
"Oh, you know: Romulans hatch a plot, characters are developed beyond the TV series, Troy sheds tears, Picard and Data
learn something about themselves, a rogue wields a weapon that cannot be stopped, a 7 minute countdown
to the end of the world, averted with seconds to go. Same old same old."
- Kevin.
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Day 193: Free Day in Freo
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0.0km
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25°
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Cottesloe
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 free birds
Why work when we can wander aimlessly among civilization? And there's no better place for some aimlessness than Fremantle
on a Wednesday afternoon with, well, Aim. There's no tourists, and it's too early for the after-work blue-shirt-yellow-tie
drinkers. It's just us, a cuppa cappa and about fifty shoe stores. Kinda like Soho!
Guaranteed, if you visit Perth and looking to sightsee, the first stop anyone will suggest is Fremantle. "Have you been to
Fremantle yet? Gotta get over to Fremantle. Fremantle's great! Love that Freo." We decided to find out what makes it so
appealing.
Like we said, cappuccino bars, shoe stores, Chinese restaurants, a central market, and nothing over three storeys tall. Cute.
Certainly cute. But a must see... hmmm. Sure, why not?
I'll tell you what I think the appeal is... it feels like a small town city centre. No giant malls, no bustling traffic, not
even a grid-like street system. It feels like you're in a much smaller, older downtown than you really are. Like Geraldton.
Or Northhampton. Or Richmond. Or Charters Towers. Basically, the size of every town between here and Townsville. Consequently,
just where we've spent the last four months.
Don't get me wrong: I'm sure you'll love it. I'm on my way back to the Myer on Hay Street.
"Oh, Kevin, a second pillow. We live in decadence."
- Aimee.
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Day 197: Escort Service
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58.8km
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25°
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8.5h
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4.5L
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A bit busy
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Gate 29 of Waroona Alumina Plant
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 better with age
Thirty years later, we reached Mandurah. No wonder my back was hurting.
While we've been here, we've been officially inducted into the Over 55 Cycling Club. This club is great! They go on tours, have BBQ's, and continually invite each other over for tea; all while keeping in much better shape than us.
After spending two days with this amazing group, we feel as though their energy has rubbed off on us and we've never felt younger. We mean that in the good way.
Aimee: "OH, I am SOOO funny!"
Kevin: "Dork."
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stiff bikkies:
(exp.) direct Aussie translation of "tough cookies", or in other words, too bad for you.
no pretense
recurring nightmare
taking care of baby
