Tour Down Under 2012... Adelaide in Hot Pants

I've actually been struggling a little of late to dedicate time to the blogs... not least of all due to preparing our house (and lives) for the arrival of our new baby. However, life isn't all about babies. Still, it's hard to get time to not only do blogging, but also do things to blog about. One thing about Adelaide is that whilst it's a relatively small city, come the warmer months of Jan - March in particular, there's lots of things to see and do. One of those things is the Santos Tour Down Under. For those that aren't into cycling, I should perhaps explain a little.

The Tour Down Under is the first (Australian) leg of the UCI World Cycling Tour... It started in 1999 - not long after Adelaide lost the Grand Prix, and since that time has grown from strength to strength, and has become the biggest cycling event in the Southern Hemisphere. That sounds impressive, but the reality is that the world tour remains dominated by the European countries.

It's run over 7 days (the first day being a warm-up act on the first Sunday). Each day there's a different leg that features beautiful Adelaide countryside, and also some harsh Adelaide weather. The race features:

• Day 0 - 51 km  (East End)
• Day 1 - 149km (Clare)
• Day 2 - 148 km (Adelaide Hills)
• Day 3 - 134.5 km (Victor Harbour)
• Day 4 - 134 km (Barossa Valley)
• Day 6 - 151km (McLaren Vale)
• Day 7 - 90 km (North Adelaide)

A Total of 857.5km over 7 days, or approximately 120 km per day. In the scheme of the Tour de France (which covers about 3,500km) it's only a baby event... but what it lacks in distance, or alps, it makes up in temperatures... with some riders experiencing 50+ degrees on the roads.

But I don't get a chance to watch much cycling these days, but I was able to pop into the city to see the last stage on Day 7 (on Sunday, the 22nd January).

It was a hot day (around 35+ degrees celsius), and the riders were initially taking it easy. In this sort of criterium racing there's little to be gained by trying to race too hard, except for points in the sprints (or if you're brave, in a breakaway). The race itself runs down King William Road, before bearing left down War Memorial Drive then up through Montifiore Road and then through North Adelaide until it returned back on to War Memorial Drive and on to the start/finish straight on King William again.

I won't discuss too much about the race, but I will say that it's a fun event with lots of people and lots of colour. Perhaps it was the heat, but this year it felt like the crowds were down a bit (and I still find it hard to believe that many of the shops in Adelaide's city centre didn't open on such a busy event day.... still, that's Adelaide for you). The good news was that this meant there were still quite a lot of good vantage points to find, though they weren't always the best for photography.

I won't write too much, but please check out the Tour's official website (linked above) to find out more...

It was good however for me to practice a different type of photography... the sports action variety. Not something that I normally do, and not something that's particularly easy to do. Very hard on cameras to focus when there's so much in frame, going so fast, and all over the shop distance wise. Still, I managed to take a couple of ok shots.

Even though riding in the peleton (the large group of cyclists that form naturally in such races) is not as difficult as it might appear averaging around 45km/hr... it's still hard work negotiating corners en-masse. 

I have to say, it was hard work out there on the bikes... and a lot of the riders were working quite hard.

And some looked like they were in real pain...

Others were doing all they could to keep it going...

And others were just gritting teeth and getting on with it.

The thing about cycling races is that it's rarely ever a solo effort. Whilst the attention almost always goes to the sprinter, or the climber, or their lead rider, it's always a team effort to get that rider where they need to be. Domestiques, or servants are there to do just that... to provide support, slip-streaming, intelligence, morale, covering breakaways, and even to use themselves like two-wheeled battering rams to clear a path to the desired place in the peloton if needed.

 In a race like the Tour Down Under, their role is less critical (than say the Tour de France), however, it remains very much a team focus. Something that can often be the difference between success and failure. But at the end of the day, it's the big guns that win tours.

And the winners, after about 2 hours of riding... well the stage was won by André Greipel (from Germany... a sprint superstar) ... but the overall general classification win, over the 6 stages, was won by Simon Gerrans of Australia in Team GreenEDGE. This is the first Australia World Tour team, and it was amazing that they should win their first tour event, at home! Well done team, and well done Simon!

