Alice Springs Triathlon

I headed off from home at about 5.45 after a 5 o’clock alarm awoke me from what had been a rather restless night – I’m pretty certain I saw every hour and a few half hours during the night. I’m not sure if it was nervousness, excitement, or just another hot night in Alice Springs, but it was not the best preparation for the upcoming event! That aside, as I wheeled my bike out the back gate, I was treated to the early morning light and a stunning sky.  It was the first time I had cycled with my new lights and I was very impressed – vision was great and I was confident that I could be seen on the road – not that there was much traffic at this time on a Sunday morning. Ten minutes or so later I was putting my bike on a rack, and learning the way to lay out my towel so that it would absorb as much water as possible while I was changing for the bike leg of the event.  With number 20 in thick marker pen on my leg and arm, I viewed the growing numbers of competitors arriving and creating their own little nest for the event.

My bike is closest to camera - the East MacDonnell Ranges in the distance.

The rules and routes were clearly explained and we were told the first wave would be the males, followed by the second wave, which would be the women and children and those accompanying them.  I slid into the water for my race and there were the ranges in the background – I felt elated. I could do this. Five times across the pool – mostly freestyle with a bit of backstroke thrown in, run to the bike, stand on the towel so it could soak up some of the water, don’t touch the bike until your helmet is on and done up. Pull on the shorts, shirt and socks, shoes on, bike off the rack, walk to the mounting line and hop on. Turn right, left at the ABC corner [remember the road rules], left at the Memo Club, left at the Highway, left at Tom Brown Roundabout, back up Gap Road, left at the ABC and get off the bike, run back to the rack and replace bike before removing helmet. Now for the run/walk. A brisk walk to the ABC, right at Gap Road and back again to cheers and encouragement as I ran over the line and through the finish.

I had just completed my first triathlon!  My time: 34:09 for those who want  to know these things.

 It was a taster event and there were many newbies like myself, families and teams where each did a separate leg of the 100m swim, 5km cycle and 1km run, or in my case, walk. I thoroughly enjoyed the event – it was well-organised by the Alice Springs Triathlon Club and Get Physical, a local gym.  People were friendly and helpful and there was ample encouragement right down to the final finishers cross the line.  A well-received breakfast of cereal, juice, bacon and eggs greeted us at the end and some lucky number prizes were handed out. My reward was the joy of completing the race, walking around with number 20 on my arm for the next few hours – a great little conversation starter – and the bright orange swim cap I was given before the race. It went beautifully with my bright pink cossie/bathers/swimmers/togs [depending on which state/territory you come from!]

 Still standing at the end - somewhat wetter than when I started!

Mayor’s Prayers Answered

While city people generally complain about rainy weather, wishing for rain is part of the Alice Springs psyche.  With vast blue skies to greet us most mornings, clouds are a godsend for photographers at sunrise and sunset, and a sign of hope for the residents.   True, a series of cloudy skies, but dry days, can dampen the spirits of the townsfolk.  Should the clouds produce sufficient rain to actually reach the ground, the mood is elevated to that of children on Christmas morning, with cries of ‘It’s raining!’ and ‘Can you smell the rain?’ echoing throughout the streets and workplaces.

Recently we've had some promising cloud and some short light showers which barely touched the ground and failed to register in the rain gauges.  Yesterday, for a brief time, I drove through a rain storm where I could hardly see, even with the wipers on full.  This should have brought joy to everyone in town. 

Uncharacteristically, Mayor Damien Ryan, has been praying for fine weather.  He’s not the only one.  The English Cricket Team is in town to play the Chairman’s XI, and rain is the last thing on the agenda.  With bumper crowds expected, and cricket fans bearing grins to rival the Cheshire Cat, I’m sure I heard a collective cheer as I went for my early morning walk and saw the last clouds disappearing behind Mt Gillen.

Who knew the Mayor had quite so much influence? 

