Headwind

This week, short as it has been with only four days, has been a trying one nonetheless. A rest day tomorrow is well overdue, although I am trying to mentally prepare myself for a short run in the hopes that it will come to fruition. I've struggled with the motivation to really get back into running.

It seems more and more that I ride my bike uphill into a headwind in the evenings with other road users that behave with ever more self entitlement. This week I have been forced to swerve car doors opening into my path when my strobe light into their rear vision mirror, especially in the dim light, should have made my presence plainly known. To stop and give way to cars that have pulled out into the road in front of me, cutting me off (both from turning right across my path into a side street and turning left onto my road from a side street). To stop because a vehicle is abreast the shared bicycle-pedestrian pathway. To negotiate cars parked in clearway zones at clearway times. To avoid cars that drive two wheels into the bike lane.

Cyclists are by no means a perfect community of road users but the damage a cyclist could cause to a driver and vice versa are incomparable. A fright and scatched car versus death or lifelong impairment hardly fit onto the same scale. Yet how careless some drivers have been toward me, and I'm not even including those that have failed to overtake me at a reasonable distance. To top it all off, winter winds push against me, fighting me for my forward momentum, as I square myself against the enduring rise of St Georges Road, my hip flexors protesting and teeth set. My calves are particularly sore and hardened, their recovery from last weekend delayed. I am grateful for the breeze, however, that keeps the sweat from sheeting off me, the cold blooded Scotsman descendant that I am.

There is something invigorating about riding to work in the morning, however. Even when it is so cold gloves must pad my fingers to retain the sensation in them and my ears are hidden beneath the neck buff that I tuck under my helmet. A little bit of water on the road is even better, as there are less cyclists to contend with and it is quicker to ride than to drive. I try to ride to work at least 3 times a week, each day saving me at least an hour of petrol. I feel that I begin those days at my desk alert and functioning, without the need for a strong caffeine injection. I begin the day well grounded also, especially if I have seen the homeless gentleman that sleeps beneath a narrow overpass on my route, his belongings packed into 3 or 4 green square Woolworths bags lined up neatly in a row.

The weather is truly winter now, our mild autumn ended a fortnight ago. It is so cold that I can hardly feel my hands as I carry my bike down a flight of steps, even in my windproof gloves. I store a cap in my bag in the event I need to keep the rain out of my eyes while I ride. And today as I made my way toward Ferntree Gully to climb the 1000 Steps, I watched as mist enveloped the hillsides so thickly and unexpectedly that I wound my window down to smell for fire, I could hardly believe what I was seeing was cloud. The damp day did make for much less traffic during the 2 hours that I was on those stairs.

My Salomon XA PRO 3D Ultra 2 GTX shoes are slowly but surely being broken in. I bought them specifically for training conditions such as the Steps where I might be inclined to jog or trot downhill. Something that I do quite frequently where pedestrian traffic permits, today being no exception. It is, I believe, the reason for the slow recovery of my legs this week even with a few days of hill and step work already breaking them in. They are less sensitive to the touch today, and I'm hoping they will improve and not worsen again.

On a trek proper, I prefer to wear my Scarpa Mythos nubuck leather hiking boots. They are much sturdier and provide greater ankle support. Last weekend I realised that I have cracked the heel of one orange Superfeet insert that I took to Nepal. Possibly on my rapid descent down the mountainside after the ascent to Kala Pattar. As someone with high arches, I prefer the extra arch support of the orange Superfeet on long hikes to prevent cramping although so far, I have not needed any additional inserts in my Salomons. I have not done a full day's hike in them yet but I will in the next month or so.

I will need to rejoin my hiking club to insert full day walks back into my training calendar for Kilimanjaro. I hiked at least 2-3 Sundays out of the month in preparation for Nepal, routinely carrying 12-14kgs in my pack, keeping pace with other hikers carrying less than two thirds that weight. This, I felt, was an important contribution to my training that I would have wanted for had I not included it in my training regime.

Tonight at my best friend's bridal party dinner, I was seated across from the partner of the Best Man who intimated to me that she thought that while trekking the Kokoda trail a few years before she got by mostly on the vitality of youth and not training, the consequence of which seems to be a persistent weakness in her knees. This is not the first I have heard of knees permanently damaged in twenty-somethings lacking trek preparation, I have heard it applied to Mont Blanc also. Descent is wearing on joints. I try to train specifically to build up the stength of the stabilising muscles around my knees to protect them which is what makes the 1000 Steps such an appealing training ground. It seems that others share that sentiment as I saw a singleton as well as a group hiking with weighted day packs and hiking boots while I was there today.

Over preparation has to be better than under preparation when trekking. Within reason, of course.

Everest Circuit Rerouted I: In the Land of Oz

Monday, 7 October 2013 22:12EST (Melbourne)

I am perched upon my couch from the base of which there extends the wonderfully chaotic sense of order that consists of the gear to accompany on my last overseas foray as a twenty-something. Three pairs of footwear line up together in a neat row. Piles of t-shirts and thermal baselayers block out broad swatches of my rug. Medication, ranging from prescription to over the counter, are arranged according to the proportions of their packaging. Something for too much bowel movement and another for not enough. Tablets for fluid retention, for allergies, for infection, for respiratory conditions, for vomiting, malaria, stomach pain, regular pain. The sunscreen, insect repellent and body glide sit askew. As do the windstopper gloves. The camera tripod that I am dithering about stands erect. Opposite me, the scales are mute having already weighed the items that are to follow me into the Himalayan mountains. A long, considered list that will be included shortly.

