Maybe in Oz

The main purpose of our long weekend in Tasi was to go explore Maria Island.  I had seen pictures of the Painted Cliffs on Pinterest when we first looked at going three years ago but the logistics were too hard to manage with the other things we wanted to see.  Finally, we had a trip planned around this pretty place. The first thing we learned was that Maria is actually pronounced Mariah.  Weird.  We took a ferry from Triabunna, it was a nice pleasant 45 minute ride across the bay.  There are no shops, cafes, restaurants, anything on the island so you have to bring everything in and out.  There is a campground and some rooms with bunks but we decided to just go for the day.  We shared the ferry ride with others not he day trip and some with packs ready for a long weekend of exploring.  On the boat across we were given a trail map and brief on the island.  There were two hikes we intended to do, the Fossil Cliffs and Painted Cliffs.  Th...

Over the Easter long weekend we flew to Hobart for our third excursion around Tasmania.  It's a quick one hour flight from Melbourne to a beautiful place with lots of scenery, good food and drink, and few people.   From the airport we drove out to Mt Field National Park, about an hour West of the airport.  Being Good Friday, most shops were closed so we packed peanut butter, jelly (jam not jello), and bread and made some sandwiches in the parking lot.  Then we headed out on a nice long hike to explore the waterfalls. Hike to Russell Falls At Russell Falls The first waterfall we came to was Russell Falls, a big spectacular waterfall with several rock tiers.  It was a quick hike from the parking lot, and there was a large viewing platform with quite a few people enjoying the view up to the falls.  We continued on the trail to Horseshoe Falls, enjoying the crisp autumn air and the lush green surroundings.  Then we walked through the Tall Trees ...

(Written by Phil) It has been a long 6 years.  I look back at my triathlon career with a sense of amazement.  From the first time standing on the beach watching groups of competitors fight the waves starting their swims and all the nerves and excitement of the moment, to the predawn hours of IM #5 where I was basically asleep on the grass an hour before the start.  Getting ready for race day This race I was privileged to train with a great mate in Les.  Many early mornings in the pool, on the bike, and out for runs.  It was his first at this distance. Phil and Les Race week is full of amateur meteorology. Melbourne is famous for 4 seasons in one day, and we have had some interesting weather on race day in years past.  On Friday we met with the CCTS tri club for a carb load dinner and race briefing.  CCTS had 11 members racing. As in years past, I helped conduct the bike and run course briefing.  We were in a room with about 30 peo...