Field days

Field days 

A very early start to the day as I'm on the bike before sunrise-just a light load today 2 back panniers  and my Handel bar bag - after a nice 16 km ride I get to where I'm heading for the day - the field days ( it's a big annual farm show/trade event near Hamilton each year ) after getting changed out of my cycling clothes  into street clothes ( a black skit with black leggings underneath ( it is winter after all ) long boots a pink t shirt and blue jacket) and parking up my bike in a safe place I pay the $25 to get in ( most of the time I'm working at events so I get in that way though this time I will get to see more of the event  this year )  as I'm walking around I noticed that I'm seem to be one of the few in a skit as most seem to be in shorts ( they must be tough or have else have cold legs as it's not that warm today ) or jeans ( I don't do jeans - no good on the bike or when it's wet ) - well if people are going to look at me I might as well give then a reason to look (what I'm a girly girl and like skits and dresses) I also did it for a bit of fun as some of my friends who are working at the field days today's don't know about the changes I have been making in my life ( well they soon found out when I saw them :  ) most was great some was being a bit of a pain ( only time will tell if they will still my friends)but I knew that was going to happen so I don't let it worry me 

At one of the trade sites I find a nice dress - as I was looking at it I though about buying it - yep I did end up getting it - life is short -buy the dress ( it's a annah s one for people who know what that means ) 

The field days is so big it takes a bit of planing to see everything on my to see list - I did see just about every thing on my list - with so many people there I mosty got web site info ( so I can look up suff in my own time ) from many of the places on my list as my speech ( dyspraxia  suff ) was causing a few issues when asking questions to the different people at the trade sites 

At one point as I was walking around the event with a friend ( from horse events ) we saw the pm ( John key ) ( and he's minders ) walk pass going the other way ( as he went pass he look me up and down then smiled at me - I did wait to they was well past before having a good luft at that - party as the pm and his minders was dressed in suits and ties so kind of stood out like a sore thumb with every one else wearing jeans or shorts 

It was nice to met up with friends at the event and find out how they been ( and give some a quick update on what I been doing 

Around 5 pm the event closers for the day - thought the fun for the day for me was not over yet as my friend who had nicey offered to pick me and the bike up couldn't get to where  I was with the bike because of the road closures around the event so after picking up my bike I had the fun of working out the best was to ride my bike  for a few km for the first time in a long skit ( as my bike is a folding one with no top tube I did not have the issue of a top tube to deal with :  ) and long boots  ( as I had no ware to change back into my  cycling gear)  pass long lines of cars leaving the event  - it went ok I did get some funny looks along the way : ) and had a car neary run off the road in surprise as I went past  .after getting to my friends car I put the bike in the back of the car and went back to my friends places stoping at the supermarket ( where I saw some of my friends doing some restocking for the next day - they have a food trade site at the event  ) after back to my friends place at was time to pack up my gear and get dropped off at a new friends place ( where I ending up sleeping in to around lunchtime the next day - going to large events tends to take a lot out of me mentally so I some times need a lot of sleep and rest to make up for it 

My nice new dress : ) 

Te kuiti to Cambridge 75 km

Te kuiti to Cambridge 75 km

Some what of a early start to the day as I get in the last of my packing before saying good bye to my mum and heading down the bumpey drive way (a good time to find out if any of my gear is going to fall off on gravel roads) once  I'm on the road the day's riding starts with a hill to climb over ( the first of many hills to climb). After heading down the other side of the hill I paused for a bit before turning left on to S.H.3 . With the temperature around 5c it's a bit of cold start to the day but then it is winter time . 

The next bit of fun for the day is some big road works where there is a big round about being put in ( some thing to do With many drivers don't seem to know what give way is so its going from side road with a give way sign to a round about ( that even less people seen to understand) I find it a bit crazy that is costing about $3.7m to put in the round about that is not even going to fix the issue of bad drivers not giving way or breaking other road rules  ( nz and overseas drives ) so it may even cause more crashes ?  As I ride over the potholes ( they still have to tar seal parts of the new road ) at around 25 km/h so I don't get run over by inpatient drivers I wonder not for the first time why people seem to want or think they need to get places as fast as possible at the same time breaking many of the road rules ( that are they for safety) for me if it takes all day to get some where it's ok because that's speed I travel  at ( 4 km/h when walking or 15-20 km/h when I'm on the bike ) 

After the road works I stop for a food break  (some bananas )  near the big apple cafe ( getting a photo of the big apple as I pass by ) a few more hills latter I get in to the town of otorohanga  where I take a 10 min break or so before its time to keep riding North  to the next town on today's ride stoping for breaks from time to time -at one of there's stop i look at my phone to see how many more km to my friends place where I will be staying the night - hum the road I should be taking to Cambridge off S.H.3 is before the next town and the next place to buy food so I decide to change the roads I'm taking so I will pass by a super market- well so much for the best layed plans as I end up going right pass the supermarket with out stoping as I'm busy working out what roads to take and dealing with traffic so I end up running  out of food about 10 km from Cambridge opps  - it's a slow ride into town for the last 10 km - much of the 25 km from te a to Cambridge is flat with no wind and not to hot or cold today. Getting into the town of Cambridge I stop to get some food and chat for a bit with some one who was getting lifts by thumb (I saw then at a few places on the side of the road today ) also had a chat to some school kids who asked about my bike and where I came from /where I was going ( the same thing I get asked by people 10-20 times a day at times ) then I heading off to my friends place for the night  ( only got missed place a few times along the way ) tomorrow ( Tuesday) is a rest day for me before I head off to field day's on Wednesday  

