The Bobs Get Married!

(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Now, I know what you're thinking, polygamy isn't legal in Australia. And the other half of you are wondering how I managed to make a post about a wedding involve cycling! Well, read on and all shall be revealed!

 

Weddings - serious business 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

On the 1st of March, 2014, Brett and Karen (aka Nutella and Spiky Bob) got married. See, you didn't even have to wait for the explanation! I was part of this awesome celebration, in fact, I was honoured when sometime last year, Karen asked me to be her bridesmaid.

Still comfy Karen

 

The only problem with this is that I'm not a particularly girly girl. I like comfortable shoes and comfortable clothes, but sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the people we like. Turns out, I shouldn't have worried at all, Karen likes comfort as much as I do! The dress had pockets! Seriously, why don't more dress makers consider this practical addition? As it turned out, the other bridesmaid was also of a practical mind and possibly was as excited about this as I was!

Couldn't have done it without Kristy (photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

 

Thankfully the other bridesmaid, Kristy, was much more girly than me, and she came up with awesome ideas to help Karen get everything done before the wedding. I got the job of bossing people around and telling Karen how awesome she was, an incredibly easy task. 

 

Waldo (aka "Hamster Boy")

I was also the calming influence, reminding Karen to breathe when their priest broke his legs a week before the wedding and Brett's dog (Waldo) decided the neighbours dog resembled a very tasty hamster (don't stress, both dogs are fine and Waldo is now attending a special school for dogs to help him with his hamster problems).

   

Waldo and Rhodes 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Where do you start with weddings? Well, for Karen and I, it started at 5:50am when the make-up artist (she really was an artist, I saw amazing pictures of her work for zombie walk) knocked on the door and we sprang out of bed! I don't think either of us do early mornings well, but hats off to everybody else (the make-up lady, the hair lady and the other bridesmaid) who were up so much earlier than we were!

 

Nervous excitement 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Karen had opted for a classic look (no puffy sleeves or meringue skirts anywhere) inspired by Breakfast at Tiffany's. The bridesmaids had gorgeous midnight blue, mid length dresses (with pockets) and Karen had a stunning, long champagne gown. But what really set it off was the hats! 

 

The blushing bride 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Somewhere along the line Karen had found an incredibly talented milliner, who had made us all button hats to match our dresses. Ours were simple, highlighted with a piece of ribbon, but Karen's hat was a stunning display of millinery skill! 

The Hat. 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Using the material from Karen's dress, an incomplete doily Brett's grandma had made and flowers from Karen's mum's veil, the milliner created a stylish and tactful accompaniment to the dress. It also ticked the "something old and something new" box! And to complete the outfit, something blue was the shoes!

Breakfast with Spatchy

Bridesmaid and Bride

Happy times (no crumbs spilled)!

By 9am we were mostly ready to go, except I was still trying to get Karen to eat something. Between myself and the other bridesmaid we had made beautiful smoked salmon and avocado croissants. We ended up taking Karen's with us in the car, but she did eat it before the ceremony!

Our driver was cool calm and collected, which was impressive given he was chauffeuring three girls doing a combination of selfies, eating croissants and stressing about getting there on time. We did manage to contain the crumbs and in return, he got us to the church on time.

Gorgeous! 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

The church was a beautiful old building, tucked away in a back corner of North Adelaide. Elegant architecture melded with the slightly homely feel of the church that seemed to compliment the whole atmosphere of the day. The photographers took advantage of this wonderful building to create some amazing images.

  

 

Two left feet! 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Everybody made it down the isle without incident and Brett looked cool, calm and collected, waiting at the altar. He managed to maintain this façade right up until he trod on Karen's train! This actually seemed to relax everybody, even if Brett looked slightly mortified for a second, and the rest of the wedding progressed without a hitch. 

The happy couple 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Well, almost. There was the incident where the pen ran out halfway through the signing, not to mention the lost earring, but that all happened after the official stuff!

 

The really happy couple! 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Anyway, we all headed back down the isle, a lot slower this time, with lots of hugs, which resulted in Karen losing one of her earrings. This went unnoticed at the time, however thanks to the photographers we were able to pin point the time it was lost. 

The bridal party  
(photo c/ Rob Cannon)

The photographers were also very patient as we rounded everyone one up to get photos at the church. This is where my organisational skills came to the fore as I bossed everyone around to try and get the photos done in a timely manner!

Brett trying to convince us he'd relaxed  
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

The bridal party with bikes  
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

After photos, we headed to the reception venue - the zoo! This was another reason I was so excited about this wedding, seriously awesome venue choices. While the zoo offers many amazing photographic opportunities, it was actually in botanic park that some of the best shots of the day were taken. 

Happy pedalling 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Brett and Karen had organised to borrow a couple of vintage bikes for the photos and theses props, as well as the creative photographers managed to put together a series of photos that were almost story like. They certainly managed to convey a sense of fun while highlighting the beauty of a couple in love.

