Two things I enjoy. Not hard core Master Chef level baking and not lycra clad riding up a mountain; just leisurely, simple, cooking and riding. I cook to eat and I ride to move.

I made my first batch of hot cross buns this year. I’m not very good at bread due to my lack of patience, but I had a whole day to spare so thought I’d give it a go. Being Good Friday I could only make something from what I had in the pantry. The recipe asked for condensed milk. I didn’t have any so after a quick google I discovered that it was easy enough to make myself. It did take half an hour, but I wasn’t doing anything else and now I know how to make something new. The hot cross buns were delicious straight from the oven with butter, but not so good the following day. I’ll just have to eat them all in one sitting next time!

I also made a carrot cake with out home grown carrots. They are such strange carrots. No flavour at all when raw, but delicious cooked. It was just a random recipe from the internet and it was the best carrot cake I’ve ever made and I have no idea where the recipe was from and couldn’t find it again despite looking for half an hour. So we had one off delicious carrot cake. Our dog Toby really liked it too (but he also liked the carrots raw, so I don’t trust him).

I ride to work every day. I could walk, or drive, but I like the 15 minute ride. Not only is it the quickest way to get to work, it gives me time that is committed to one activity only and time to think. Everyone at work thinks I do it for the fitness, but I just ride because I want to. Simple as that. It also helps my environmental conscience and makes up for sitting at a desk most of the day. I do try to get my husband to ride more often and not drive to the whole 1km to work. I’m not winning. He rides sometimes, walks sometimes, but mostly drives.

We do go on weekend bike rides though. There are a number of rail trails and off road bike paths in our area and we have been lucky enough to be gifted a bus ride back to our car on two occasions. Recently we rode from Beechworth to Milawa. 30km mostly down hill with a couple of wineries along the way. Having done it before, we knew that we had all morning to explore Beechworth and would still arrive at Milawa with plenty of time to spare. They have some really lovely shops there and having only a bike pannier definitely stopped me buying things I probably don’t need. The ride is mostly downhill for the first half, then along quiet country roads. I must have been going too fast though, as I blew my tire half way along. It wasn’t that bad, we just stopped every 5km or so and pumped it up.  In all it was a lovely day and our dinner at the North Eastern in Benalla on the way home was just what we needed to end the day with smiles on our faces.