Canberra was brilliant. Took the bike, and I did my rides first thing in the mornings (as is the norm).
Round the lake of course, taking in the ambience, the fresh air, the morning quietness, a beautiful sun rise and.....
DUCK SHITE!!!! tons of the bloody stuff.
There has to be a million ducks on that lake, and all of them must be trained to shit on the bloody pathway!!!
I can see them now.. Feeding away on the grass and bugs, and as they head back to the water they come across the path.
�Oh a path� they say.
�I think I�ll just have a big cack as I go across here...."
'KABOOM...' one giant steaming turd, for the next cyclist to come across.
There�s no way to dodge it, the stuff is everywhere, and with my climb anything, don�t mess with me knobbly tyres, and no mud guards on the bike, the proverbial was literaly flying through the air like you wouldn�t believe.
And midges... bloody midges, millions of the buggers as well!!!
Here are some facts for you. Midges that swarm are all males.
They swarm, waiting for a female to come along and find them (then they pounce on her Hee hee...).
They hover over some object at random, and in the case of these ones, of course it was duck turds!!!!
Hence... as well as picking duck turds off my back and legs, I�m also trying to pick midges out of my teeth as I�m going along.
Made for a very interesting wobbly ride I can tell you.
O.K.... So, If you didn�t already know. Canberra was a manufactured capital. Unlike other capital city�s that evolved over time, Australia didnt really have a capital city, Melbourne said it shoud be them, and Sydney said it should be them. Both of them are on the coast, and traditionally capital cities are not on the coast. The reason for this is, because it leaves them open to easy attack, and thus early capitulation of the nation. The arguement between the two cities, became so serious that it was going to become a duel of wet lettuces at 20 paces. To stop the bitch fight, they built Canberra.
Amazingly, Canberra's lake is all man made. There are no general power boats allowed on the lake, though you can "Row, row, row, your boat gently down the stream", if you feel energetic. Its also stocked with some monster fish. In Canberra there are over 300 kilometres of bike paths and trails all over the city (hopefully. not all with duck shit on them), if you go to Canberra you HAVE to take a bike.
The city is also an architects dream. There are so many buildings that aren�t just buildings, but a work of art as well. Even some of the humble fences at the side of a road are amazing to look at, and can be a work of art too.
The city (even with its unpredictable weather) is geared for the outside pursuits. Picnic sites abound, and they are all appear well set up with excellent facilities.
Ok enough of this waxing lyrical drivel, On with the show......... |
