She's Archie to Show!
While its not a national holiday, at racetime (3:10PM) the nation stops what they're doing and watches the horses. In the office pool my horse (126 to 1 odds) placed second. So instead of loosing my last $5, I got $35 in my pocket. Of course, if I actually bet $5 I'd be laughing.

Rode the Sydney to Woolongong err, make that Sunderland ride over the weekend. Usually ride to the coastal town of Woolongong but ended in Sutherland this year due to road construction. The hills weren't too bad; rode up 'em strong and came close to 50mph on a few downhills. Then elected to ride back to sydney from Sutherland instead waiting the 40 minutes for a train. All told 70+ miles for my longest single day of riding while in Australia.

Kiwi Connection
New Zealand is fast approaching. I fly out Friday the 14th and see all I can until the 23rd. No car, but bus transport is pretty decent. Working with what I have, I've got a pretty full agenda. There looks to be a few stops where I may be able to update my blog, but even with a digital camera, photos will probably have to wait a few days. A quick summary of my plans is shaping up like this:
Day 1: Arrive at night, get to hostel and go to bed
Day2: Take the TransAlpine Express from Christchurch to Greymouth, then bus it down to the Glaciers.
Day 3: Helihike the glaciers (if weather permits) or bus it down to Queenstown
Day 4: Do something in Queenstown. This is where bungee jumping was invented. Not huge into that sort of adrenaline junky activities, but if I were to ever bungee jump, this is the place.
Day 5, 6: Hike the Routeburn Track
Day 7: Spend the night on the Milford Sound
Day 8, 9: Leave the hiking, kayaking and outdoorsy stuff behind and head off to Dunedin. Its not a big city, but its home to some of New Zealands best music and its best university.
Day 10: Back to Christchurch, then back to Sydney