On your bike
IN a week where we heard of the shocking news about the health of City of Greater Bendigo CEO John McLean, we also celebrated his favourite sport – cycling– and the event he worked so hard to bring to Bendigo – the Herald Sun Tour.
I have to admit first off that I have never really been a fan of road cycling.
Like motor car racing, I only watch it for the crashes which, in recent months, has unfortunatley grabbed most of the headlines in motorsport.
However, in the past week I have changed my tune.
Last weekend I bought a bike. It’s not quite the Ferrari-type you saw around the city streets on Monday and Tuesday, it’s more like a two-wheel equivalent of a station wagon.
I bought what used to be called a mountain bike with a seat on the back for my 18 month old daughter.
While paying $500 for something designed to make me lose weight doesn’t exactly qualify me for the international road circuit, it has given me an insight into the weird and wonderful obsession that is cycling.
On first glance cyclists seem like horse owners. They buy an expensive ride and every little accessory costs the earth (I know, I paid $45 for a light. I should have just taped a torch to the handle bars).
While in the shop I listened to the enthusiasts talking a language I had never heard of. The shop owner was asking me questions I had no idea how to answer.
Cycling pioneer Phil Anderson talked about a similar reaction when he first joined the sport at the official Bendigo Tour networking function on Monday night.
At that function I sat next to the Bendigo Weekly’s cycling columnist Eddie Barkla and again became enthralled in the enthusiasm and obsession that drives people to enjoy burning up their calves and thighs on dangerous roads at all hours of the day and night and in all conditions.
I am now hooked. I will try and ride every night and I will be sure to go back and ask a plethora of questions when I get my free six-week service, something I am also a bit curious about.
The Herald Sun Tour is a great benefit to Bendigo and something that should be supported well beyond when the three-year deal with the city runs out next year.
