Well Autumn has well and truly arrived. I took advantage of the clocks going forward to get up early, setting my alarm for 6am on the grounds that my body still reckons it’s 7am so it will be easier to get up (and it was). Rode in to work and had to wear the winter bike gear (tights & arm-warmers) for the first time. Felt pretty sluggish going up the hill on Old South Head Road which was probably a combination of a legacy of all the MTBing from last week, the couple of beers I had yesterday and the fact that I was lugging my laptop, attendant cabling and a change of clothes around. Did a couple of laps around Centennial Park as well, though cut it short as the weight of my backpack was starting to annoy my lower back.

Entries to the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon opened this morning, so when I got in to work, I bit the bullet and actually entered. There’s no going back now!

B: 21.3km

That was another good week in Canberra. Myself and Tom went back up to Majura for another two hour ride on Wednesday night with Paul. I took Thursday off exercise to give my legs a break, and went out to watch V for Vendetta instead. Good movie, very political, really drilled home the “fight for your rights before they’re gone” theme. Followed that up with some Belgian beers in Debacle.

Friday morning saw me out for a 7.5km (45mins) run before checking out of the hotel. John offered to put us up on Friday night, so we headed over to his place after work to drag him out for his first proper MTB ride. Tom had him worried with tales of going over the handlebars, but I explained that that was a skill Tom and Kev were nurturing, whereas myself and Niall preferred not to fall off.

Majura was the logical place to take John for his first outing, both because it was close to home and because it’s bloody good, so off we went around 5pm. John was a bit worried that his bike wouldn’t be up to scratch but we assured him it would be fine, and sure enough, once we got to the trails he had a great time. It was pretty easy to tell, since about half way through the evening’s riding he was talking about getting “a good bike” and giving his current one to Sarah! Time will tell. Made it home around 7.30, then did the take-out and DVD thing.

Our plan for Saturday morning was to get up early and head out to ride the MONT 24hr course at Kowen Forest. We finally got going at 10.30, not really as early as planned, but the weather was a bit iffy anyway. It had all cleared up by the time we got there, to be greeted by a bloody big climb to start the 6km ride to even get to the trail. It was soon apparent that we were almost the only people out there, and also that the course doesn’t get a whole lot of use, since there was very little signposting. We soon regretted our laziness in not printing off a trail map as we couldn’t find it anywhere, and after an hour of riding around (still having fun though) we decided to call it a day.

So, we managed to get around 8hrs of MTBing in over the week which was pretty good. The clocks went forward as we went out of daylight savings this morning, so the next time we’re in Canberra the early sunsets will rob us of decent riding time… unless I shell out $500 for a set of HID lights to turn night into day!

B: 95.2km – R: 18km

Turns out that religious people are wasting their time praying for sick people. Research in the U.S. followed 1,800 heart patients at six different medical centres. Patients were split in to three groups of 600 and Christian groups did the praying. One group was prayed for, and told they were being prayed for, another was prayed for, but only told that they might be being prayed for, and the final group wasn’t prayed for at all, but was told it was a possibility. The group who was being prayed for, and knew it, fared the worst, with more complications within 30 days than either of the other two groups.

I’m down in Canberra again this week, and have had a good start to the week. Got up for a run on Tuesday morning. Canberra’s a bit cooler than Sydney in the mornings, but not so cold that I had to rug up (yet), so it was nice to get out and not be dripping sweat like an evening run. Cruised around for ~5.5km in 33mins.

Last night, myself and Tom headed up to Majura Pines for two hours of quality MTBing, getting home just before dark, then it was up again this morning for another run. Felt a bit more tired today after the MTBing, but took a different route for a total of ~5km in 29mins. More MTBing to come tonight as well. ;-)

B: 24.8km – R: 10.5km

Arthur C. Clarke once said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguisable from magic. This video features a guy juggling to music. It’s not technology, but he’s so bloody advanced it certainly is indistinguishable from magic.

Have a look.

Managed to cycle home last night without any pucture issues. Every time I stopped at lights, I was paying close attention to the back wheel, as I’d used a CO₂ cannister to pump it up, and I’ve heard that the CO₂ slowly leaks out and you should pump it up with air at the earliest opportunity. The roads were still full of crap washed out by the recent rains, but I made it home without another puncture.