Bike maintenance  
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

Finally we managed to make it to the reception where everyone was waiting, or making use of the photo booth to entertain themselves. Nigel, an honorary Bob for the day, announced us to the theme from Top Gun, and then proceeded to keep everybody entertained throughout the afternoon in his capacity as the MC.  

  

The torture of Spatchy 
(photo c/ Jill Gillmore)

The afternoon proceeded without incident, Karen even managed to find her lost earring down her dress after giving it up for lost! The rest of the Bobs were seated together as well as a few other rowdies, and were soon up to mischief, stealing poor Spatchy and tormenting him!

Spatchy and the Bride

Spatchy is a stuffed quail (stuffed toy not stuffed food) that has travelled the world with Brett and Karen and participated in many photo shoots. They thought it was only right that he pop up from time to time in photo's at the wedding, however the Bobs may have taken that too far!

The cake and Shirley  
(photo c/Rob Wallis)

The cake was another masterpiece that highlighted all things Brett and Karen. Both Waldo and Rhodes were represented in marzipan as well as many of their other interests, cycling, photography and Brett's love of planes. 

The happy couple 
 (photo c/ Rob Wallis)

This actually came to a head when Nigel announced the Bridal Waltz (aka the "please don't step on my feet" dance). As Brett and Karen took the floor, there was a fly over by the F-18's. Technically, they were doing it for the Clipsal, however their timing couldn't have been better and Brett had a huge grin as he shuffled Karen around the floor.    

It was an amazing day and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate two of our best mates being in love. Congratulations, married Bob's!

High Five! 
(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

A special mention must go to the 

photographic contributors in this post, specifically:

Jill Gilmore

Rob Cannon

Rob Wallis

and

Evermore Photographics,

 who were amazingly relaxed and fun, making the whole photo experience awesome! 

(photo c/ Evermore Photographics)

I'm on the Road to Nowhere

The first step outside

 

Today I got to do something I don't do enough of. Ride my bike! Actually, to be more specific, ride my bike with no goals, time lines, other people or expectations. And I only had a vague notion of where I was going! I do actually enjoy riding with other people, racing and participating in community rides, though I could do without the timeline of having to start work that looms over my morning commute. But there's something to be said for just riding and enjoying the scenery.

What was in store for me

 

My rough aim was to find a way to Fox Creek without going up Stone Hut Road. I've only ridden Stone Hut Road once and I'm not sure I ever want to do that again. I think I'd go up it, but coming down it all I wanted to do was let go of the bike (I was walking) and slide down on my bottom. 

Linear Park - Suburbia

 

So Stone Hut Road was out, except as a last resort. I should probably also point out there's a perfectly good, sealed road all the way to Croft Road and Fox Creek, the only problem with it was that it's the long way round and requires me to climb Gorge Road and Fox Creek Road, not too bad on a road bike, but on a mountain bike? So essentially, I was after a short cut. 

 

My favourite path

 
With no real timeline, I rolled out of the house before 10am. Mr Carl had been gone since about 7:30 am, as he was racing a criterium in town. He'd actually already completed his race before I had even left! We did have a vague plan that he would meet me at Fox Creek (with the car) and go mountain biking with me, but that depended on me actually making it.

The end of the path

 

The weather was beautiful for bike riding, a little on the chilly side, but that's ok if it means I don't get sunburnt. I quickly made my way through suburbia and headed down to my favourite path along Linear Park. The slightly overcast conditions must have kept a lot of people inside, as there was hardly anyone along the park and I fairly quickly (for a mountain bike) cruised to the top.

Relaxing by the river

There's a historic aqueduct at the top of the path that makes for a nice place to stop and take a break. Usually it's fairly quiet, but unlike the rest of the park there were lots (well ok, 5 tops) of people here! Good to see people out and about enjoying themselves on a day like today.

10 seconds - smile!

They were about to head off, so I had the place to myself. It was nice to take the time to snap a couple of photos and generally enjoy the scenery. It feels so secluded there, but in reality there's quite a busy road just the other side of the river.

The road less travelled

 

 
I decided to head off just as another cyclist pulled in, it was becoming a regular thoroughfare there! From here I headed out onto Gorge Road. I didn't intend to be on it long, it's got a fair amount of traffic of both the two and 4 wheeled varieties and I wanted to enjoy my day. I bumped into a couple of riders going the other direction looking a bit lost. Turns out they were looking for the start of the Mawson Trail, so I signalled to them that I knew where it was and to follow me. 

Clearing skies

It's a good thing I didn't actually ride to the start of the trail, or at least where I thought it was, as we'd managed to have a bit of a communication error. I knew that the Mawson Trail turns off Gorge Road about 5 km from where we were and heads up Stone Hut Road. I assumed they were looking to ride the trail, as it happens, they had already ridden down Stone Hut Road and were looking for the official start! Unfortunately I couldn't help them with that, and last I heard they were going to ride back up Stone Hut Road to get home!

Adelaide Hills - Awesome!

 
Anyway, it was time to move on as I was eager to do my own exploring. Pootling along Gorge Road was fun and I wanted to stop to take pictures, but I was a little wary of the lack of road shoulder and unpredictable traffic. So I just kept going until I reached the turnoff for Corkscrew Road.
 

