The Chaff

Men In White After 200KM - Where's Annie I'm Feeling Crook

Take Up A Sport........

For those interested in health and fitness for the first time , no doubt they will be confronted with the choice of which sport to take up to get fit , Gym , swimming , aerobics , any number of new age disciplines to learn like Pilates , Alexander Technique and Yoga to name just a couple .

Well why not cycling ?

Indeed why not climb on the bandwagon like I did . Well here's why ......Here's my stats !

Number of kilometres travelled -----So many my bum hurts all the time .

Number of punctures ------------So many I've finally learnt to change one .

Number of  Magpie attacks .......89 ,....... stuff this bird loving guff ----- I'm getting a gun license .

Number of stacks ...........3 . The worst was outside my house when I couldn't get my shoes out of the pedals and my wife happened to be looking out the window.

The second worst was coming a  cropper in the gravel , as a rail crossing came down , with thankfully nobody in sight .

Number of feral magpie attacks.....6

Number of killer magpie attacks ......1

Longest ride ............80km

Number of rides by myself ...........60

Number of rides with other cyclos ......2

Number of times chain has come off.........3

Number of nearly broken marriages ...........1

Number of nearly estranged children ..........2

Hardest ride.....................Orange Molong Orange with a pie in between .

Most dangerous incident .....being forced off the road by a truck . Chris laughed .

Funniest incident ............my wardrobe malfunction . Chris laughed for three days .

The Bench

 

The safest place to be on a football team is on the bench . That way you can't get injured , except for Kimbo by the looks of it .

Rest Day

Only the French could have a magnificent competition that is meaningless on the last day . The winner of the Tour de France is decided on the second last day and so the climax of the competion is  virtually a lap of honour .

The forthcoming MIll to Mill ride will be no such thing with desperate manouvres attempted in the last kilometres . All for the Yellow Jersey or the winning Mill or maybe The Men In White shading the Packers .

All grist for a great excuse to get fit and hit the road . All in the name of charity and beating Draino and Muldoon .

We all need a rest though and recuperation is best spent in a pub with a spa . Does Coolah have such a place ?  Does Mudgee ? 

Bring on the Rest Day !

Post Match Handshakes

 This is health and fitness alright but I wouldn't recommend it . It's tough and willing with massive bruises and aching bodies guaranteed . Great spectacle though and the boys really turned it on against Molong .

Which Guy Is The Footy Player ?

Muldoon of course although Lino takes the honours for funniest barracker . Muldoon is Mr Football for the Manildra Rhinos . He has played for them all his life and is having trouble retiring . He can't quite give it up . he has spilt blood for the Rhinos and yesterday was no exception . Half an hour after this photo and Doony was covered in blood . This man is a warrior and still plays to a good standard . He's so well known on the local footy scene that he might as well have a target on his back . The opposing teams will invariably have a " get Muldoon tactic "

The Manildra Rhinos an old and proud club were out to avenge an earlier defeat against Molong and did so in style running in many tries . A massive crowd added to the atmosphere . Many local players in the team ,some in the Molong team too , which made victory even sweeter for the Rhinos . The step down from Group 11 has been a blessing in disguise judging by the huge turn out . 

It's been quite a few years since I had watched the Rhinos , when I was on the packers we used to watch the game in our smoko break . We would lump like crazy to get ahead then eat our lunch watching the boys go round .

 I was blown away by Kade Scott , he is seriously good . Great to see Moses in action , I knew he used to play Union in France but apparently he also represented his country Tonga on several occasions . Pete Townsend is awesome even after all these years also Sheldon and Meggsy  can play a bit .

But the main impression I came away with was the toughness and passion of Country  Rugby League .

Party HQ

Party Hq are trailblazers . Out of all the departments they have the best smoko room . They know how to really upset management . They throw the best parties . They get paid the most . I could go on .....but one thing they are also good at is golf .

They have the best sense of humour too because they embraced the whole Party HQ thing and even made a Xmas sign to that effect . So as homage to the workshop blokes , here are images of the boys sweeping all before them in the golf tournament . It's not quite "health and fitness" but it nearly is .

Tour de Manildra

Everyone knows I'm a sports nut and I am really warming to the Tour de France . I've always kept my eye on it but now I can actually watch whole stages . The scenery is fantastic and once you learn some of the intricate stuff that goes on , it is quite compelling . At the time of writing Cadel Evans has moved into second place with a week to go . If he wins I might have to take up cycling !

You know that suspicious bunch who pretend they like cycling so they can hang out with John Campbell ? Well I might join them ! I'll try and take that yellow jersey that JC insists on wearing when he is riding with his domestiques . It's hard to imagine Brendan Lea , Draino and Muldoon in their lycra outfits . Can anyone supply a photo ?

Wellness Program

The Wellness program has just about finished and apparently there is talk of having an extended version in the future . I am all in favour of this because I think it is a win win situation for management and staff . Although there would have been a significant cost  for the Mill in implementing the program including lost man hours , there are also benefits in fewer injuries and a healthier workforce generally .In my case  I learnt some useful stuff about myself , a really good heart rate recovery , weak stomach muscles and really tight hamstrings . By stretching my hammies and doing tummy exercises meant my back is the strongest in years . A good result for me and also for the Mill because I don't hurt my back now when I shovel or tip .

The dietary part of the program was great too . The charming Mrs Jasprizza was friendly with her advice and didn't make me feel guilty about some of my food weaknesses . I had to cut back on beer but hell nobody said we had to follow it word for word !

My only complaint was the fatigue management part of the program . Very informative and well presented but in my view tended to downplay the effects of shiftwork . I asked whether nightshifts were damaging to one's health and the response was that there was no evidence . If this was true then there would be no need for a fatigue management  program . I accept  the fact that  we have to take care of ourselves to be in good nick for nightshift  but let's have a balanced view on the downside of shiftwork .

By all means use the comments facility to leave your views on the Wellness program .