Lesson 29. Have a Happy Birthday

One of my children was born on Boxing Day – the day after Christmas. So far, she and her siblings think she's lucky, because she gets presents two days in a row. She also gets a birthday celebration with her family on the day, then gets an un-birthday party with her friends later in the year. I hope she can keep that optimistic view of it.

A friend of a friend was recently complaining about the injustice of his birthday, which is on Christmas Day itself. In fact, he thinks Christmas should be held on a different day each year, just like Easter is. "Why is Easter at a different time each year anyway?" he complained, adding "and why can't they do the same for Christmas?"

Still it must be better than being born on February 29! Those people only get a birthday every four years.

I'm pretty happy with my birthday. It usually coincides with the Queen's Birthday long weekend, so I get an extra day off to celebrate. It's not a holiday associated with lots of tradition, so I'm not sharing the limelight with a bigger occasion either.

Does your birthday coincide with a public holiday, anniversary or just someone else's birthday? How do you feel about it?

Lesson 28. Life is a cycle.

Now that oil prices are hitting record highs and the concept of peak oil has entered public consciousness, it seems timely to blog about cycling. Specifically, about commuting by bicycle.

As far as cycle paths go, Melbourne is better than most cities, but not as good as some.

Unfortunately, I sometimes get the feeling the town planners who designed the paths thought people only ride for leisurely enjoyment, not to get from A to B by the most efficient route possible. So the cycle path I ride most often meanders along the coast, while cars get to drive to the city centre in an almost straight line.

On the plus side, it is a beautiful way to start the day, as you can see in this photo of the path near Elwood.



(In winter, it's dark by the time I'm cycling home, so of course I can't see the view - in fact, I can barely see the path.) Another plus is that being separated from the cars makes the path safer, quieter and the air cleaner.

I do worry about the health implications of cycle paths that follow freeways. I hope the new Eastlink Bikeway doesn't follow the road as closely as the Gardiners Creek Bikeway does. It has the added health risk of the high tension power lines as well. So all the particulates being spewed out from the traffic become charged as they drift down onto the panting cyclists below. The static charge could make them stick in the lungs.

Aside from that though, the health benefits of cycling can't be denied. Nor can the economic benefits. So you could say that if you burn fat, not oil by cycling instead of driving, you'll spend less, pollute less and weigh less.

It makes you wonder why anyone would pay a gym membership to lose weight, when you can cycle for free and also save on fuel bills.

That doesn't mean I'm trying to turn every drive into a 'guilt trip'. In fact drivers should be happy to have one less car to compete with in traffic, in car parks and in the bidding war for dwindling oil supplies.

No wonder I feel so good on the days that I cycle.




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