Overall, it was a hot day outside, but not too bad (you could always find a shady spot), and I had a blast. You don't need to be into cycling to get sucked up by the atmosphere either. If you were in/around Adelaide at the time, I hope you enjoyed some of the racing... otherwise, there's always next year. 

Kindy Come And Try Cricket at Adelaide Oval

Today was a first... L-kun's first visit to the Adelaide Oval. No... it wasn't a strange mix-up with the Test Match schedule... we were here for the SACAs (South Australian Cricket Association) Kindy Come and Try Day. This was the first one ever, and a pretty good success at that... not least as it was completely free, and well organised (other than a few teething problems that were quickly overcome). Actually, we only found out a few days ago, as one of L-kuns best friends was going with his father, so we thought, why not. It was going to be a fun day, and his friend slept over as well. Despite some bad weather in Adelaide of late, today was perfect. 28 degrees C, sunny skies... and no wind. There would have been about 100-150 children, plus that and more in terms of parents there. A pretty impressive turn out.

Now I have to admit one thing. I'm no longer a super Cricket fan. I don't mind, but I no longer go out of my way to watch cricket. Too many other things to do, and cricket just isn't the same these days from when I was younger. And part of that ambivalence I'm sure comes from my transition to a non-traditional Aussie family, as T-chan would rather drown her head in the toilet bowl than watch cricket (should write this, this close to Australia Day?). Well, that has perhaps worn off on L-kun to some extent. For him, cricket is something you do in the backyard with Daddy... often after some coercion. But today he'd have to get his A game on... he's playing Adelaide Oval. Quite a step up. 

L-kun practices his psyching-out-stare. Thatta boy!

The first thing I realised once we got there (start time of 10:30am... for 2 hours)... was that this wasn't quite the fun "cricket" experience. They were trying to get some serious technique going. First lesson ... throwing. But oddly, they were teaching grip (as if you were bowling, fingers down the seam) as part of the throwing lessons. When I learnt cricket, we were never taught to throw like you bowled... am I out of touch that much? Still, the  first lesson was throwing the ball. Listen carefully guys... this is going to be important. And us too parents, as we'd be doing the real coaching here. 

Stand side on, point with your left hand, throw arm bent with your right (assuming right-handed of course) and then knock the you-know-what out of that cone. L-kun started off slow... trying to work out why he had to throw a particular way. After all, he'd just thrown the ball before hand, which seemed to have got him far enough previously. 

Next step - bowling. Actually this was somewhat of a revelation for me. I knew L-kun was pretty good at throwing, but hadn't tried teaching him "bowling", i.e. throwing with a straight arm which is rolled in a circular fashion (for those non-Cricket people out there... yes... I hear your pain). For a 4.5 yo that hasn't done it before he got into it very quickly. Ok... he had some funky style issues (like wind-milling his bowling arm initially in the opposite direction), and I'm not entire sure how much straight-arm there really was... but he actually was consistently knocking middle stump over.  No joke. I was impressed. Then again, it was a long way from bowling... and believe me, there are some 4 yo that can bowl quite well already!

I think if Cricket largely involved bowling, L-kun would be all over it. 

Alas, it doesn't... and Cricket involves also learning how to belt the red off a small inoffensive leather ball... generally to avoid said ball from hitting middle stump. And this is, I have to admit it, one  of L-kuns Achilles Heels... and the thing he actually tries to avoid in backyard cricket. I suspect that baseball might be his calling (and that works well with the whole baseball league in Japan as a fall-back career option)....

 Despite him being bat-challenged, he persevered... and I was actually pretty impressed with him. Pssst, don't tell anyone, but I was wondering how L-kun would go. Especially when it's for quite a long time (2 hours can be a VERY long time), and it's doing something he's not that familiar with. He performed admirably... and it was only in the last section that dealt with ball control and catching (did Achilles have dodgy wrists as well as heels?). By this stage, he was starting to lose energy and enthusiasm. I don't blame him... there's only so many times you can pass the ball around your stomach...

