On My Bike

Some of the best exercise I get these days is riding my bike around Armidale. It's a hilly town and that provides extra reward for my efforts. Cycling on a flat route is rather boring and less challenging, though perhaps somewhat faster. My last two rides have been fairly typical and I recorded distance, elapsed time and therefore speed.

Good Friday's was a shorter route and I managed 13.8km (8.625 miles) in 36 minutes at an average speed of 23.1 kph (14.4 miles per hour). I wouldn't make the Olympic team on those times, but I did encounter the odd red traffic light or main road during the ride, slowing me down a little.

Today, Sunday, saw me ride a little further - about 20km (12.5 miles) and that took about 54 minutes (or 22 kph; 13.9 mph). The weather, like Friday's, was beautifully warm and sunny - very pleasant indeed. And the slightly slower time reflects not so much the extra distance as a large number of sometimes very steep hills. The great thing about climbing a hill is going down the other side when I sometimes reach speeds in excess of 50 kph - the in-town speed limit. I wonder if the local fuzz have ever booked a cyclist for speeding and what the penalty would be!

I might be a little short of 67 years old and a cardiac patient, so it's a little surprising that I can often keep pace with lycra-clad cyclists who abound in this town. And, when it comes to cycling to work with a 15kg back-pack containing my portable office, I feel embarrassed for all the students I overtake during the 6 km (3.75 mile) trip. It's rarely the other way around and I keep wondering why that's the case. This picture was taken almost two years ago exactly, but the scene this morning was no different - even down to the falling leaves1

AS