well i wonderrrrr....how many of the punters out there are into cycling? do you currently own and ride a bike and how far do you travel on it? in my opinion, cycling equals freedom. it's great for your health, both physical and mental. it helps keep the scourge of obesity at bay. cycling is thrilling and fantastic for the environment. it's one thing, but not the only thing, i'm really passionate about. the Tour de France is my favourite time of year. i am not put off by all the drugs controversies. i love the action, the utterly beautiful scenery, the bikes, the riders, the huge crowds, the excitement. when you see dead animals on the road do you think cyclists are responsible for their deaths? when you see tyre marks on the road are cyclists responsible for that? how many cyclists slam into trees and die? how many bicycles pollute the environment?
my first taste of cycling occurred when i was living in Ringwood, an outer suburb of Melbourne. my first bike was a crappy old racing bike. i began to experiment with long distance cycling. i would ride from Ringwood into town, a distance of around 30km. if i saw another rider in front of me i'd try to pass him or her. later on, i attempted to ride Melbourne to Geelong along the old Princes highway. i'd usually get the train back. later i attempted to cycle Melb to Albury, straight up the Hume highway. my bike was loaded up with all sorts of crap, stuff i would never consider taking on a bike tour now. since those early bicycle touring days i learned a lot. i've cycled in outback Qld from Longreach round to Charleville. back in Nov 98 i cycled up the Pacific from Newcastle to Surfers, i've cycled down the NSW south coast to Melb. one time i took a train to Bordertown and cycled back to Melb via the coast. i rode across NSW from Lithgow to Broken Hill. i've done one little tour of Tassie. i love hill climbing. when i'm climbing/descending i have two faces. my climbing face shows suffering and when i'm descending pure terror is the mask i wear! i currently ride a Specialised Tricross. it's an on/offroad roadbike. it's not as quick as some of the other roadbikes going around but it's no problem for me to keep up with the peleton. i hope some of you are cyclists and if you have kids get them into cycling, it's pure bliss!
