everyone in the eastern suburbs, particularly the older types, has made a new year's resolution to walk and/or cycle more. how do I know? they were all over the path this morning when I rode to Springvale Road, displaying a general lack of experience and common sense. and some of them were of the patronising-older-male variety that say things like 'young lady coming through" when I pass. sheesh. can't even be 43 years old going for a ride in a shapeless windcheater without being hassled. some people might find it pleasant socialising. I just find it annoying and distracting from my Very Important Thoughts.

parked on a football oval somewhere in the east: the helicopter ambulance. no sign of movement, but presumably someone really, really needed it.

the river: tan, clay-coloured, with swirls of clearer water. heavy rains the past few days. the suspended particles of soil gathering around any solid object, like a tree branch, creating trails of darker colour downstream.