So after the last session, it was BBQ time. Well, a sausage sizzle to be precise. And L-kun discovered... oh no... green cordial. For the first time. And he loved it. But what he really liked was spending time with his friend. Perhaps recounting their memorable moments out on the field. "Did you see my 10 wicket haul for the innings?"

And one of the favourite places in Adelaide Oval is "the Hill"... the place you'd go in years gone past to get drunk and have fun (and occasionally watch cricket). Of course, it's much more civilised these days. But still, L-kun and his friend were getting into the spirit... they may not have been rolling drunk, but they were definitely rolling... 

Adeliade Oval remains a glorious venue... though this is about to be converted into a "STADIUM"... coz apparently Adelaide will be a much more attractive and dynamic city then... yet I for one can't really imagine the oval up-sized without losing a lot of it's great charm. Especially when they'll now be playing (Aussie Rules) Football here in the winter months. The end of an era... an era perhaps best symbolised by the fact that they still use the original scoreboard, built in 1911. These sorts of traditions are very "cricket"... and whilst it might be quaint, I guess I like it that way. 

The original 1911 scoreboard

But one of the other traditions of cricket - modern tradition that is - is the sledge. Using put-downs to gain a psychological advantage over your opponent. L-kun was getting into the spirit with some energetic... "You Mr Potato Pants!"... hold on... who's Mr Potato Pants now? Children at some point, very early on, learn the value of name-calling. They quickly learn the consequence of name calling with parents - but then even more quickly learn that the law's on their side anyhow. If not today... then  one day... one day... Mr Potato Pants will triumph. Today however, you win.

Going the "sledge"...

Anyhow... the day, above anything else was about friendship and children learning to try new things. It was also about Daddy learning that his weekends are about to change forever. Weekend sports is only a short stroll to the pavilion away. 

Overall, it was a great experience (for Dad as well as L-kun) to be able to play on the Adelaide Oval. The lessons were good, and definitely not just playing around. I think it would have been better to reduce the emphasis slightly on the skill-based component (especially for just a first trial session). Also they tried a half-hearted attempt at introducing a scoring system that range from 100 pts for this, to a million pts to do that. Not a particularly clever idea... at least not the implementation of it. But L-kun enjoyed it anyhow. Still, this was their first attempt to run such a program, and I'm sure they learnt a lot as well from it. I'd definitely recommend bringing your child down when they run it next... hopefully before another 12 months.

Ahoy! St Kilda... Playground of Pirates...

St Kilda Playground is one of the really fun playgrounds around Adelaide... I say AROUND as it's actually 30km due north of the city, out amongst the mangroves and tidal flats. Indeed, it's hardly the first place that you would go looking for a a great playground... and you might not be tempted to drive all the way out there even if you did. But if you've got young kids (and not so young kids) then it's worth the trip as there's so much to do... not least of all storming the castle!... with it's own draw-bridge, battlements, secret passages and of course escape chutes (a little known feature of castles, they later evolved into a sewage system). Oh - and did I mention that it's completely FREE! Free I tells ya!

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Now for an aside - I have to admit that I tend to get a little possessive of our DSLR. Even though it's only a baby DSLR, it's my baby DSLR (ok... I'll try and let go of it so that I can type better... there there boy, I'll pick you up again soon). Anyway, T-chan's not had that much exposure [pause for polite golf clap for bad pun] to the new camera. So as Daddy was helping L-kun out on the slides, it was up to T-chan to take some photos. Only thing was I had forgotten to change back the White Balance from a previous set of photos the night before. So the photo quality isn't that great, and PSE didn't help quite as much as I would have liked.

It might be hard to pick from the photos, but the slides are reasonably long, and steep... and the ends kinda just stop (relying on the softness of the bark chips to soften your bottom bruising). Though we don't have the photos, L-kun was happily going down this slide all by himself. I was so proud (if a little freaked). The playground, as far as I can see, is completely self-supervised and does not have fencing. So, parents-be-warned... you will need to keep an eye on your children!