The dreaded Corkscrew

 
Corkscrew Road is absolutely lovely (except the end, which is a torturous uphill) and for most of the lower section meanders alongside a stream. I knew the road I was looking for was a left hand turn gravel road so I was keeping my eyes open, but when the road started to head up and I hadn't found my turnoff I started to worry. I didn't want to ride the whole way up corkscrew! As it turns out, the road was a couple of hundred meters on from where I stopped to check my map. Admittedly the break was kind of nice, even the lower slopes of corkscrew are hard work.

Not a promising sign

 
I had found Valley Road! That was one achievement for the day, now could I make it al the way to Fox Creek? The road sign wasn't all that promising, indicating that the road didn't actually go through to anywhere I wanted to be. Well, I was here already so I decided to give it a go.

A happy Contessa

 
Valley Road was a gravel road about one car width wide, the type of road you know you ought to be cautious on as the site lines round some of corners weren't brilliant. But it was gorgeous, starting out in luscious farmland, dotted with sheep, then winding its way between steep hills. The gravel was a bit loose and washed out in places, but nothing to cause any stress. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat as I pedalled along the road, the only other people I saw were a couple of bush walkers who looked a bit surprised to see a bike on the road.
 

Perfect place for a snack!

 

But all good things must come to an end, and about 4 km in I found the end. Not of the road, the road seemed to continue, but it was the end of me riding it as a padlocked gate barred my way. I would have loved to continue, but I'd had so much fun that I couldn't be all that sad, and anyway, my legs were starting to feel it. A quick phone call to Mr Carl confirmed that mountain biking was probably out (I don't think he was too disappointed, he spent most of the afternoon sleeping, recovering from his race) and that I'd ride home.

Hiding from the sun

 

 

 

 

I still wasn't in too much of a hurry, so I pedalled back the way I had come for a bit before stopping for a snack and a few more photos. It was impossible not to be happy, sitting in the dappled sunlight, eating the snickers I had brought as a reward for getting to Fox Creek. Well, it wasn't like it was going to keep, those things go off (or get eaten by other people) if they aren't consumed quickly!

Good spot for a tea party!

Thankfully it was mostly downhill on the way home and I made it back in just over 3 hours total. Not quite before I got rained on, but almost! I was happy to be home and thoroughly enjoyed putting my feet up with a cuppa for the rest of the day! It may have been a road to nowhere, but it made for an awesome ride!

Keeping my balance

Strava Link Here

5 Years Ago Today

Happy together

Just a warning, this is slightly off topic and possibly a little on the romantic/soppy side of things, so I'll understand if you decide not to continue, but sometimes it is worth stopping and acknowledging just how awesome life can be.

Mr Carl - The Cyclist

  

Five years ago I took Mr Carl to his first Womad and at some point in time that day we decided that we enjoyed each others company and wanted to make a go of it. It was a big risk we were taking, we worked together, literally a few metres from each other, and if something went wrong it would probably be spectacular. Still, from the moment I met Carl, I thought he was something special and I was willing to take that risk. Thankfully, so was he.

WOMAD - Hippy times!

Today will be our fifth Womad together and we've learnt a lot about each other in that time. Mr Carl's turned me from someone who thought I was doing well riding 5 km around the block to someone who just rode over 150km in one day. He's guided me up hills, taught me how to change a flat and listened to endless discussions about how I was progressing. I, in turn have encouraged him to try his hand at racing and mountain biking, having far more success with the former than the later. 

He does like Mountain Biking - I promise!

I'm a terrible mountain biker, however the mountain bikes are technically all my fault, as I suggested we get them to ride around my parents farm one year. I also put both of us significantly out of our comfort zone when I suggested that we have a go at the outback odyssey and brave the rigours of life in a tent. Carl stepped up to the challenge and proved to be an amazing travelling partner, even when injured. 

Pasta a Plenty!

 

It's not just cycling where we've complimented and challenged each other, Carl welcomed me into his house and I turned it upside down, in the process we made a home. We cooked together (now there's a real relationship tester), covering the house in flour as we made pasta. Feasts with friends became something of a regular occurrence and we spent many evenings in the company of good friends and good food.

 
I've also turned his garden upside down, installed raised beds and tried hard to kill the lawn out the front. I'm pretty sure Carl doesn't mind this too much, at least he seems to enjoy the snacking tomatoes by the front gate!

Happy times at Aquaterra

Carl taught me the value of having time to myself and not doing too much and I encouraged him to fill his calendar with races! It hasn't all been roses though, both of us have been through injury and illness and have had to learn to rely on the other at times. We've learnt when to step back and when to step in, especially working together as well. And we've been through tough times at work, with friends and colleagues losing jobs and significant changes to the small company that we both started out with.

Suave Mr Carl

 

We've had adventures and made friends, many of whom I couldn't imagine not having in my life now. Five years on and I'm still happy to be sitting on the grass at Womad, drinking a coconut, listening to music and enjoying the company of my wonderful partner. 

The awesome Mr Carl!