Various Sundries

I'm not sure what a post written directly after last Wednesday night would have looked like; B&G's final big training (and team-deciding) event, 'Mock Drop,' felt like one of the craziest and/or physically strenuous things I've ever done. The drop was hard-- very few navigator's could pinpoint where we were from the start, and ours was not one of them so we ended up unnescessarily crossing a river valley and running a roller coaster of a rocky maintenance road before doing a bit of bush bashing and river wading (definitely the best part) to get back on track. We were dropped at 10:30 p.m. and got to endpoint at 3:15 a.m. (and we weren't the last ones back!). All that being said, here's the actual Inward Bound update: The final squads were posted. I'm running in division 4, which was a huge surprise and means the drop will probably be 40 to 50 km from endpoint. Wish me luck!

Usually a fireworks display is associated with some sort of fair, holiday, concert, or other event. On Saturday night, though, Canberra had fireworks for the sake of fireworks. "Skyfire" is an annual event where seemingly everyone comes out-- families and Uni students with equal enthusiasm-- to picnic and visit on the shores of the lake before ahh-ing over the showers of curling golden sparks, requisite cutesy hearts and smiley faces (and cubes...?), and traditional blue and red bursts.

For this, and other things, I'm really beginning to see Canberra's beauty. It's not an exciting, bustling city like Melbourne or San Francisco per say, but it's wonderful how there is the full convenience of a city, from things like shopping needs to social events like Skyfire or the Symphony in the Park and places to go, surrounded by mountains, pastureland and forest. It was so peaceful last Friday to slowly ride along the bike path next to the lake, first through meadows, then past the dam into rolling green hills, Black Mountain and other darker, gum tree-covered peaks behind my right shoulder, an equestrian park next to one stretch of path, and a mix of Friday evening strollers, seasoned bike commuters, and kitted cyclists finishing their day with a ride as my companions on the path. Having a city built "in the middle of nowhere" isn't such a bad thing.

Hope everyone at home is staying well or having speedy recoveries and enjoying spring (break, if applicable).