It's winter and horrible here!

Allen, Joe, Jennifer and I went out to the Orbit bar on Saturday night. It's a slowly revolving restaurant and bar just next door to where I live. I didn't even know that it existed till Allen mentioned it. It was very trendy and quite smart too, and anyone who visits me now will almost certainly be taken up there.

The bar is on the top floor, the 47th and has some fantastic views of the city. Unfortunately I only had my camera phone for pictures and as it was dark the photos come out very poorly. Well you can just about make out the harbour bridge in the middle of the photo. It really was a spectacular view of Sydney's landmarks. I guess if it wasn't for the two buildings blocking my view of the harbour bridge I would have this view from my apartment as well.

As its winter here the weather isn't so pleasant. It's only been clear skies and sunny all weekend with temperatures around 20 degrees. It's so horrible with clear blue blissful skies and very pleasant temperatures. Well very pleasant for someone from the UK anyhow.

I went cycling out to Bondi beach today and met up with Allen for a swim there. Like my cycling a month ago, I hadn't been swimming since I was a teenager. I forgot to bring my main camera again so you're stuck with poor quality mobile phone pictures, at least there was plenty of light.

The water was quite cold initially but after swimming in it, it felt quite warm. Well relatively warm anyhow. This is a view looking north up the beach. As you can see it wasn't very busy, well it is mid winter here. :-)

This picture shows some surfers in the sea. They're the black dots all in their wet suits, after only being in the sea for about half and hour or so I can well understand why they wear wet suits. It was quite refreshing to go for a swim, but I could have chosen a better beach to start out on instead of Bondi.

Bondi is known for its great breaks and hence great surfing, and even though today was a calm day it still felt more than a little rough in the sea. I swallowed more than my fair share of seawater at times when I was submerged by the breaking waves.

The final picture is of the south side of the beach. It really is a very beautiful beach but I suspect coming here later on in the year will mean that it will be much busier.

My cycle back was quite tiring at times, especially after a short swim too. I didn't think I was going to make it up the steep hill from the beach but I did make it in the end, and without stopping too which put a big smile on my face. Well something had to counteract my aching legs! Allen took the bus back home and I even managed to beat him home. Mind you he did say that the bus stopped at every stop that it could.

Now to figure out how to get sand out of every item of clothing and orifice on my person! Lucky I didn't bring any cucumber sandwiches.

Shark Bay!

More cycling this Sunday. Saturday's weather wasn't too great so I only popped out for a short run around town. I did get an extra long session down at the gym to make up for it. Went out for dinner at Deirdre's and Allen's place on Saturday night. Allen turns out to be quite a cook and Deirdre can make me desert any time! Don't tell Quentin that I had some clotted cream on my treacle tart though.

I set of at midday for my cycle run this Sunday, so I would get a full five hours of cycling and not have to worry too much about getting back before it gets too dark.

This first shot is of the Marathon steps which I went up last week and fortunately only came down today. You can guess which direction is more fun!

I managed to get to the seaplane base quite quickly today as I didn't make too many detours on my way there. Here's a photo of the place which was considerably less than impressive really. Even worse was that there weren't any planes around when I was there so I didn't get to see any taking off or landing. Maybe next time.

From Rose bay where the seaplane base was I went further east/north along the Sydney harbour front. My next stop was at Shark bay which again sounds quite exciting but turned out not to have any sharks and was only a small beach with a couple of snack shops. I stopped for some lunch to see if any of the small screaming kids would entertain me by being eaten by sharks but unfortunately not.

There is a main road along from the bay which is titled "Heartbreak Hill" in my cycling book. I guessed that this wasn't a good sign for my already tired legs from yesterday.

The cycling book wasn't kidding when it labelled the road Heartbreak Hill. It's a long winding road up quite a steep hill. I thought I was doing quite well making my way up the hill and thought I was near the top. I turned a bend thinking I must be near the top for it to flatten out, only to realise that the road then got even steeper and higher! At this point my legs gave in and I had to start to walk the rest of the way.

As it turns out I was probably around two thirds of the way up the hill. The view from the top was fantastic though and well worth all my efforts.

Near the top of the hill is what appears to be this very exclusive school. They must have some fantastic views out of their windows over the harbour!

I can only think that some of the richest kids get to go to this school. Either that or only the fittest as some of the must have to cycle up the hill to get to school.

Then again there were some quite exclusive houses around some of the streets that I cycled down up there. Some of them had magnificent designs and must have cost a fortune for their location and views. Other than their size or design the flash cars on the roads helped contribute to the exclusive neighbourhood. I saw a bright yellow Lamborghini Murcielago and also a very large new Bentley Continental GT. These were the cars on the road too! God knows what would have been in their garages!