I got on to ProBikeKit yesterday and ordered myself some commuter tyres. They’re slower and more durable than my current race ones, and they’re supposed to be good in wet weather as well. $110 to buy two tyres and two tubes, and have them shipped from the UK to Australia. The two tyres on their own would probably cost me $160 in a shop here! They should arrive next week while I’m in Canberra, ready to go on the bike the week after that.

B: 41.2km – R: 7.3km

Make sure you keep this in the back of your head the next time you fly…

It seems like every time someone tests airport security, airport security fails. In tests between November 2001 and February 2002, screeners missed 70 percent of knives, 30 percent of guns and 60 percent of (fake) bombs. And recently, testers were able to smuggle bomb-making parts through airport security in 21 of 21 attempts. It makes you wonder why we’re all putting our laptops in a separate bin and taking off our shoes.

From: Bruce Schneier

Rode home last night, which was pretty straightforward, then went out for a run. Took things easy again, and just ran for 16min (~3km) to play it safe. All went well again, so I think I’ll stick to the easy stufff for the time being.

Rode in to work this morning and it was wet again. It’s been like this for the last week which is a bit unusual. Managed to get a puncture too, so I think it’s time to buy some new tyres. The ones I have on the bike are lightweight race tyres I bought for the triathlon back in January, so are not really suitable for day-to-day commuting. I’ll need something a little more puncture resistant, and maybe with a little bit of tread, as these are full slicks and have shag all grip in the rain!

B: 30.9km – R: 7.5km

Had a chat about my running woes with Niall at lunch yesterday and he mentioned that he used to have a similar problem and was recommended some foot specific stretches. I gave it a shot when I got home, doing the stretches and generally warming my feet up before heading out for the run.

I also decided to take it easy, running with a HR around 140, rather than the usual 155, and all seemed to go well. I ran for 26mins (~4.5km) and didn’t have any problems with my foot at all. I think I’ll keep doing short, slow runs for a week or two before getting back into the longer stuff, and hopefully that will settle things down. It plays havoc with the half-marathon plans, but my time goal was a luxury anyway – nice to have, but not really necessary for my first attempt – so I won’t miss it.

I rode in to work this morning as well, and it was wet/damp again. It’s starting to get dark in the mornings too, so I’m soon going to need a good set of lights. I can probably postpone any purchase for a couple of weeks once daylight savings kicks in in April.

B: 11km – R: 4.5km

A very interesting Salon interview with E.O. Wilson, the legendary Harvard biologist, on the nature of religion and its relationship to science, particularly evolution. The whole article is worth a read, but what caught my eye was his observation on the nature of heaven:

EOW: Would I be happy if I discovered that I could go to heaven forever? And the answer is no. Consider this argument. Think about what is forever. And think about the fact that the human mind, the entire human being, is built to last a certain period of time. Our programmed hormonal systems, the way we learn, the way we settle upon beliefs, and the way we love are all temporary. Because we go through a life’s cycle. Now, if we were to be plucked out at the age of 12 or 56 or whenever, and taken up and told, now you will continue your existence as you are. We’re not going to blot out your memories. We’re not going to diminish your desires. You will exist in a state of bliss — whatever that is — forever. And those who didn’t make it are going to be consigned to darkness or hell. Now think, a trillion times a trillion years. Enough time for universes like this one to be born, explode, form countless star systems and planets, then fade away to entropy. You will sit there watching this happen millions and millions of times and that will just be the beginning of the eternity that you’ve been consigned to bliss in this existence.

S: This heaven would be your hell.

EOW: Yes. If we were able to evolve into something else, then maybe not. But we are not something else.

It would be so incredibly boring! Think about it. You take up a new pursuit, golf, mountain biking, whatever. The first few times, as you learn your way, it’s all new, shiny and exciting. After a while, the improvements get harder to come by. It’s still enjoyable, but not as enjoyable as it was. Later, you gradually lose interest as you’ve got as far as you’re capable of going and you move on to something else. This whole process might take a few months, or a few decades, who knows.

Now imagine you’ve been in heaven for a million years. You’ve long ago tried every sport & pastime, read every book, etc. What do you do now? Tedious doesn’t even begin to describe it.