Thursday, August 12, 2010

Zen of Bike Riding

Something clicked for me this week.

I've been riding my bike to work every day for 3 weeks now (except for the day it was raining). We purposely got a house within riding distance because we haven't purchased a car yet, so now my fear of driving will last just a little longer. But Mackay is a great place to learn, whether it be biking or driving, because it's a small city and drivers seem to be relatively more courteous here. And I have a really flat route. It only really inclines at all around the bridge over the creek and another bridge over the river, but even those are minimal.

I was probably afforded the opportunity of enlightenment this week because my rear end has finally stopped hurting when I sit on the seat, which is magically wonderful in itself.

The most important thing that clicked was 'slow and steady wins the race' when it comes to biking, especially after becoming so unfit the last 7 months without a gym membership. I'm also not a seasoned biker and up until I moved to Oz, I hadn't ridden much since I was a kid. So for some reason, I think when I get on the bike, I feel like I need to go really fast (something I also coincidentally feel like doing when driving), which isn't a good strategy because I just end up getting tired and have to stop peddling for a break. Then I slow way down, then the cycle continues.

But finally this week, I subconsciously (I guess) decided just to peddle slow and steady. Amazing! It's so much more fun now!!

I've learned some other things on my zen biking journey as well, like:

better understanding of how traffic here works... which will help me when I finally start driving;

what to do when your wheels are loose because the movers didn't put your bike back together properly...
actually, this one requires a meltdown phone call to your husband so he can calmly give you instructions. But it all worked out;

it's not so bad wearing stretchy pants
... at least while actually on the bike, anyway... off the bike, still not cool;

the bike helmet isn't that bad either... but I still don't see how it's going to protect anyone in a car collision, though. But everyone else has to wear them, too, so I don't feel like such a dork; and

riding my bike is a chance to smell the roses... or at times, the fish guts people leave on the sidewalk on the bridge. "Wow, the river smells fishy today... oh, it's just the fish guts on the ground..." But for real, some days the bike time may be the only time I spend outside all day, so why not enjoy it? You get to see all things you wouldn't normally see through the car window. (photos of which I'll post someday)

So along with getting my free daily exercise and free transportation, I'm starting to really enjoy bike riding.

Sunday, August 8, 2010


It's been awhile since I've posted anything because it's been another round of whirlwind life change and adjustments. As soon as I was selected for a job with the State government, we immediately started making plans to move. We flew up to Mackay for a few days to suss out the housing situation, and luckily on the last day in town our application was approved for a rental house! We were really excited because first, it can be a bit of a nightmare finding any rental properties in Australia, because there's no central way to search and the market is huge. You have to visit every real estate agency in person practically every day to keep up with the new listings, inspections, applications, etc. Then they go off the market so fast, you really have to be on your toes. So we were relieved that we got that part done so quickly.

Then the next step was packing, moving, and tying up loose ends in Kirra. I pretty much moved up to a hotel room in Mackay and starting working right away, while Theo stayed behind in Kirra to pack, see our stuff off with the movers, and clean our apartment before we officially moved out.

The job has been great! It's exactly what I had wanted to do. I'm still getting to know the work processes and people, but there's always a learning curve. I have 2 other Americans in my office, which was surprising! Every day I'm impressed by the progressive policies and work environment. As far as employers, I couldn't have done any better!

Mackay as a city is not bad either. I didn't really know what to expect, since I didn't get to see much during my interview visit. It's still a coastal city, but not as big as the Gold Coast. Not as touristy either, which is really nice. It's further north, so it has a warmer climate than where we came from (a Fijian friend says it's on the same latitude as Fiji!), so they grow a lot of sugar cane and other tropical crops here. It's also not far from the mines, so a lot of people who live here actually work in the mines. Many have one week on/one week off type schedules. This can sometimes be a negative because miners get paid so well, it can create a kinda false economy, with businesses catering to and inflating prices for miners. But it's not too bad. If we lived any closer to the mines, it would be much worse!

We're still getting settled into the new house. We have practically no furniture, and it's a 3-bedroom house, so it's going to take awhile to make it feel cozy. But we have everything we need, really. The best parts about it are the wood floors, the awesome front deck, and the fruits growing in the back yard - passionfruit and mandarins! The backyard is fenced in case we find a cute puppy to take home, and the neighborhood seems really nice. There are definitely things about the house we would change if we could, though. It's pretty old, and they must have added the toilet later, because it's in the back, down a few stairs off the laundry room. So it's not that fun when you have to get up in the middle of the night. And on a related note, the water pipes are really old and unpredictable and the bathtub is an awful pink color. But the good things definitely outweigh the bad... Just glad to be employed and semi-settled at the moment...