One of L-kun's favourite things was to explore the underground tunnels under the castle's foundations. I mean, seriously, there were a series of large to small (and I mean small) concrete pipes that had been buried under the mountain of dirt. And you betcha, that meant getting VERY dirty. Why do kids love dirt soooo much? The good news is that parents can fit in there too (was that really good news?)... the bad news is that it gets quite claustrophobic and you will be covered from head to toe in dust. There is also a secret ladder that takes the kids right up the top to the battlements.

The St Kilda area is not really known for it's beautiful beach scenery, but rather it's mangrove swamps (which can also be visited).

It's also known for it's pirates (don't all pirates have a secret hideout in a mangrove swamp somewhere). The pirate ship is yet another highlight of the playground.... and L-kun certainly loved it.

Awwrrrrghhhh! Pieces of eight, and shiver me timbers! A pirate's life for me. ... Fire the cannons you scurvy dogs! The treasure will be ours for the taking... spare no quarter, or even a 3/8ths!

Unfortunately, the pirate life is also tough one, and any number of small indiscretions (ie annoying Daddy or Mummy) could lead to a short incarceration in the ship's brig. Luckily he hadn't worked out yet that he can fit through the bars... whew!

Actually - the whole behind bars thing seems to be a trend here... There's a number of different styles of activities in the playground, including a shaded younger-kids area in the form of a giant yell submarine. This is also a great spot to get some respite from the sun for the parents as well.

There's also a tram museum out here that runs trams between the playground and the museum... a very odd place to put a tram museum if you ask me. The museum has been running the trams along the 2km track between the museum and playground since 1974 (admission $10 for adults, $7 for children over 4). It makes for a somewhat incongruous sight to see these old trams moving through the quiet salt-bush of St Kilda.

It's sort of like a scene from an old-time movie... ok... maybe a Sergio Leone spaghetti western.Here he's practicing his steely gaze... he uses this often against the pesky varmits back home (that would be us, his parents). And yes, he does love spaghetti (or noodles as he often calls them).

So I would definitely recommend taking the drive up north. Note that on a hot day, it gets VERY HOT there, and people often bring cardboard to ride the slides (to avoid a case of the cooked-bottoms), and you have to be very careful to ensure your all sun-creamed up. There's also not much in the way of facilities other than a solitary icrecream van... so bring some food and drinks if you're staying the day. I also haven't showed the Big  Children's slide yet... I'll keep that for another trip.

First Summer Beach Day - Semaphore

15th Jan, 2011 - Well it's been a relatively cool start to the summer this year, and as a result we've not had many opportunities to get to the beach. Which is a shame, as L-kun absolutely loves the beach. It's his #1 favourite place to go. Now for those of you (how to carve up 0.75 readers) who are not from Adelaide, then a little info. Adelaide sits in the Gulf of St Vincent, and as such has relatively calm seas. Definitely not good for surfing (not even body surfing). It is however relatively good water - and relatively warm due to the shallowness of the gulf - though no where near as good as the Queensland beaches which can be fantastic.

The upside is that there are few worries in South Australian beaches as compared to those in Queensland. With the exception of sharks. We have very few shark attacks, but the Great White Pointers do come through every now and again... and Adelaide does not have shark netting. Whilst the last fatal attack was in 2004, the last attack near Adelaide occurred in 2009. It always makes you slightly nervous when stepping into the water. No matter how shallow.

Now our favourite beach is Semaphore... which is actually not the "premier" beach in Adelaide - which is Glenelg. Semaphore is a great family beach. It's safe, there's a rock wall protecting most of the beach, and it's also clean. It's not the place necessarily to be seen, so as a result, the atmosphere is very casual and relaxed. It has also a lot of small attractions near the Palais hotel (more of that later)

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For L-kun, it's all about the water however. He may not be able to swim yet, but he's definitely a water-baby.

