Australia Day 1

So my first full day in Australia. First morning that I wake up on this continent. The hotel appartment is very spacious for one which is really good seeing as I've got two weeks here. The location is brilliant for the Ironman as the following picture shows. Really close that getting to it and from it on race day is going to be nice and easy. Yet tucked away in a quiet spot so that once away from it I can't see or hear it. That way I can escape and relax.


So, the mission for the next two weeks:
Lots of time to chill out and get to see what is in the area. Have tried a couple of restaurants so far. A Thai last night and fish place this evening. I'm going to get into the habbit of early nights and early mornings. That way come race day a 5am start won't be such a shock to the system. Fortunately the clocks here go back that morning so at least that makes it a little easier. That means I'm having main meals at 6pm. Might switch this soon to main meals midday with light meals in the evening.

Other activities today. Easy 10mile bike ride and an easy 25minute run, though temperatures where upto and beyond 26C. Have signed up for some surfboarding lessons and worked out that there is an awful lot of things here that I'd like to do: horse riding, vineyard tours, intersting walks, art museums, historic homes, nature reserves, Koala Rescue Hospitals, boat hire and even sky diving. Good job coach Joe sees surfing as "easy".

The guide book suggests some scenic drives, so I went on one to reccee the run and bike courses from the race, but to preview one I'd planned for tomorrow. I popped into Graham Seers Cyclery in the morning to ask for route advice. We did this in South Africa which was a really good thing to do. The advice there was "don't ride through town ships". Other competitors who didn't get that advice had their bikes taken from them at knife point. Lesson there, get local knowledge on where and where not to go. Fortunately Australia is sound, well this part is at any rate. With their knowledge and then adding my own spin on it I figured that as the Ironman bike course is a 60k out and back I'd extend it to a 130k out and back. Google maps gave the impression that was okay so went to explore. All great for the 30k of the Ironman route. Good for a further 20k or so, but then the tarmac ran out and the road though wide and fine for 60kmph driving was just dust. Don't fancy that on a time trial bike with race tyres that I want to race on in 12 days time. Click here to see the route I'd like to have done, the tarmac ran out south of Dunbogan

Have taken some pictures so far that I have put onto facebook of the local surroundings, bits of the bike and run course and the dust road way beyond the bike course. Click here for my Facebook Australia Album

Here is one of the scenic shots