New beginnings & fosters adverts

7 weeks ago I wrote about my endeavours of disastrous stage racing.  As the weeks slipped by without much more than a leisurely pedal being turned I began to think about the off season and what I could make of my life as my cycling began to stall. It gave me a chance to step back and to consider how and even if I could turn a dream into reality.  Sadly the answer to this question which all young aspiring athletes must ask of themselves is a whispered no.  I am proud to say that I took chances and risks when they came my way, I’m humbled by the support of the Dave Rayner fund and most of all blessed to have broadened my horizons and enhanced my life through cycling.  But what of the here and now… where do I write from?

Well I’m never one to hang around but neither am I impulsive.  If I go shopping for clothing I only ever have to pay for an hours parking… I make my mind up and stick with it… sometimes because I’ve lost the receipts though! I knew work had to be my main priority and like a huge chunk of my generation the pond simply can’t provide for all the fish, so I made the biggest decision of my life and decided to fly from the pond of recession to the new land of opportunity… West Australia.  It’s a big step.  My grandmother posed herself the same question in 1976, England was mere existence for her, she wanted a life and to have things to look forward to.  Australia was as desperate for workers as she was for opportunity and so she gambled everything on the leaflet offering a better life. Back then the internet was something inside a pair of swim shorts and Australia had only just stopped being a six weeks boat journey away so information was hard to come by and the bravery required to jump into the unknown with two young children must have been immense.  I decided to make that same life changing step whilst gazing aimlessly out of the window one morning.  I wouldn’t say I’m quite as brave as her, I have never had to go hungry on an evening or knit my own clothes but the principles of wanting a better life remain. 

September 12^th was the big day.  I arrived bleary eyed at Manchester airport and showed up to the front desk destined for Singapore.  It wasn’t my knees trembling but my arms weirdly as I struggled to hide the fact my luggage was overweight.  After a shoulder wrenching couple of minutes of dangling my bag gently on the scales I was cleared and left to say my goodbyes to my family.  It was a true evacuees experience as my mum put on a brave face, my dad offered me a firm handshake and my sister politely asked if I had any English change I’d like to get rid of… I felt only excitement at the time but as I read and re-read the words of wisdom in the good luck card from my parents I knew the lump in my throat wasn’t excitement… that lump is normally somewhere else!  Singapore arrived after some amazing thunderstorms around Delhi and with over two hours to kill it was time to do some Yorkshire man’s shopping… that is, showing up with no money and looking only to waste time.  I love airports; they are the only place to truly people watch.  Being in Asia there was the expected abundance of Chinese tourists taking cliché photos at every opportunity.  Singapore is probably the best airport in the world to kill a few hours as I took myself off on the tour of the butterfly gardens and marvelled at the koi carp pond with the building excitement that Oz was just around the corner. 

September 13^th finally came after what felt like the longest day of my life… I proudly slipped into the fast track queue for passport control for Australians only.  I stood there at the machine and scanned away, the bloke next to me marvelling at my computer skills before piping up and asking if he was ‘doing it right’? I hadn’t expected to be put on the spot so early but I put my new mentality into practice… Lie back and think of the fosters adverts! As I quickly let out a ‘Yeeeaaaahhh’ in my finest OZ twang.  Then it was onto customs and my first opportunity to get in an inadvisable joke.  The giant red circular bag laid on top of my luggage labelled ‘Roval Aerodynamic wheels’.  The bloke in front glanced down at its locked zips, looked up at me and asked ‘what’s in it’? …. Oh dear! Never one to miss a moment of comedy I replied ‘frisbie’… He raised an eyebrow before probably resuming his day dream. 

I’ve been here three full days now.  The logistics are falling into place and with no sign of a bike yet Job hunting is my number one priority.  The local papers are full of opportunities which can give me little doubt as to whether I’ve made the right decision so wish this ‘Pommy’ all the best!

New beginnings & fosters adverts

7 weeks ago I wrote about my endeavours of disastrous stage racing.  As the weeks slipped by without much more than a leisurely pedal being turned I began to think about the off season and what I could make of my life as my cycling began to stall. It gave me a chance to step back and to consider how and even if I could turn a dream into reality.  Sadly the answer to this question which all young aspiring athletes must ask of themselves is a whispered no.  I am proud to say that I took chances and risks when they came my way, I’m humbled by the support of the Dave Rayner fund and most of all blessed to have broadened my horizons and enhanced my life through cycling.  But what of the here and now… where do I write from?

Well I’m never one to hang around but neither am I impulsive.  If I go shopping for clothing I only ever have to pay for an hours parking… I make my mind up and stick with it… sometimes because I’ve lost the receipts though! I knew work had to be my main priority and like a huge chunk of my generation the pond simply can’t provide for all the fish, so I made the biggest decision of my life and decided to fly from the pond of recession to the new land of opportunity… West Australia.  It’s a big step.  My grandmother posed herself the same question in 1976, England was mere existence for her, she wanted a life and to have things to look forward to.  Australia was as desperate for workers as she was for opportunity and so she gambled everything on the leaflet offering a better life. Back then the internet was something inside a pair of swim shorts and Australia had only just stopped being a six weeks boat journey away so information was hard to come by and the bravery required to jump into the unknown with two young children must have been immense.  I decided to make that same life changing step whilst gazing aimlessly out of the window one morning.  I wouldn’t say I’m quite as brave as her, I have never had to go hungry on an evening or knit my own clothes but the principles of wanting a better life remain. 

September 12^th was the big day.  I arrived bleary eyed at Manchester airport and showed up to the front desk destined for Singapore.  It wasn’t my knees trembling but my arms weirdly as I struggled to hide the fact my luggage was overweight.  After a shoulder wrenching couple of minutes of dangling my bag gently on the scales I was cleared and left to say my goodbyes to my family.  It was a true evacuees experience as my mum put on a brave face, my dad offered me a firm handshake and my sister politely asked if I had any English change I’d like to get rid of… I felt only excitement at the time but as I read and re-read the words of wisdom in the good luck card from my parents I knew the lump in my throat wasn’t excitement… that lump is normally somewhere else!  Singapore arrived after some amazing thunderstorms around Delhi and with over two hours to kill it was time to do some Yorkshire man’s shopping… that is, showing up with no money and looking only to waste time.  I love airports; they are the only place to truly people watch.  Being in Asia there was the expected abundance of Chinese tourists taking cliché photos at every opportunity.  Singapore is probably the best airport in the world to kill a few hours as I took myself off on the tour of the butterfly gardens and marvelled at the koi carp pond with the building excitement that Oz was just around the corner. 

September 13^th finally came after what felt like the longest day of my life… I proudly slipped into the fast track queue for passport control for Australians only.  I stood there at the machine and scanned away, the bloke next to me marvelling at my computer skills before piping up and asking if he was ‘doing it right’? I hadn’t expected to be put on the spot so early but I put my new mentality into practice… Lie back and think of the fosters adverts! As I quickly let out a ‘Yeeeaaaahhh’ in my finest OZ twang.  Then it was onto customs and my first opportunity to get in an inadvisable joke.  The giant red circular bag laid on top of my luggage labelled ‘Roval Aerodynamic wheels’.  The bloke in front glanced down at its locked zips, looked up at me and asked ‘what’s in it’? …. Oh dear! Never one to miss a moment of comedy I replied ‘frisbie’… He raised an eyebrow before probably resuming his day dream. 

I’ve been here three full days now.  The logistics are falling into place and with no sign of a bike yet Job hunting is my number one priority.  The local papers are full of opportunities which can give me little doubt as to whether I’ve made the right decision so wish this ‘Pommy’ all the best!