Wilderness

16 and 17 December - After sorting through the detritus of the previous night's festivities - broken beds and excessive glassware seemed to be the most prominent offenders - spent a little effort in the AM trying to convince one of the younger accomplices of the benefits of attending the Bronte Beach Courier Christmas party.  Despite little success in having a happy camper adult veto meant a threesome took the journey.  Arrived a little late but just in time for the annual hill climb - having broken down Chevette for cleaning I had Frangelica with her hill friendly small gear as my steed hoping this would help my chances - unfortunately road bikes and those with meatier thighs than I meant that winning was not really in the cards but a respectable middle position was attained.  No issue with the initial steep climb but after it flattened out I found myself spinning on burning lungs and a very painful journey to the top, to the top, to the top, bop ba bop!  Maybe if i quit smoking I'd have a better chance but that doesn't really seem to be on the cards at the moment.  Had one of my better performances on the track stand but once again, not enough and threw a frisbee around for a while which certainly seemed to change the little one's tune about actually wanting to be there.  After getting lost and rained on on the return journey went to see 'Into The Wild' (after more convincing of the little one ... adult veto has its advantages - there seems to be a lot of films out there which are based on books I've actually liked at the moment).  Movie didn't really convey the whole "stupid kid" theory (a la Timothy Treadwell) that was alluded to although ultimately dismissed by Jon Krakauer but it certainly did give me thoughts about opting out for a while.  Responsibilities are very annoying.