Well, this is the third week of being back in Brisbane. I scored a permanent job, with more money, in a similar role. So life in that sphere is great. The best thing though is being back home with my family. Back to playing Dad and husband, without leaving for days at a time to work away in Toowoomba. I missed my family far too much and missed out on far too much as well.
Toowoomba was a great place to work. The people were awesome, the work was challenging and interesting, the climbs were ridiculous, scenery was fantastic, but financially it just wasn't sustainable.
Now that I'm back in Brisbane I can leave the car behind and commute to work each day (or most days) by bike. I had a "set route" that I used to follow, but doing the latest (December) Strava Climbing Challenge led me to a better path into the city, involving +300m on the way in and +400m on the way home. So in reality, that's 700-750m climbing in 40k's per day.
Commuting has been a game changer. Going from averaging under 50k a week while I was in Toowoomba to now averaging over 200k a week has been both awesome and a shock to the system! I'm hoping this will do me good when it comes to having yet another go at Everesting in the future. Miles in the legs as they say....
So, one more day of work then I'm off overseas for my first trip abroad. I have been to New Zealand, but that doesn't count really (in my books anyway).
Where am I off to I hear you "virtually" say? Well, Munich, Innsbruck, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Nurenburg etc. Spending a few days (including Xmas and Boxing Day) in Innsbruck, Austria. First white Xmas at the age of 51. Going from 30 degrees to minus figures. How cool!! (pun intended).
Not sure how I'll go posting anything while we're over there but stranger things have happened at sea as they say.
Have a wonderful and safe Xmas with your families, enjoy the weather and the open roads (or trails), and I'll be back in 2016 for another Everesting crack.
