Swing low, sweet chariot

This is a contribution to the Weekend in Black and White.

Cycling against the tide

Here is a view of each section of College Street in the inner city. The top shows the College Street cycleway from Whitlam Square to Park Street. The lower shows the same cycle way from Park to Macquarie Street. This is the cycleway that the City of Sydney decided to rename the 'Cadel Evans Cycleway' at the end of July.

Cycleways cop a bashing in the popular media at the moment. These shots will simply reinforce the argument that they are under-utilised white-elephants. However, I am in favour of them. But, I no longer drive, and am no longer welded to the assumptions and prejudices of the motoring public. I have to go everywhere by public transport or shanks' pony. So it stands to reason that I am in favour of cycleways. I am also in favour of the return of trams to the inner city. But trams were crucified by the motoring organisations of the 1950s.

Nothing has changed 60 years later.

Yell for Cadel

In Melbourne today, there was a ticker-tape parade to honour Cadel Evans, the holder of the Yellow Jersey as the 2011 Tour de France wound its way up and down the Champs Elysees at the end of July.

Yell for Cadel!

A tough terrain for cyclists

Being essentially hills and gullies, Sydney is a tough terrain for cyclists. The harbour is a drowned valley, and the cityscape covers promontories that run down like fingers to the water. So getting around on a bicycle is no easy going. And the roads are just a maze of goat-tracks, really - macadamised goat-tracks, but still goat-tracks. This young woman nipped across Moore Park Road just outside the Football Stadium which is next door to the Sydney Cricket Ground. As she pushed her way up to Oxford Street, I wondered how far she would get. At about the half-way point, she got off and pushed.

Tour de Bondi

Up the park end of Bondi, across from the bus depot on the north-south axis, and the Hotel Nelson on the east-west axis, stands the shop of many guises. This time last year, it housed antiques. Maybe less antique, than simply old. And battered. But, now its hour has come round again; its Warholian slice of limelight, in this month of 21 stages of the most onerous of world sports.

I admired, and then plodded on, across the highway overpass, pulling my cadee filled with cat food.

Coming and going - self inflicted pressure

The thunder-storm was building up to the west of her, the temperature about 23C, and my guess is the air was moist and very heavy, maybe 90% humidity. It was early afternoon and Centennial Park was crowded with teenagers from nearby Sydney Girls' High who take cycling for sports afternoon.

There were no pelatons pelotons on Grand Drive at that time. I will have to go in the early morning.

Sydney to The Gong - the support team

With something slightly more head-banging than Brahms pulsing from the dash, the warmth from a 26C Spring Sunday beating down on our protected skin, we Thelma'n'Louised it to The Gong in style, thank you very much!

Sydney to The Gong - cycle for MS

Capped at 10,000 participants riding either the 90km from St Peters or the 58km from Engadine, the 28th Sydney to the Gong MS fundraiser occurred yesterday under idyllic spring skies. After a controlled training program over the previous 6 weeks, my son-in-law, Darren, participated for the first time and surprised himself: just over two hours and with still energy in the legs. He is already factoring in the changes for next year.


His "support team" arrived too late to cheer him into Stuart Park at Wollongong's North Beach, having been held up by a 60kph restriction and heavy traffic most of the way. Next year we will leave Sydney at 7am, have breakfast at the finish line and ensure that we are in advance of the melee.

The middle photograph shows our return trip, over the Hargreaves Bridge with the escarpment of the Royal National Park stretching northwards toward Sydney. The bottom photo goes to prove that many of the participants were family groupings out for a fun activity and to raise money for a worthy cause.

Tomorrow: photos of the support team.