THE Coach - What Coach?

We spent Easter with friends staying in a beautiful country home, between the towns of Blayney and Orange in western NSW.

The weather was glorious and this part of the country was looking its best after some much needed rain.  Who could blame THE Coach for taking off every morning to ride with some very keen cyclists along empty country roads, through dazzling green fields, past pretty country villages and best of all, up some long steady hills?

Yes, THE Coach was in heaven as he rode with Richard, Anne, Kate, Catherine, Julie-Anne and occasionally, his trainee Jenny, along the country roads around Blayney and Millthorpe.  

Luckily, while THE Coach was out pedaling furiously up and down as many hills as he could find, I enjoyed some lovely rides with Anne and Catherine, who kindly kept me company at the back of the pack.  Although the rides were some of the longest that I've done (38kms around Blayney and 42 kms into Orange), we also made time to drink coffee, eat lots of Anne's delicious home cooked biscuits and taste some wine with Melissa at the Philip Shaw vineyard just outside Orange.

 

So, although THE Coach was consumed with riding fast, up as many hills as he could find, he encouraged his trainee with reward cups of coffee and the odd encouraging remark - "Good to see you've finally arrived" - words of encouragement from himself as I hauled myself off the bike at the Union Bank Cafe.
We loved visiting Orange, Millthorpe and Blayney.  Cycling in the morning and then eating out - lunch at Tonic in Millthorpe on Saturday, follow by lunch at The Union Bank on Easter Sunday.

We still managed to feast again on Sunday night as our most generous hosts, Anne and Richard, prepared a delicious roast dinner, followed by a very moreish apple crumble.

I've said it before - there is only ONE Coach.  His ruthless coaching methods are working as I've now cycled similar distances to those we'll be doing in France.

Admittedly, I'm lacking considerable stamina, but there are still many months to go.  Thanks to THE Coach,  I'm still on my bike and enjoying the riding more than ever.

Cycling round Orange was sensational.  Catherine, Mary and Julie-Anne assure us that the Dordogne will be even more delightful.  Hard to believe after such a fantastic weekend!!!  Thanks Catherine, Richard and Anne.

So many Sydneys in one ride

A taste of touring this week with our ride around Fairfield, Cabrammatta, Bossley Park and Canley Vale.  A 38 km loop (slightly more for those who did the short ride to the lookout which even THE Coach said was a "bit of a pinch").  Needless to say I was happy to wait under the shade at the bottom preserving my energy.

Thanks to Mary, who organised our group of seven, we were on our bikes leaving Canley Vale railway station a little after 8am on Saturday morning.  Perfect riding conditions with overcast warm weather for most of the morning. Perfect for THE Coach too, as he rode with a group of glamorous gals, as you can see.

Mary, our ride leader with map in hand, reassured me that this would be a touring ride so our speed would hover between 15-20 km.  Lovely, just my kind of ride. And so it was - a mostly flat ride with just a couple of gentle hills for interest.

Lots of chatting as we rode through urban sprawl, along grungy paths beside the railway tracks, past temples and through beautiful parklands.

One of THE Coach's favourite sayings,  "there are just so many Sydneys" came to mind as I rode along enjoying the sights and sounds of the outer west. 

Best of all, there was a reward at the end of the ride.  We spruced ourselves up and enjoyed a delicious Vietnamese lunch in Canley Vale. THE Coach is also very handy with a camera as you can see from these shots.

 

Thanks to Mary and Julie-Anne for organising the ride, and to Louise, Patsy and Catherine for a totally awesome, random, sensational ride!!!!  Going forward with much excitement to Orange for a cycling Easter weekend!!! I thinkTHE Coach is almost as enthused.