The riders (part 13 of 15)

This is Kath, our other southern hemisphere-ite and token Aussie. I
didn't get a good pic of Kath on day 1 in Williamsburg, and it's taken
me a while to shoot another one, is the only reason she's the next-to-
last in my brief profiles of my fellow riders. Kath surprised me when
I took this photo of her yesterday, during the post-ride afternoon
chill-out in Sterling, by expressing some anxiety over what I was
planning to say about her -- like maybe it'll be negative, somehow?
(Little does she know that "planning" is not a category you'd come up
with very often in a random sample of Jeff's daily mental
activities.) She told me a while ago that she's been reading my blog,
so maybe this is just a result of the fact that she's had some time to
stew a little in anticipation that this was coming.

Kath is a forester/landscape architect/urban planner, now retired,
who, as you can see, likes a good glass of white wine at the end of a
day on the road. She's also a wife (her husband is joining up with
her at the end of the ride), and a mother (she disappeared when we
were in Carbondale to spend time with one child, a daughter, who is in
Lexington KY studying to be a horse doc with one of the world's
leading experts), and a rower of some repute down under. She doesn't
have a lot of experience riding a bike, but she's a strong athlete,
who can power through the difficult stuff. And speaking of powering
through the difficult stuff, that's exactly what she did, very
memorably, on a particularly long-riding day early in the tour, when
she was the designated cook, and the late afternoon brought a
tremendous thunderstorm. So she's out in a parking lot, under a canvas
shelter, producing tomato slices with mozzarella and basil for hors
d'oeuvres, and two different fettucinis (alfredo and with pesto) for
the main course, with a salad. Like I said -- powering through. And
setting a powerful precedent -- we WILL eat well, meteorological
conditions be damned.

"Loner" isn't the right word -- she and Dennis have a very compatible
pace and approach to riding, so the two of them buddy up on the road
most days -- but Kath is definitely a person who likes her space, and
likes a little bit of solitude and quiet contemplation at the end of
the day. She often pitches her tent (or plops down her sleeping pad,
when we're indoors) apart from the main group. (She commented the
other night how she thought she and I were something of kindred
spirits in that respect -- good call.) But she's also got a great
sense of humor, and a distinctive and hearty laugh that is always
ready to burst out, and often does.

[That's it; no bad news; sorry to disappoint, Kath...........]