Just a reminder to Team Estrogen

[Yasmin]

Corsairmac: Thanks for the tutorial about the faces. I'm learning.
...So the rude voices in my head were you, were they Corsair. Now I know it'll save me a trip to the shrink
Pedalwench: Don't worry honey...the way this virus is going you may get in front of me sooner than you think!

[SnappyPix]

I need to update my entry. My computer also suffered a fatal coronary and wiped my hard drive clean. I lost all my training data for the past couple of years.
Would it be ok for me to enter a lump sum and start again? I have the majority of my stats from June onwards from my bike computer.

[nuthatch]

We're all on the honor system, Snappy, so I think that would be fine!

P.S. Yasmin, thanks for the "petitepower" miles!!! You know, I was thinking I might have a chance to move up in miles because I planned to keep commuting in the winter, but I forgot about the southern hemisphere riders - it's almost summer for you guys!

[SnappyPix]

Thanks Nuthatch.
Oh yes, it's the start of the season here - although the winter has been so mild that I've managed to train right through, which is a total novelty! It's starting to warm up nicely here Down Under.
I'm still trying to get my head around Christmas in summer though - it feels so wrong and hearing Winter Wonderland on the radio blows my mind!!
My boss informed me that we're taking 4-6 weeks off for the holidays ... and while the downside to this is I won't get paid at all , it also means that I've got LOTS of time to train hard throughout the summer!

[nuthatch]

I've often wondered how our southern neighbors feel celebrating in the warmth when the entire English speaking Christmas heritage is geared towards a England/New England winter (In the bleak midwinter, etc.). Do you girls want to share any of your local Christmas spin with us? Help us feel the warmth of the holidays down under (can you tell I'm waking up to 8 degrees here in Chicago?)!

[Trekhawk]

I've often wondered how our southern neighbors feel celebrating in the warmth when the entire English speaking Christmas heritage is geared towards a England/New England winter (In the bleak midwinter, etc.). Do you girls want to share any of your local Christmas spin with us? Help us feel the warmth of the holidays down under (can you tell I'm waking up to 8 degrees here in Chicago?)!

Our last Xmas in Aust it was 41C or about 106F so we stayed inside for most of the day with the Aircon on. We always have a big seafood spread for lunch (no way Im cooking hot lunch when its that hot).

The kids decided Santa must wear shorts and Tshirt under his suit so he wont be too hot when he gets down to us in Aust.

On boxing day we would normally go to the beach or to a friends for a big BBQ.

Another thing that is different is the school year finishes in early Dec so the kids are on their big holiday break which is lots of fun. I guess when you grow up with Xmas being in summer it seems normal. This will be our second Xmas in the Northern Hemisphere (we arrived in the USA last Xmas Eve) and its lovely to experience Xmas in the Winter but I still do miss the thought of lazy beach days and BBQ over the Xmas holidays.

[Yasmin]

I've often wondered how our southern neighbors feel celebrating in the warmth when the entire English speaking Christmas heritage is geared towards a England/New England winter (In the bleak midwinter, etc.). Do you girls want to share any of your local Christmas spin with us? Help us feel the warmth of the holidays down under (can you tell I'm waking up to 8 degrees here in Chicago?)!

I'm from England originally but have lived in Australia for 37years (emigrated at 12) . It still feels odd to me having Christmas in warm weather. Just goes to show how powerful those formative years are. However, I'm not complaining. Weather in Adelaide at the moment is changeable: 28oC (82oF) one day, 18oC (62oF) with thunder, winds/heavy rains etc the next. These days the real scorchers seem to come Jan/Feb when it can reach 45oC (115oF).

[DirtDiva]

Yeah, I suppose the traditions of Christmas are more geared toward a cold time, but y'all don't know what you're missing when it comes to a summer New Year!