Dear world.

I’ve been a bad blogger lately, life has been busy in the last few months and ended in somewhat of a working holiday in the Flinders Ranges. I’ve had the opportunity to work with very talented and knowledgeable people, who went out of their way to explain Australian customs and lingo to me. They made me feel very welcome and like part of the family.

There were a lot of firsts for me last weekend. I was using tools I don’t know the names for in any language, I survives outback camping (really well), rode on the back of a Ute and a trailer and may or may not have used a dunny. Someone took me for a quick ride through the outback on a motorcycle and while I was clinging on for my life and some kangaroos were hopping by, I thought I should really be wearing a helmet. (Don’t try this at home kids.)

Recent edition to my bum bag (there is no shame in events) was a flyscreen you wear over your hat (which the cool kids avoid at all cost). I only swallowed a total of four flies in the last two weeks, so who won now?

With terribly early starts, you are also provided with the opportunity to experience wildlife up close. All sorts of birds, lizards, bunnies, kangaroos and emus were just waiting for you to get up, too. Sports events is a completely new territory for me. So I was soaking it all up like a sponge and my brain hurts a bit from all the input. Maybe it is the lack of water or sleep or both. You could call it work but I was really just playing with the boys in the dust all week. (Mind you, most of the boys could’ve been my father.) I’ve always been a bit of what they call a tomboy and ending up with cable cutters in my pockets seems like a logical progression somehow. (I was also the only one who ended up with bloody feet. That’s how though I am.) This week I’ve been practicing knots.

Are You Tough Enough?

The Flinders Ranges Outback Epic Mountain Bike Race is tough on the riders as well as the people that make this event possible. For the race day, the weather provided a challenging 36 degrees, which is a wee bit hot, if you try to ride 205 km through the Australian outback unsupported. Admittedly, there are shorter distances and cyclists are able to get support, if they choose to, but this amazing effort surpasses by far what I’d be capable of doing looking at my current state of fitness. Erm.

Note to self: leave the city more often.

If you would like to find out more about this amazing challenge, click here.