I have been meaning to cycle down to the eastern suburbs for some time. And then I realised it is only three weeks before I go to Queensland, so I need to get in some serious days of cycling. So I decided to kill these two birds with the one stone. I headed out to Coogee and then down south along the coast. The trip to Coogee was along one of the main trunk cycling routes in Sydney. Up to Kingsford it was very well sign posted. After that, I did not see a sign post again and took a few wrong turns. Though I remained only a block or two away from where I was meant to be. Along the way I encountered the steepest hills I have ever encountered. But unlike a normal bike, I can potter along at about 4 kmh and made it up all the hills. I kept up a healthy pace, nominally riding at 25 kmh on the flat and 15 kmh on the not so steep inclines.
At Coogee, I headed south to Maroubra. I came down a very steep hill, part of the hill in this photo along the main road Malabar road. Here I went the fastest I have ever had the trike: 53 kmh. This was in traffic, and the reason I did not go faster was that this is the speed the cars were doing. The road had a 60 kmh speed limit. I did not have any of the speed wobble problems I have had before, so maybe I have conquered that issue. I had to brake as I came down the hill. I had no problem with brake fade from the drum brakes, but the were too hot to touch by the bottom of the hill.
At Maroubra I headed into the shops. A woman, as is typical of older people, turned around, was frightened, and said, “That is below the drivers eye sight level!“. *sighs* I had grilled fish and chips with a pineapple fritter and a chocolate milk shake. I also topped up my water, which I had used up. I will have to carry some extra bottles on the ride.
After the lunch break, I continued south. I took the most coastal route I could, avoiding where possible Anzac Parade and ignoring how steep the hills were. In little bay, I visited the site of what was once Prince Henry Hospital. It has some very impressive buildings and I will have to go back there. The museum has limited opening hours and I was there too early. Continuing around Little Bay, I came to La Perouse. Here the traffic was horrendous and the crowds massive. There were many cars, limited access and no parking spaces to be had. So I just did a circuit around the point and headed out. David wanted me to check out some of the local cafe’s for one of his walks, but I have had bad experiences there in the past and they were all packed.
I headed through the cemetery on a bike track. this was good as it kept me off the main roads. One of the problems with this approach is that I ride much faster on roads. They have a better surface and are much straighter. Bicycle tracks are a bit of an obstacle course. Also there are people, so you have to ride slower just to maintain a safe speed. So bike tracks are normally not much good for training. Coming out onto Botany Road, I was passed by 4 learner motorbike riders and scooter riders and a single (unrelated) motorised bicycle. I was amused to over take the stationary motorised bicycle at the top of the hill. It seemed like he had a mechanical problem. Where Botany Road joins Foreshore Road I turned left, thinking I could then swap over and go through the lights, from left to right rather than try and turn right from Botany road itself with it’s 4 lanes of traffic. But I found that there was a median strip and had to go down to a roundabout. Here I saw a sign to a public boat ramp. I decided to be curious and go to the boat ramp. They are extending the Container Terminal. There were big cranes of the current container terminal and tall blocks of concrete to form the edge of the reclaimed land.
After leaving Banksmeadow, I headed back along Botany Road for a short way and then into Sir Joseph Banks Park. The stretch of botany road was the worst of the ride. It is narrow, and of course, just as I got the the single lane section a semi-trailer came past. I am always impressed by Sir Joseph Banks Park. The people who run it clearly have a good sense of humour. The bike track though is a bit narrow and in places in need of repair. Coming out the other side I rejoined Botany Road. By this time there was a bus lane I could use and then I returned home via Coward Street and the Alexandria Canal bike track.
Before I got home I went up to Illawarra road to see if the Adora Chocolate shop was open, but it is closed on Sundays. So I stopped at my favourite, the Marrickville Road Cafe and had baked cheesecake and a iced coffee for afternoon tea. All in all I did about 50km and it was an excellent work out. I was weary, but not exhausted. For the next few weekends I intend to do longer rides.
Angry man: then why did you say he knew that? Appologetic man: we said sorry. Man2: we have the case file.
Man: there are still too many.
Man: they can’t, he volunteered.
Various: you are going to explain the mental illness bit.
Man: there was never an unterior motive.
Angry woman: …fornication, excessive evcercise won’t help either. *frown*
Shouting man: how were we supposed to know meant that.
Woman: the police did not know they thought like that
Boy: they said, we think like this, that’s an order.
Many people speak of who they think killed a woman