Then 40 years went by...
"We can't live in the past, but the past lives in us", said someone wiser than me.
An important part of my past are my school friends. They were a great bunch of people to grow up with.
It was 1974 when I last saw many of them. In what seems like a blink of the eye, 40 years have shot by since I finished high school. How did that happen so fast?
In the heady mid-70's we headed off in numerous directions from our hometown of Tamworth. It feels like only recently we were hanging around together elated, confused, scared, resigned, determined, excited and ignorant about what was going to happen next. Then somehow, while we were distracted, four decades evaporated and here it is 2014.
Our final high school classes had about 90 people. Some stayed in the home-town and have helped it grow and develop into a top regional centre. Others, including me left the hometown for the lure of tertiary education and jobs elsewhere.
Now the time has come for some of us to gather, reminisce, have a few laughs and share a few war stories. Despite the passing of much time and the distance from my home-patch, I've been able to keep in touch with a few of my high school friends. This is perhaps a fortunate thing otherwise it would be a mild shock to discover just how much we've changed. Or perhaps we haven't changed so much? It'll be fascinating to catch-up and renew old acquaintances before we grow too much older.
The 40th reunion is being planned for the first weekend of October which gives me time to take a few days off work, combine them with the long weekends and cycle-tour to the event. Well just enough time if I get a wriggle on.
It'll need to be a fairly snappy ride, as the distance from Canberra to Tamworth is about 700 km. The daily average will need to be about 100 km which sounds OK if you say it softly.
To cover this distance on a bike, even with a light load, will require more than a casual treadling pace. Optimistically I'd describe the area as undulating. A pessimist would say that it is bloody hilly.
I'll need to think about the route, what to take and some sort of itinerary.
The planning has begun. Feel free to chip in any ideas by the message book available by clicking 'Contact' below.
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