06 November 2011

Out & About in Canberra 2011 - pt 2


The second in my 'out 'n about in Canberra' series. Scott and I both took part in this year's World's Greatest Shave. Well, that's to say that I'd been toying with the idea for a few weeks and then sprung it on him that morning. It wasn't done specifically for leukemia, but I did it for everyone who I know who has been directly affected by cancer - top of the list being my dad who passed away last year and my gran Noreen who had a mastectomy just weeks after dad died. Sadly, the list keeps growing. 



The pics below look like we're having some fun, but I can promise you that shaving your head, as a woman, is an emotional ordeal! Not for the reasons I've already explained, but I'm pretty damn fussy about my haircuts. Remember when I flew from Brisbane to Sydney for the day just for a hair cut? What I didn't expect was the enormous sense of liberation I felt. But then the thought of people going through chemo who didn't have a choice was a sobering reminder of the reason for shaving my head in the first place. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!



Not that he had much to shave off as he keeps it pretty short anyway. But Scott did go for the bright blue hair spray which was pretty eye-catching.




And to top it all off, some bright blue hair spray - just in case I didn't stand out enough!

The next morning we were up early for The Big Canberra Bike Ride. We did the 25km ride which was great fun (excluding all uphills!). There were heaps of people participating - families, clubs, road racers, mountain bikers or just plain old bicycle riders like me. My bike is just WONDERFUL!!! So comfy and easy to ride that all the flat and downhill bits were a blast. Now that I've started cycling to and from work, next years' ride should be way easier!

Scott with my beautiful bike (and his) at the start

At the start of the ride.


Look ma, no hands!

Coffee break at Dickson Tradies

About to get underway after coffee - our two bikes in the foreground against the pole

Look ma, no hands....  argh!  Not quite as steady as Scott when I do this.  What happened to the good old days when I could ride around the block several times with no hands on my little orange bike....?

A well deserved brekkie after the ride


We did it!

Give me more caffeine!

Plenty of bike parking


And then we happened upon some art in the park and went in for a browse

 And then we happened upon the ADF's Air Force hot air balloon

We went in for a closer look and discovered that if you took a number, you'd get in line to go up in a tethered flight.... for free!  We took a number!!!







What a blast!!!  

As part of the annual Canberra Enlighten Festival, they were holding concerts down at the lake

We booked to see Frankie Valli

It also happened to be the night of Skyfire where there's an aerial display by the new F/A-18F Super Hornet.  Those are all the bats and birds taking flight after the first fly-by.

There she goes!  The sound was just amazing!!!

I took some footage, but it wasn't as good as this guy's off YouTube.

This vid gives you a bit of an overview of the days' events

Just a pity about the weather though....


But it was well worth the wait - Franki Valli and his Four Seasons where AMAZING!!!

Also as part of the Canberra Festival is the Balloon Spectacular.  We got up two mornings in a row - the first we went to the lawns in front of old Parliament House where the balloons were taking off from.  The next morning we went to the other side of the lake for another view.  Truly spectacular!  I had to pick from hundreds of pics we both took. 























2 comments:

mupersan said...

I almost forgot how spectacular this was and can't wait to be part of it next year . So, are you gonna shave again, and I gather that we are definitely doing the ride again.. Should be a breeze .

The Mupersans said...

Hrm.... Not sure if I'll shave next year - perhaps the year after?
Can't wait to be part of the Balloon Spectacular next year!