It's a while since I've been along to training, and it showed. My technique (such as it was; I was pretty much a beginner before the break) was shot and I was feeling even the easier exercises. Fortunately it was a beginners' session, or I'd have struggled badly.
Saturday's dawn found me fast asleep, trying to make up for the early start by snoozing on the flight to Melbourne. It probably didn't help; snoozing on the plane never does. Several hours after my demonic alarm clock dragged me from a warm bed, I wandered into Little Bourke st. It's Melbourne's outdoor gear centre, and I took the chance to compare a few stoves. This was an opportunity to compare the different brands side-by-side and see what they actually looked like, not what their manufacturers wanted them to look like.
That was the theory anyway. To my surprise, I discovered that Melbourne's stores aren't what I remember... or more that they are exactly what I remember. Somehow, I thought that they would have expanded their stores and range at the same rate as their Hobart counterparts. There's twice the range of gear available in Hobart now than there used to be, and it's far surpassed Melbourne. There were a number of different stoves there, but only one Optimus and none of the Primus models. It's looking like Primus stoves aren't that common in Australia and I'm leaning away from them now because of that; I can order one online, but online stores have notoriously inadequate after-sales support. That brought me back to the MSR range or a solid fuel stove.
It seems I might have unfairly maligned one of the MSR models in my last post. My past experience with the Whisperlite wasn't positive. When I mentioned the problem of a blocked nozzle, the salesman was stunned. He said, quite correctly, that it must have been at least a 15 year old model, from their previous design of fuel nozzle. I was skeptical until he dismantled the entire burner head of their demo model to demonstrate, taking it apart in 10-15 seconds. Looking at it, I could see his point. Short of mixing chunks of coal into the fuel, I wouldn't be able to block that nozzle. Lighter, cheaper and far quieter than the dragonfly or even the Omnilite, the Whisperlite has taken out first in the shellite range. How does it stack up against solid fuel? That remains to be seen.
I didn't spend the whole weekend admiring fuel stoves. I spent a while sitting in a café with some Melbournian writers, one of whom is undertaking a personal challenge far more ambitious than mine (check out 100firstdrafts.blogspot.com.au). Olio, my personal favourite of Melbourne's numerous obscure Italian cafés and restaurants (in part because they didn't attempt to abduct me and force me inside when I first walked past), provided some most satisfying repast. China-town yielded some delightful street-food. Chez Regine proved a suitable substitute usual for my usual usual of the Lark in providing fine whisky. I had the best shower I've ever encountered in any hostel or hotel, in an old mansion that's been converted into a backpackers.
Clearly a strenuous weekend, and that should really suffice for exercise, shouldn't it? I guess not.
I've always wanted to try Parkour, an activity of French origin where participants train for fleeing the zombie apocalypse by taking the fastest route through their surrounding terrain as possible. It incorporates running, climbing, descending and balance. The entire Melbourne weekend was actually because I'd heard there's a group who teach it over there.
Sunday was outdoors with more of the same, and also had a look at rolling out of drops. We practiced our rolls on concrete so that we'd know if we were doing them wrong (I was doing it wrong the first few times, as my bruised hip and shoulder will attest). Both sessions were a lot of fun, and I wish now that I'd found someone to teach me Parkour when I first took an interest a few years back. In hindsight though, doing Capoeira for the first time in months and two sessions of Parkour for the first time ever in a period of 48 hours might not have been the best idea. The lingering pain is a good thing (or so sadistic trainers have told me before) but it'll make it that much harder to motivate myself to do any serious exercise these next few days. I just need to remember to stretch frequently and keep well-hydrated, one of the less sadistic and most useful pieces of advice I've been given for reducing muscle fatigue.
EDIT: I've no idea why this post decided it had to have a white background. Alas it seems that once the background is there, it is unwilling to be removed.
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