Writing is where your future lies.

I've never been happier since I left my job,  but part of me felt bad for not contributing financially to the household coffers - so I got a job harvesting the boysenberries.  I lasted a week.  Employers of seasonal workers need to buck up their ideas if they want to retain their workers.  10 hour days doing the same brainless job at speed with no days off at all is no way to treat people. But then what right have I got to comment,  I'm just a frustrated  person rendered brain dead with swollen wrists hankering for a day off to ride my bike.
So I left and I am happily riding my bike with a vengeance to make up for my wasted week doing the boysenberries. You know it is funny - on reflection ; why should I feel guilty for having some time off working? I have never willingly been unemployed before, I never had children that meant years off paid work to bring up kids, and I am not a burden to society as I don't qualify for a benefit, so there is absolutely no reason to feel guilty.

All loaded up.

 Actually I am on a mini bike tour.You know when you are dehydrated - you stare at discarded bottles on the road side wondering if there is anything worth drinking in them. You'd drink puddles if you didn't get a mouthful of mud in the process. River water is a god send when normally you wouldn't touch it for potential bugs, but when you are that dehydrated - you don't care. Needless to say I suffered over the last 10kms to St Arnaud and had to drink 2 litres of Powerade and 3 cups of Tea before my stomach could accept any food. And that night I had terrible cramp But then this is why we train, or we wouldn't know how to cope with it or better still prevent it happening. It is the joy of summer riding.

My only cool day in the week of riding and it was bliss. St Arnuad - Nelson Lakes.

I still ponder how I can earn a few dollars,  when a friend told me not to worry but to concentrate on writing my book as "writing was where my future lay". Well what a lovely thing to say.  I know what a real writer is like - my brother is a real writer, but it would be nice to achieve some literary prowess when my old English teacher at school encouragingly said I would never pass my exams - I did pass my exams no help from her. I wish there was performance pay for good teachers in my day and then we might have actually had good teachers that care. But I'm getting off the point.

A swim at the beach would have been heavenly but I'm not into crowds.

It was secretly my ambition this week to ride 1000kms in 7 days while carrying a load. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't know if I would achieve it -.I didn't quite make it - I did 700kms in 5 1/2 days, and had to rest and recover for a day before completing my mission a day later, why? heat exhaustion and rapid weight loss. I lost 6 kilos in 6 days in the hottest week of the year so far and carrying 20 kilos of load over countless hills unable to eat due to dehydration and loss of appetite.I haven't felt this tired since crossing the Death Valley in 2010. I learnt not only to carry more drink than I thought I'd need and have a big breakfast as I don't know when my next mouthful of food will be, and try to take something other than muesli bars that are impossible to eat when your mouth feels like sandpaper.
But now that this mission is over I have the time to go back to my writing. Although that was such excellent training I am going to do it again.

I ride past this view every week and I still love it - looking towards the Richmond ranges from Motueka.