Tomorrow I am to fly from Melbourne, Australia to Kathmandu, Nepal via Singapore in what will be my first solo overseas trip since I was fifteen. Half a lifetime ago almost. I am going there to turn thirty. Although, I confess I have not deliberated to any great extent on turning thirty this year, except to hope with a naive heart that the Cho La Pass will not be too unkind to me, for it is there that I am scheduled to attain that fearsome age.

So that is how I come to be seated in my living room, surrounded by thousands of dollars of gear on a Monday evening, trying to figure ways of reducing weight so as to justify a Manfrotto camera tripod and the book, The Wind Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakama weighing at 1kg and 0.5kg respectively. I am especially tired as similar considerations had kept me awake until 5:30am this morning before my mind eventually willed itself to sleep.

Presently my gear list looks something to the effect (not including gear to be worn on the plane to Lukla):

Daypack: (5,461g + Pack)
115g Sunscreen
90g Insect Repellent
45g Body Glide (Anti-chafe)
22g Eyedrops
56g Hand Sanitiser
10g Blistex
35g Strepsils (1 foil)
15g Gastrostop
8g Nurofen (1 foil)
14g Buscopan
25g Leukoplast Elastic
10g Micropore
61g Bandaids
35g Crepe Bandage 4 inches
29g Sunglasses
181g Eyeglasses and case
42g Leatherman Multitool
16g Shoelaces (spare)
267g Writing Journal
88g Socks (spare pair)
24g Icebreaker Merino Glove Liners
68g Outdoor Research Windstopper Gloves
51g Buff Neck Warmer
57g Montane Beanie
52g Columbia Hat
116g Montane Windshirt
500g RAB Baltoro Alpine Softshell Jacket
340g Marmont PreCip Full Zip Hardshell Pants
316g Montane Athena eVent Hardshell Jacket
286g Patagonia R1 Hoody Midlayer
336g Sea to Summit Quagmire eVent Gaiters
391g Black Diamond Z Poles
360g Nalgene 1 Litre Bottles (x2)
33g Compact Mirror
36g Bungy Washing Line
93g Black Diamond Spot Headlamp
1238g Nikon 5100 DSLR Camera and Case (includes spare battery)

Kitbag: (6,574 + kitbag, sleeping bag and liner, and down jacket)
166g Swisspers
20g Toothbrush and Cover
50g Toothpaste
34g Mascara (don’t judge)
44g Shampoo
75g Moisturiser
10g Lip Eze
110g Bodywash
48g Wilderness Wash
74g Brush
75g Deodorant
144g Foot Antiperspirant
156g Contact Lenses
39g Sanitary Napkins
186g Dry Shampoo
9g Ear Buds and Hair Ties
8g Nail File
43g Cuticle Clippers
78g Strepsils (2 foils)
15g Gastrostop (Stoppers)
12g Lariam (Anti-Malarial Drug for Chitwan Park)
77g Diamox (Anti Fluid Retention)
24g Cefalexin (Antibiotics)
15g Stemzine (Anti-Nausea)
17g Coloxyl (Un-stoppers)
59g Cold and Flu Tablets
16g Zyrtec (Antihistamine)
31g Nurofen (3 foils)
14g Buscopan
72g Gastrolyte
50g Leukoplast Elastic (2 rolls)
115g Underwear (3 pairs)
231g Bras (1 Sports, 1 Crop Top)
176g Smartwool Mid Weight Hiking Socks (3 pairs)
48g Wigwam Coolmax Sock Liner (1 pair)
65g Patagonia Belt
228g ExOfficio Jandiggity Pants
274g ExOfficio Convertible Pants
453g Smartwool Midweight Thermal Set
366g Patagonia Capilene 3 Set
99g Nike T-Shirt
134g Berghaus T-Shirt
136g Columbia Short Sleeve Shirt
368g Montane Fury Hoody
759g Salomon Walking Shoes
458g Keen Clearwater CNX Sandals
90g Orange Superfeet
141g 90L Pack Liner
69g Sea to Summit Towel
52g Power Adapter
123g Nikon Battery Charger
649g Nikon Lens 55-300

Postscript: This gear list was subsequently trimmed before I left Australia and yet again in Nepal. Indeed, as weight seemed to be such a serious consideration, I went so far as trimming tags off clothing and the extra foil off medication to try to shave off the grams. In truth I could have made it with 1 less pair of socks, jocks and t-shirt, and half the Diamox, moisturizer, shampoo and stick deodorant. I could have left the anti-chafe at home as stick deodorant worked just as effectively. I left the fleece jacket in my suitcase at the hotel and was without regret. There are lists that were compiled toward the end of the trek as to what I wish I had brought with me and items purchased en route that I considered valuable additions, such as mini chocolate snacks for energy boosts.