OK I’ve already kind of introduced myself but I guess we should start from the top!
My name’s Gary, but you can call me Gaz, actually you can call me anything you like, I don’t mind. I’m one of your new ambassador’s. Some of you know me, but for those of you who don’t, I’m the old guy that always looks grumpy, even grumpier than Greg. I apologize for this, and don’t think I am grumpy at you, it’s just life in general has a way of making me grumpy. I’ll give you an example:
The last two events I’ve raced when I’ve gone to register the officials there have seen fit to make a comment before I’ve said a word!
At Cairns the guy takes my registration paper and says, “OK we need a grey swim cap, gee you must be old”! Now this guy would have easily been 15 years older than me!
At Kona, again before I’ve said a word, I sit down and the girl opposite says to me, “Wow you look tired”!
You get the picture, this kind of thing happens to me all the time! Those of you who know me will know the expression that was on my face at the time!
So don’t think it’s you, and don’t be afraid to say Hi, cause once you get to know me then you’ll realize how grumpy I REALLY am!
So I can’t begin to tell you how many things contribute to my general state of grumpiness, but I plan to relate some of these to you!
You will learn from each of the three sports we do, and some other related topics what can really be of annoyance to me. I can talk about lane etiquette in swimming, or incidents in the sauna, not to mention the swim change room behaviour I’ve seen. Then there’s cycling, and running – oh you think what can possibly happen when you’re out running – well how about when you’re running in a path wide enough for 5 people to walk abreast, and there are 5 people walking abreast……I mean really, what are these people thinking? I can tell you what they are NOT thinking, they are not thinking about anyone else except themselves. You will find this is a recurring theme in these incidents, and that generally it’s people’s behaviour that drives me mad.
There are exceptions though, I can talk about the weather, the wind the rain and how this is closely related to the suburb of Chelsea. The trouble is geographically Chelsea is in the path of most of the riding I do, and Chelsea knows this. While the media constantly talks of a drought, they should take a look down there.. but anyway I digress. I can talk about flat tyres and why they seem to occur when you are at the furthest point away from home that your ride takes you, and it’s raining.
But I’m spoiling the fun!
I’d like to say here that as much as I generally don’t like people, the club we belong to is something special. The people I’ve met here are just terrific, and we all should cherish just how lucky we are!
I used to be a cyclist, I raced and rode voraciously, usually with a very small (often just one) group of people. I think it was mid 2011 I switched to Triathlon. Now I’m only telling you this because the person i used to ride and race with the most (who happens to live in Chelsea) will tell you that I’m a changed person. He will tell you that I’m much friendlier and more sociable than I used to be!
TRUE! Just ask him!
So I want you to bear that in mind!
Well that’s it for now!
Now want you to remember what I said about “yesterday”, and about “fighting back”!
Well, “when the fight gets harder”, “fight harder”!
Also, remember to make someone laugh today:)
My weirdness has no bounds!!
Gaz
