Saturday, July 24, 2010

Farewell drinks / a message from WBR

Yesterday there was a small farewell drinks party at the institute, on the 8th floor balcony that has stunning views of the sea/rivermouth, Oeiras, and the vineyard at the back of the Institute. Views I will definitely miss (I'll post some more pics later). José Artur Martinho Simões and Luis Paulo Rebelo, ITQB's director and vice-director, presented me with a bottle of wine from the vineyard, and a tie from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, which will come in handy if I have to be an examiner at Ph.D. thesis defenses in the future.

I gave out a few stickers and cards from World Bicycle relief - they just presented a new video showcasing their work which is embedded below. Have a look!!!


Today's group ride was a bit weird - it showed that Ironmen are human after all. Two of the three regulars who went to Roth last week, Julio and Sergio, showed up for the ride this morning but dropped off after 20 km due to fatigue from last week's effort. Fair enough - if less than a week before you did 180 km with over 30 kmh wedged in between a 3.8 k swim and a marathon, you're allowed a little R&R. For comparison - today we did 60 km with one serious hill, one stretch with fierce headwinds and I was in the front a lot - but we managed to go 30 km/h exactly and that had me pretty cooked at the end. Serves as a good reminder to cycle at an easy pace, especially during the first week!

1 comment:

  1. the view is indeed enchanting. please do not forget to post the remaining pics you have.

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