Alive

Well, I guess it's time for an update. First of all let me thank all those people who sent me birthday wishes for last Friday. I had almost forgotten about my facebook account, one of these days I might even log-in! For what it's worth, I celebrated by heading out to Robina to watch Gold Coast United beat Wellington 3-1, thanks to two goals from super Bruce Djite. And now the Commonwealth Games have started in India, which means that there's now a sporting event being watched by few enough people to make our crowds look respectable!*

I snuck back from Japan a couple of weeks ago, after having the most awesome tour I can ever remember. There will be some pictures and some stories from an incredible month coming up on these pages soon, just as soon as I get some time to update on a more regular basis. All I'll say at this point is that I've never before visited a country that had such an incredible combination of spectacular natural scenery, a rich history, a vibrant culture and the friendliest people in the world. Even now I'm still taking it in.

My time on the bike has been somewhat curtailed since by a knee injury that I sustained when I banged my knee on the frame while narrowly avoiding a crash. A road closure in Kingscliff forced me onto a bike path temporarily, and a typical piece of shoddy bike path construction did the rest. Suffice to say, I have had no reason to revise my poor opinion of bike paths. I did manage one decent ride to Springbrook, and I'll post about that just as soon as I have some time, too. Now my knee has recovered, so there will be riding to do soon. I can't wait.

* if you don't get the joke, do a Google news search for "Gold Coast United crowds".