A few cold ones after the Husky 100

A six pack of coldies after the Husky 100

1. Solitude
Nothing beats getting away by yourself, camping in the back of your ute in a swag and staring into the big sky at night. I got the opportunity at the Husky 100. It’s not something I would like to do every day, but it is nice to break away occasionally and have some ‘me’ time.

2. Old Friends

I still get blown away with the friends that re-appear in your live. Nick and Ally Munting, Timmy Hunter, Andy Lloyd are people that have reappeared in my life after decades of zero contact through events like this.

3. Good manners & respect

I rode with a guy on a back dual suspension and red jersey up to the 70km mark. Not that I was at the pointy end, but we raced as hard as we could. We swapped turns, waited for each other at the feed zone and when I clipped a peddle in the single track, we passed the slower riders as one and communicated the same language to the 50km riders as well as the volunteers marshaling the course. He dropped me up a fire road climb somewhere between the 70 and 80km mark, and he respectfully waited at the top for me to catch up. I was shot and flagged him on. It was nice riding with him – who ever he was.

4. Country Hospitality

Nothing beats a smile and the genuine feeling that someone is happy that you are in their town/ racing their race/ interested in their product. Mum always said that it is nice to be important, but more important to be nice. The hospitality that was shown over the weekend brought that lesson back home.

5. Cold beer

It is tradition to stop in and have a beer at the pubs “off the beaten track”. Even if I was travelling solo, I felt it my duty to call into the Nerriga Pub and have a snappy on the way home. They had the fire raging with video clips on the TV. The beer was cold and it was good.

6. Coming Home

The family and dogs were still at Grandma’s, but I am pretty sure that the chooks rushed to the gate to say that they missed me; the cows seemed to bow their head in a regal sort of way to say that they were glad that I was home and the fire seemed extra kind in warming the house so quick. It is nice to come home.