Steve sent out an email the other day about the Freeway Bike Hike, asking if anyone was interested in joining him and a few others. Although I said I'd regret the early morning start on Sunday, I threw my lot in with Steve, Elissa, Anne, Darrell, Jay, Daniel, Luke, David and some other guy from EY. Apparently the total turn out was a record 7011 strong.

30km is further than I've ridden in one hit in a long time. I used to ride the 40km track for the "Walk against want" back in high school, but the short rides into work (4.6km to be exact) doesn't come anywhere near close. I was glad that it was over, but I'd do it again in a second (or maybe after my legs have recovered - maybe Wednesday). The ride itself started at Belmont Park, then went through the Graham Farmer freeway tunnel, then north up the southbound side of the Mitchell freeway all the way to Joondalup.

Highlights included: losing track of the entire group 20 metres from the start (some guy apparently blocked them off by stopping and answering his mobile phone right at the gate); weaving through all the people in the tunnel (top speed 46.3km/h!); racing ahead with Daniel (yeah okay that might have been as much fun for the others); all the downhill bits; overtaking heaps and not being overtaken much at all; the final uphill climb near the end (yes I really did like that bit); and the finish. Daniel and I did it in about 70 minutes (lots of stopping and waiting) - slightly quicker than the category we were in (group C - 75 to 85 minutes), so we were happy about that.

We hung around Joondalup for about an hour, lounging around trying to work up the energy to catch the train back to Perth, spending the time downing bottle after bottle of Mizone (of the flavours we could stomach anyway). After arriving in town we dumped our bikes at my work and then headed into town for some lunch, then made the trek back home on bike. It was the final ride that did me in. I got home and collapsed in front of the fan until I could will myself to get a shower.

I'm so doing it again next year. And maybe ride back home from Joondalup too. If I'm masochistic enough.

I've been told by people who don't read this that I should blog about my haircut.

I got my hair cut 2 weeks ago.

There, happy now?

Nothing major, just trimmed about a foot off, so its nice and short when I tie it up. It's really good for riding, as it doesn't get stuck behind your backpack or stick to your back. And its manageable enough that I can wash it without fuss. I think I'll try to keep it around this length from now on.

Someone else got their hair cut recently: David from work shaved his head for the "Shave for a cure" cancer charity last Friday. I'm not entirely sure if really wanted to do it or not: he made the silly comment that if everyone in our team put in $10 each, he'd do it. We all reached for our wallets without thinking, and he made a sad face at us. Short hair looks good on him though, but I had to do a double-take this morning when he tapped on my shoulder - I barely recognised him! I'm told I'm not the only one...

On Friday night we were lucky enough to be present at Gotan Project's Australian premiere at the Perth Concert Hall for the Perth International Arts Festival. They've been around since 1999, but they only finally managed to make it to Australia just now. The hall was packed full and they didn't disappoint with their superb performance.

Gotan Project is a French and Argentinian group of musicians and DJ's that explore Tango music with contemporary electronic elements such as samples, beats and breaks to produce a truly unique mix of sounds. I only heard of them about about 2 years ago, but I fell in love with their sound instantly, understanding why they've got a cult following worldwide.

I hope they make it back to Perth soon, but realistically it'll be a few more years before they're back. In the mean time, I'm tracking down the CD's of theirs I don't already own :P