Good grief - January is almost over already!

And this is the first post I have done all year... sorry all you fellow bandster bloggers.... the month seems to have got away on me! Happy New Year - hope you all had a great holiday season. I've had a very busy month starting with my husbands 50th birthday celebration with a BBQ for 80 people at our place on Dec 23rd, follwed by a noisy, family and fun filled Christmas with 17 of us at our home enjoying each others company, the food, drink and the sun.

Since then I have spent a lot of time on my bike! Training and taking part in 2 great events cycling around the beautiful mountain Mt Egmont/Taranaki which is the centre piece of my home province in New Zealand. It is a 150km circuit around the mountain on the road course. On 15th Jan I rode the last 64km as part of a team with my husband and 3 girl friends. It was a great feeling to cross the finish line and to be able to say I did it. Then this weekend I conquered my biggest challenge so far - the first 75km of the course as part of a 2 person relay with my cycle-buddy Carolyn. There was a horrendous 40km/hr head wind all the way round the coastal road to the 62km turn and it was a serious battle of strength and will at times on the hills but I made it. I got back on my bike for the last 5kms so Carolyn and I could ride together as a team ("The Diva and The Dancer") over the finish line with our family and friends cheering us on! It was a great event and I'm so happy I could do it.

And just in case you are wondering - I am the "Diva" NOT the "Dancer"!!!

And just to prove I really do wear lycra - here is a photo of my husband and I after our Lake Taupo cycle ride late last year. (He had finished a while before me so had had time to change into real clothes.....)