'Dax' my new Audax bike.

It’s Christmas time again. People either love or hate Christmas. For some it is a reminder of sad times and missing someone, or simply the huge expectations we are put under to provide presents for all and sundry, and heaps of food and drink, and still stay on a budget financially. I was speaking to Karen our neighbor and she absolutely hates Christmas. All our friends are childfree, so like us – there is no point to Christmas. I know I’m not the favorite aunty to my nieces and nephews because I don’t give presents, but I’m not bowing down to consumerism just to make them happy. While people are under stress all around me, I am calm and collected and I intend to stay that way.

Niel getting my new bike home.

All I do for Christmas is go to the movies the one and only time I do that in the year, have the smell of Christmas lilies in the house, and I might have a Christmas ham or turkey – why not? But this year – purely by accident really, I have a new bike.

My touring bike, which I love, is too heavy for long distance audax events where every minute counts, and my carbon fiber road bike is too light – it just wouldn’t take the knocks and hard life of endurance riding on rough roads and hitting unseen obstacles at night and possible patches of gravel. So I introduce ‘Dax’ my new long distance / touring / bunch riding bike. I won’t bore you with the details, but it is the New Zealand brand of ‘Avanti’, and it is partly aluminum and partly carbon fiber and I love it. It is the perfect hybrid of lightness for speed and handling, and strength for taking the hard life of audax and touring.

'Dax' my new Audax bike. 

 

Actually virtually the same thing happened last year, when I finally got my touring bike (that was stolen in Vietnam), replaced just before Christmas. I hope I’m not setting a precedent.

We rode into Nelson to get our movie tickets, and saw a seal pup on the cycle track. In all the times we have ridden that track – we have never seen that before. It was very cute with huge eyes. Then a bit further on we got stopped and photographed and interviewed about our usage of the track as the paper were writing a story about the cycle trail. Maybe we will be in the paper yet again. I think that would be the 7^th time we have been in the paper as a result of cycling!

 

Anyway we went to the movie theatre to get some tickets to see the latest Hobbit film. You would think that the movie industry wants to make money wouldn’t you? Well apparently not. The Hobbit movie hasn’t quite started yet, so I couldn’t buy the tickets in advance. I suggested that I buy gift vouchers and I phone in to book when it is showing. No, you cannot use gift vouchers to book a seat over the phone, even though they are giving away free passes to see the movie on the radio. Get this: I have to phone on the Tuesday before the week I want to see it and only after 5 pm and only use a credit card to book it. As Niel says” Do I need to have my mother holding my hand too” How totally ridiculous.

Anyway, for those of you who celebrate Christmas, have a lovely day. For those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, have a great day off, and for those of you who come from a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas – well thank you for reading my blog and have a nice day. Cheers everyone.