Cool change in Alice Springs

It was hot today, every bit the 40 degrees that we had been expecting since the weekend, but a few degrees lower than some of the other areas mentioned on the weather report, like Lajamanu, where 42 was the maximum, and their next 5 days are likely to be 40 or more.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first swim of the season. The water was cool, but not cold, and it was nice to get into the rhythm of a few (short) laps of freestyle and backstroke.  I hung out some washing and by the time I had had a shower and cooked dinner, the washing was nearly dry.  The cool change had arrived and I sat outside eating dinner in the gentle breeze, which gusted from time to time, causing a branch to scrape along the fence or a seed to blow off its tree and roll along the channels in the corrugated roof of my awning.  Above ANZAC Hill the kites (birds) were circling, playing on the thermals - a magnificent flock of over forty birds.

Gradually the stars came out and I wanted to sit there all night.  If I owned the statutory swag of true Centralians, I just may have been tempted to sleep out under the stars in the cool breeze.  To be honest it’s not exactly cool – according to my app, it was 32.1 at 6pm and is currently around 30 degrees.  It’s all relative, of course, as 30 is considerably cooler than 40.

As I sit listening to Henri Salvador’s cool jazz Chambre Avec Vue – I am at risk of falling sleep before I finish this entry.

Sturt’s Desert Pea

One of my favourite ways to get around Alice Springs is on my bicycle – I enjoy the rhythm of cycling while having an opportunity to notice more of what Alice has to offer.  We are just getting towards the end of the vibrant red displays of Sturt’s Desert Pea on the nature strips, on the islands on the road, and in gardens.  Even though I know where it is now, somehow the colour, so different from any of the other plants and natural features, still surprises me as I round a corner or ride down a street from a different direction.  Some displays are quite small, but there are several large areas which fascinate me – they seem almost over indulgent, as if the plant just had to burst out in a joyous profusion of colour.

The flower is named Swainsona Formosa after an English botanist, Isaac Swainson.  ‘Formosa’ means ‘beautiful’ – aptly named.  It only occurs naturally in arid areas of Australia, and is the South Australian floral emblem.

2-COOL

I have been teaching ICT in Education this week, having been in a permanent state of professional development for the past several months in an effort to ensure I would be up to the task.  I now find that expressions like 'emerging technologies', 'cloud technologies' and my new favourite 'BYOD' [bring your own device - not 'drink' as was suggested today in a quick quiz!] just roll of my tongue, along with the tried and true 'wiki', 'blog' and ever-present 'ePortfolio', which seems to be standard vocabulary in every unit we teach.  I'm happy to say that Google Sites is meeting our needs in the ePortfolio department, and with each workshop we all become more proficient at uploading files and adding pages. As there can be anything from three weeks to a couple of months between workshops, the biggest problem is remembering one's password!

My professional reading has insisted time and again that, if you are going to write a blog, then consistency is the key, so with that in mind I am happily revisiting the past year in Alice through my collection of photographic memories.  Today's shots show the quirky relationship between a number plate and my windscreen one frosty July morning.

Number Plate 2

    One of the many interesting Police number plates - this one was snapped at the Bangtail Muster.

The Corkwood

The corkwood outside my classroom is blossoming. I didn’t know it was a corkwood, or notice when the first signs of its blossoms appeared over a month ago.  The locals did – well, people who have been around the area longer than I have, which is almost everybody.  The flowers are beautiful in the way so many things here are beautiful, in a delightfully understated way – not because they demand to be noticed, but purely for their intrinsic beauty.  

The bees were buzzing around the flowers this morning and two of my students, who are mature ladies from the Arnhem area, were discussing the flowers, the bees and wondering where they could poke a stick to get some honey.  Strangely, I had not asked myself the same question.  My mind doesn’t automatically consider the food benefit of the local flora.  The ladies are not familiar with the corkwood, but they are finely tuned to the environment and all that is happening in it.

I just remembered last summer when some of the young men were here for their classes and a large lizard had attracted their attention.  Had I not come along when I did, the lizard may well have ended up the evening entrée.  They, too, see opportunities beyond my experience. 

When I go on walks with my friends, they notice the tiniest of flowers, and can name each variety we pass.  My landlady is a keen gardener and has designed and planted the delightful backyard where I live - an arid garden, full of plants of the region, some self-sown.  The rain several weeks ago, followed by the unseasonably warm weather, has encouraged the previously low growing plants to reach for the sky.  There’s something very Impressionistic about it – an arid Monet’s garden.  It’s an absolute picture every time I walk out my door.