36. Cycle: St Leonards to Hornsby

It was time to break the new bike in. I had no idea what the cycle out to Hornsby was going to be like and since I was planning to do it every day I thought it best to check out the route.

I got up at 6am ahead of any Pacific Highway traffic and jumped on the bike. It was a bit of a trauma to begin with as I’d never used SPD pedals before and I had visions of ending up over the handle bars with the bike still attached to my feet. For about the first mile every set of traffic lights was a nightmare as I couldn’t get my shoes out of the pedals quick enough to stop me falling over when the lights went red. It’s very embarrassing lying at the side of the road with a bike attached to you, flapping about like a goldfish that’s just jumped out of the bowl. Green was just as bad as I found it impossible to get the shoes to reattach whenever I set of again.

Finally, I mastered the pedals, even though I ended up with bleeding shins and a battered ego, and focused on the trip ahead.

When I was buying my bike I mentioned that I was going to be commuting to Hornsby and the bloke told me there was some great riding up that way. “And what’s the cycle up to Hornsby like?” I asked.

“Aw mate, that part’s a bit shit cause it’s uphill all the way.” He said laughing, “Don’t worry though, it’s downhill all the way home!”

How right he was. 18km of uphill slog that took me 55 minutes, a full bottle of water and one stop for a false alarm throw-up. As I freewheeled into the hospital car park several thoughts were going through my mind (as was the saddle). Was I going to be able to do this every day? Was this the best way to get fit? Was traffic going to be worse? Had I blown all this money on a bit of kit that I was never going to use again?

None of those questions stayed with me that long though, because as soon as I got back on Pacific Highway, I realised that it had all been worth while. Downhill all the way home like the man said. The speedometer on the cross bar was reading 55.5km/h at one point and I wished I’d always had a road bike. It was exhilarating. 35 minutes later I was back at the flat with a massive grin on my face and about 20 flies in my teeth.