And we discovered just recently how useful a beach tent can be... great for protecting your stuff from all manner of things, and is always nice to have a retreat from out of the sun. And the sun is something you have to watch out for here. Whilst we're very careful with suncream, L-kun did get a bit red around a spot that was  missed. Tut tut - naughty parents. It is actually fairly serious however... skin cancer is a big killer here in Australia.

T-chan used to be a body-boarder back in Sapporo, but it's been a few years since she's been able to enjoy any sort of surfing. Adelaide - as I said, is normally very flat seas. T-chan is still a beach girl at heart, whilst her husband (that would be me) is definitely a mountain boy. Together it just seems to work out. It would seem however that L-kun has taken after his mother in this respect.

It's funny how children grow in and out of things. This little inflatable monkey was bought last summer - but L-kun had littlle or no interest in it. Now, it's Fun with a capital F!

Seriously, we could spend the entire day down at the beach, and L-kun would not think it was enough. It's always difficult to get him out of the water. Another good thing about Semaphore is the fact that you can go to the amusements up on the fore-shore. Once you can get L-kun's attention however.

L-kun sporting his latest beach-apparel. His Pirate beach towel which was a Christmas present from Auntie. Doesn't look so happy in this photo, but he loves all things Pirate-based. It's hard to believe, but we still have pirates to this day (well, not in Australia - but just to the north in the Malacca Straits). I'm not sure I would be advising it as a career option for L-kun however.

So I mentioned before about the Palais Hotel. It was originally built in 1922 and called the Maris Palais, and contained a number of different functions including a kiosk, tea-rooms, a bathing pavilion and a dance hall. All very civilised as things were back in that era. It then became the local surf-life-saving club, but with the years it fell into disrepair. It then took on a new lease of life when it was renovated as a hotel and function centre in the 90's.... although it still retains much of its charm. It's a great place to grab a cold beer - noting that most of the family beaches are now classified as dry zones (no alcohol can be brought or consumed).

Just next to the Palais is the water slide, ferris wheel and carousel which was constructed in 1928, and apparently is the largest in Australia of it's type. It's still working as well, although when I remember it as a child, my memory is of it standing out in the weather (now its under a shed).

It certainly adds to that old fashioned experience, and some great colour.

Of course - there are some more modern amusements as well. The one that L-kun really wanted to go on was the Jumping Castle. And it was a GIANT jumping castle at that. L-kun went straight for the stairs/ladder to the top of the castle. The operator said that the slide had a 10m clearance... but I'm guessing the height from the bottom of the slide was closer to 7m. Still - that's pretty high for a 3yo.

At the top he had a good long hard look. Hmmm... I know it's only air, but gravity helps me only on the way down... at the bottom all that energy's going to be converted into a whole heap of something.

And after long amount of time, L-kun decided to take the appropriate measures. A belly-slide would solve all of the uncertainty aspects. If you can't see where you're going, it can't hurt you. Weeeeeeeeeee!

L-kun went up quite a few times, but was never quite brave enough to go down on his bottom. Still, I was impressed as normally he wants Daddy to go with him. Without Daddy to help, he did very well. We were of course surprised to see some very small children sliding down face-first... and also some children that got to the top only to discover they could go nowhere and needed to be rescued. All up, life is about making compromises, and as long as you can find a way to go forward (or down) that works for you, then that's all that can be asked. It's pretty good value, as $5 will get you as much time as you (or more importantly your child) wants - L-kun stayed for about 10 mins before he just had to explore somewhere else.

And there was a lot of colour around to keep him occupied. I just love this attraction however that uses old coke bottles as pins. It's so... hmmm.... odd and quaint at the same time. 

And when all is said and done, there's also a great under-cover play area that the children can enjoy as well. It was a great afternoon out and a place we'd definitely recommend to take children to during Adelaide's summer. Hopefully the summer will stay warm enough (it was 32 when we went) for a lot more days/evenings down at the beach.

He also found a slide more his preferred size.