I Wish I Could Come Up With A Witty Title...

G'day everyone, hope all is well. Firstly i think i need to swallow my own words, because in the last post, i was trying to make everyone in the States jealous of the great weather they were missing out on here in Australia, then the very next day, we had three times as much rain as the entire month of October! I took a few photos around our house, but none of them really show how wet it was. I guess the Melbourne Water people can thank me though, because without me saying we had great weather it may not have rained! Now we are in the middle of winter again, and it has rained for the last three or four days!A new pasttime we have been enjoying is golf. Here, Matty is re-enacting the 30-footer he just sank on the eighth! We had a great day, and hopefully the tradition, which is one game old, will continue, and we can start to get good at it. The Melbourne Cup (Australia's horse race which has a public holiday) was run last Tuesday, and the whole nation gets right into it. We do what is called a "cup sweep" where horses are picked out of a hat for each person, and then the winners get the prizes. There is no skill in it, so i find i have just as much chance of winning in the sweep, as i do if i were to study the horses and choose a winner! My horse (Pop Rock) came second, so i was pretty happy about that! You can see the kids hanging about waiting for Sean (my little bro) to draw out the next horse. Delta Blues edged out Pop Rock for the 2006 Emirates Melbourne Cup, and i think pocketed a cool $2.5-3million in the process - why am i racing bicycles?! I actually had my money on Delta Blues for the big race - everyone in the country pretty much makes a bet of some description on Cup day, so i needed to put some dollars somewhere, which i see as my donation toward the gambling industry for the year. I was on the phone to my mate James, a horse betting expert, and Keally at the same time (very talented!), and asked him who to bet on. He said to bet on the number horse of the day Keally and i met, but there was no horse of that number, so the next option was to ask what Keally's favourite number was - her quick reply was "2", so i put $5 each way on it ($5 for the win, $5 for the place), and whadyaknow, it won! It was very close, but all the same, a win is a win, and it payed me $120 so i was wrapped! Wicked! Thanks Keally!

The races are also known to get people to dress up nice, and for those of you who didn't think i ever looked good, well, i scrub up alright! We went to Oaks Day on Thursday, and it was time to bust out the suit! I pulled out the brown pin-stripes, and apparently won "fashions on the field" for the day! Cookie had everyone convinced i had won a trip to Queensland, and a big blue and gold sash! I reckon everyone we went with won actually, jeez we looked the goods! We even wore the same gear out on the town that night, we just felt so good in it!

Lisa is now eighteen, and can go out to pubs and clubs, and get drunk legally! I was forced to accompany her to her first night out after finishing her exams, so because it was such a big occasion, we grabbed a photo before leaving. Sean wasn't allowed out this time, but it wont be too long before he is out too - about five years! Check out the Spartans hat Bob - Sean is convinced it stands for "Sexy Sean!"The Nankervis kids in a typical family photo, below. Katie (Michael's girl) on the left, Lisa (red hair), Michael (front), Sean (hang loose hand gesture), myself, and Kevin (Michael's mate).
We even had a couple of midgets come around to see us off for the night out!

One thing i missed while in the States was "Bill's Burgers". They are HUGE! This photo does not do it justice, as it had fallen over about three times in the process of organising the photo, so each time it got shorter! It doesn't look all that attractive either, but it does have the lot inside it! I'm talking hamburger, lettuce, cheese, carrot, tomato, beetroot, pineapple, bacon, egg, sauce (ketchup), and on a barbeque toasted bun! It isn't really possible to fit it in the gob, so it ends up being a big salad on the plate, and is so filling i don't really get to finish it. If anyone ever wants to come over for Bill's Burgers, just call or email me, and you are more than welcome anytime - Tuesdays are usually our burger night.

I haven't really given too much details as to what i have been up to, but the good old photos usually tell a better story than i can write, so i hope it achieves what i am aiming for (even though i don't know what that is)!

As for training, its all happening again, and i feel strong, even if every ride is done in the gale force winds! We actually have snow on the nearby hills here in Melbourne, which doesn't happen too often, even in winter! I am going to kit up and head out there and see how good it looks - even if it is cold and wet!

Other good news is i went up to the country town of Horsham (quite possibly Aboriginal meaning for: absolutely middle of nowhere!), to help my good mate Todd, celebrate his engagement to Nicola. It was a good night, and they make a great couple - i will try and get a photo or two to put on my next post of the two of them. Congratulations mate!

If anyone has anything exciting they want me to report on, then just let me know, i am more than keen to write about anything, so just let me know!

Also, the Steelers have finally got a win on the board, getting over the Saints on Sunday. They were not looking good, with 2 wins and 5 losses, but 3 - 5 is almost respectable! (Its funny how i almost sound like i know what is going on!) I have been a Steelers fan since staying with Scott in Altoona, and he kindly got me two Terrible Towels (picture next update), and a T-shirt, so i look the part, and Keally also told me i have to support them. Fair enough, seeing as every American i know is a supporter of the mighty Melbourne Demons!

We are also thinking of celebrating Thanksgiving next Thursday here at my place, in honour of my American friends. We are going to get a ripper turkey going, as well as all the other stuff that goes with it, so if anyone has any nice recipes for us, please email them to me.

Hope all is well, and look out for a new post over the weekend, or by early next week... at least it is my intention!

Laters y'all!