 

Seeing the world with fresh eyes

Seeing the world with fresh eyes

As I pack up my gear for my upcoming ride I'm thinking of some of the changes in my life and how I'm now seeing the world with fresh eyes now I'm being the real me not hiding my true self behind a mask - it's still early days for me and yet the last month or so has gone by fast as I worked on a long to do list (that never seem to end) some of the things on the list was fairly easy once I made up my mind what I was going to do - little things like getting new footwear (like my first pare of heels) and make up- other things like changing my name was a big pain - had to go up to Auckland and do a lot of running around for the paper work (partly as I have been living on the road for so long also not having up to date photo ID)

Do I have any regrets over making the changes in my life  - well at this point in time I would say no as I'm now a lot more happy in life and my meltdown issues seem to have gone as well as much of my depression that I have been battling with for many years

It is not a easy path that I'm talking but for me it's the only one I can take - there can be so much hate at at times on the Internet with people Giving they own 5c worth of how they think some one else should be living they life - yet at the same time there is a lot of support for people on the Internet who choose to live the real them regard less of what other may think - for me I just don't have the time to put up with people who disagree with my life choices and who try to tell me how I should be living my life - its my life so its my rules on how I live it - yes some people that I had called friends are no longer talking to me - that is OK with me as I know some will never understand so I will just move on in my life and live it the best I can

I don't tend to look at news papers or other news places like TV in that I don't really care what some pop star is up to or what some sports team/person is doing - same with Facebook and the rest of the Internet - it has its users but much of it is a waste of time - this is my view in that I would rather go out and see the world in person and met other people then look at a tv/Facebook all day like many seem to do

Some have asked me why I made the changes (and why I couldn't just stay the same as before) I have and what the difference is- for me it's a bit like saying what the color blue is to some one who was born blind in that it's a different reference point I guess it's one of those things where people who know can't explain it and people who don't know will never understand it

I have spent many years looking for a place to call home - for now the road is my home (where ever it may take me)

Back on the road

Back on the road

I'm packing up my gear to get back on the road tomorrow (with a fun new packing list to work from) - first up heading up to field days near Hamilton then on to Auckland before heading all the way North to Cape reinga to start a end to end bike ride - yep I'm going Cape reinga to bluff again by bike  - why one asks - well for a few reasons - yes I have done a end to end ride back in 2014 - that was a summer ride and I would like to see nz in winter time on a end to end ride as well, partly to give me something to do over winter time yet keep me fit as I do it  also my life has had some big changes in it from the last ride I did so it's a chance to see nz with fresh eyes and last but not least a simple why not go for a long bike ride

Will I be supporting/fundraising for a cause on  this end to end bike ride  - well at this point in time no thought at some point in time that may change (partly depending if a group or cause did  ask me to help them and it was a group or cause I agree with/get on with)

As for what roads will I be taking I'm looking at using some of  the same roads as my last ride in places and in other places picking different roads - will see what cycle trails I can fit in on the way as I head down the country on my bike

A updated on what's going on in my life

Hi all

This is a very hard post for me to type up - I had a choice of closing down my Facebook pages and blog and starting new or keep the same Facebook pages and blog and let people know what's going on in my life  and hope for the best

As some of you know I have been making some changes  in my life - this is a note to say a little more about some of the changes in my life.

 I am in the process of  changing my gender ( and my name ) that is to say I’m transgender and will be starting to identify and live full time as female (and would prefer the use of female pronouns)  

My new name is Damiana Day

Many of you will have questions about what I’m doing - (its also all right  if you don't want to ask me any questions : )
Im happy to answer any questions you may have about the changes that im making in my life - this is best done by pm (on Facebook ) or email or by face to face  - thought I will not put up with any hate mail - this is my life so my rules on how I live it

I have a new Facebook page (under Damiana Day ) my old Facebook page damian day will be going inactive after I have moved things over (what I have just about done) I will still have the same email address and cell phone number also my photo website will be staying the same

 I'm letting people know so they don't think I disappeared off the face of the earth - and so people can start to know the new me - some will still be my friends others will no longer want to be but that's up to them I understand that it may be hard for some to understand why I'm doing what I'm doing  -

This is some thing I have spent much time thinking about though I have had to hide it from many  ie this is not a short term thing ( over many months and years of doing homework and leaning things )

this is the real me no longer trying to hide behind a mask -  some time ago I had two choices -to kill myself by jumping off a bridge on the night of my birthday or to make big changes in my life to fully live life by being who I am - this is one of the changes that I have done - I have only been living as damiana full time for around a month now so it is still early days - what I will say is my depression and meltdowns are now 98% gone and I am a lot more happy in life now

Here is a link to an american website with a FAQ page on transgender info what you may wish to have a read of

http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/transgender.aspx