Tiger's_Lily
*Very Proud Aussie!!*
Below is part of this extrodinary story of a 91 yr old gentleman, Mr. Alan Waddell in Sydney, Australian. I've copied and pasted the FAQ's, this man makes us all look like a load of lounge lizards! His website is just wonderful, with plenty of photos of his walk-a-bouts.
www.walksydneystreets.net
FAQ's
When did you start walking?
My wife, Marjorie, and I did short bush walks together for some years before her health failed. I started walking the suburbs in January 2003
What gave you the idea to walk suburbs?
When my wife of 60 years died in November 2002, I knew that I had to somehow keep going. I started walking some streets in my home suburb, but soon found this a little boring and switched to neighbouring suburbs. It just grew from there.
How often do you walk and for how long?
I walk every day unless it is too hot or too wet, or my leg is misbehaving. Perhaps I miss about 30 days a year. My average walking time would be 85 minutes, including a one-minute stop every ten minutes to let my leg aneurysm catch up. For May 2005, my pedometer showed an average walk of 4.1km per day.
Do you feel safe walking around Sydney streets?
Ive never felt threatened. This doesnt mean that a threat or assault wont happen some day, but 2000km of incident-free walking suggests that Sydney compares well as a safe city.
Do you have a back-up crew?
One of my sons drives me to the suburb Im doing and if there is a steep hill, he drives me to the top and I walk back down. Another son created and maintains the web site.
How do you keep track of what youve done?
My son types the name of every street, lane, bush track, etc on the computer and plots a course. As each street is finished, it is deleted from the list of what is still to be done.
Do you get sick of walking?
No, but even if I did, my doctor tells me I must keep walking if I want to stay healthy. And so many people have emailed me to say they have been inspired to get out and walk too. This has been very encouraging for me. One thing about walking is that you see so many unusual things that you miss even if you drive past them numerous times.
What do you do when youre not walking?
I still have some clients from my days as a full-time accountant, but at 90 I am not seeking any more! I do cryptic crosswords (my favourite clue was: how the widowed cannibal felt about his nagging wife, the Roman soldier*) and play Mah Jongg.
What have been your favourite places?
I like water views, so ocean- and river-side suburbs are high on my list. But I also like keeping an eye open for the unusual, as you would see from the Secrets and Surprises pages. My favourite suburbs for walking have included Watsons Bay (especially the lighthouse track), Dover Heights, Dangar Island, Waverton, Tamarama, and McMahons Point.
*A Roman soldier was a gladiator (glad he ate her).
www.walksydneystreets.net
FAQ's
When did you start walking?
My wife, Marjorie, and I did short bush walks together for some years before her health failed. I started walking the suburbs in January 2003
What gave you the idea to walk suburbs?
When my wife of 60 years died in November 2002, I knew that I had to somehow keep going. I started walking some streets in my home suburb, but soon found this a little boring and switched to neighbouring suburbs. It just grew from there.
How often do you walk and for how long?
I walk every day unless it is too hot or too wet, or my leg is misbehaving. Perhaps I miss about 30 days a year. My average walking time would be 85 minutes, including a one-minute stop every ten minutes to let my leg aneurysm catch up. For May 2005, my pedometer showed an average walk of 4.1km per day.
Do you feel safe walking around Sydney streets?
Ive never felt threatened. This doesnt mean that a threat or assault wont happen some day, but 2000km of incident-free walking suggests that Sydney compares well as a safe city.
Do you have a back-up crew?
One of my sons drives me to the suburb Im doing and if there is a steep hill, he drives me to the top and I walk back down. Another son created and maintains the web site.
How do you keep track of what youve done?
My son types the name of every street, lane, bush track, etc on the computer and plots a course. As each street is finished, it is deleted from the list of what is still to be done.
Do you get sick of walking?
No, but even if I did, my doctor tells me I must keep walking if I want to stay healthy. And so many people have emailed me to say they have been inspired to get out and walk too. This has been very encouraging for me. One thing about walking is that you see so many unusual things that you miss even if you drive past them numerous times.
What do you do when youre not walking?
I still have some clients from my days as a full-time accountant, but at 90 I am not seeking any more! I do cryptic crosswords (my favourite clue was: how the widowed cannibal felt about his nagging wife, the Roman soldier*) and play Mah Jongg.
What have been your favourite places?
I like water views, so ocean- and river-side suburbs are high on my list. But I also like keeping an eye open for the unusual, as you would see from the Secrets and Surprises pages. My favourite suburbs for walking have included Watsons Bay (especially the lighthouse track), Dover Heights, Dangar Island, Waverton, Tamarama, and McMahons Point.
*A Roman soldier was a gladiator (glad he ate her).
