Day 1 – Prologue

Another year, another Easter come and gone. This was my last year in W45AS, meaning that next year I turn 55, and get to move into another age group. What with being one of the oldest in my age category, and my recent disasters, I had absolutely no expectations or ambitions other than to finish each day, and have fun.

We set off very early on Thursday, a long day’s drive to Bathurst. The sound of racing motorbikes revving up on Mt Panorama next morning convinced us to leave town relatively early, and we took the very scenic road via Sofala up to Rylstone. Peter and Simon, running in the Open Mens category, had relatively early starts, with the rest of us plebs later in the afternoon, meaning I had about 4 hours to wait around enjoying the sun and catching up with people. Our main focus was on our juniors Lanita and Asha, both vying for selection to the Junior World Champs (JWOC) team. They both got off to a great start, Lanita scoring a win and Asha really stepping up to come equal third.

For the rest of us, it was a fun dash around Rylstone Common, taking 30-40 minutes. I was pleased to have a clean run, only one very minor error towards the end where I had two controls very close together, and I went to the wrong one. It was a nice confidence boost and very enjoyable.

After that we headed for Mudgee, home for the next week. We’re staying in a large house on a beautiful rural property complete with vines, views, and chickens (more on them later). It’s very peaceful, comfortable, and spacious – just what we need with 8 people in one place. We unpacked, settled in and savoured Tina’s Moroccan casserole.