I eventually got as far as this suspension bridge over Parsley Bay. It really does come out of nowhere as the bay is quite small and the bridge and bay is totally surrounded by large houses.

The bridge is quite small and rocks quite a lot if you jump up and down on it in the middle. Who me? :-)

Just past the bridge is Watsons Bay which I didn't get to today. I don't mind too much as I had already been there on my first week here with Roger and Andrew by ferry.

When I finally got back it was near five pm again and just starting to get dark. I managed almost five hours of cycling of which I was probably actually cycling for three of them. Needless to say my legs feel a little tired now and my coccyx is a little sore.

I decided to treat myself to a Japanese take out meal and some red wine to put on all the calories that I worked off today. Teriyaki fish with rice, miso soup and red wine, nothing better in my books for an evening meal after such a fun day out cycling.

Before I go, something quite funny happened to me when I was at some traffic lights today. As I was approaching the lights I saw a dark blue BMW coming from the road on the left. He was going quite fast and didn't even think to stop or slow down when turning left out of the junction, causing me to slow down for him even though I had right of way on the main road. Anyhow, at the lights I caught up with him and when I looked over at him he was always looking right to avoid looking at me. When the lights turned green I started to pull away and heard him stall his car. I couldn't have laughed any more. Needless to say after restarting his car he really put his foot down and revved his engine loudly past me. Tee hee.

Nothing to see, just more cycling around Sydders.

It was raining quite a lot on Saturday so I figured I wouldn't get much of a chance to go cycling in the afternoon. An extra work out in the gym would just have to do for my exercise fix today. I certainly managed it by spending two and a half hours there. Working out that is, rather than hanging around like a bad smell.

I did get a chance to get out and about on my bike on Sunday afternoon though. There were a couple of scary clouds in the sky but nothing that looked like it was going to rain for too long. I still managed to get my gym work out in the morning just in case I couldn't get out in the afternoon as well.

The photo above is from Rushcutters Bay, it's the same place where we went for our charity boat race earlier on in the year. You can obviously see the Sydney Tower in the centre of the shot which marks the centre point of the Sydney shopping area.

It's great to think that just a few hundred yards from the busy streets of the town centre is a yachting harbour. In fact there are many many yachting harbours around the Sydney harbour as you can imagine.

I managed to make it out to Double Bay today which is the next bay further east along from Rushcutters Bay. I really wanted to go further along the harbour to the Seaplane base, but it was getting late by the time I got to Double bay. I'd managed to get lost so many times today which didn't help. I did buy a book on some bike rides around Sydney but it's difficult to follow when you're cycling around and you have to continually refer to the book for directions. I'd much rather just head one direction and see where the road takes me. This does however mean getting lost quite often but it's also much more interesting. I guess I have time here to explore more and more as time passes.

The second photo is from Mrs Macquaries Point and looking over Farm Cove to the Sydney business centre. I watched the sun slowly set from here as it's only a few minutes ride from my apartment. The picture makes me realise how much of a lovely city Sydney really is.

Bondi beach, at last, well almost.

I went out cycling again on Sunday afternoon. This time I decided to head east towards Bondi Beach. After a quick cycle through the centre of the Sydney business district I was on the main road towards Bondi. I did notice that my legs did ache quite a bit from all the cycling yesterday, especially when going up hills.

I didn't quite make it to Bondi beach. I saw the beach from the top of a hill but really didn't want to have to cycle back up the hill today so decided to save it for another day. On my way back from the beach I did come across a lovely small monument to Australians that had died in WWII, the Korean wars and Vietnam. It was in a small park just off the main road and I stopped to take a rest. I guess the Aussies just can't stay out of a brawl wherever it's going on in the world.

On my way back there was quite a bit of traffic on the main roads. I had quite a lot of fun cycling through the stationary traffic. It was quite exciting passing cars and having to look out for cars pulling out from the left and right. At one point I was in the middle lane of three lanes of traffic because the right two lanes turned right. A big 4x4 passed me by on my left and clipped me on my shoulder with his drivers side wing mirror!

I couldn't believe it, he must have seen me and known he had clipped me but he didn't stop at all. I was quite shocked at being hit and more annoyed than anything else as no damage had been done. I suppose it could have been much worse and I was lucky to get away with just being clipped.

From Howling Bells to Love Generation.

We went to see the Howling Bells at the Annandale hotel on Thursday night. I've never heard of them either. Deirdre and Allen asked if I wanted to go after they had seen them on Rage, the late night TV music program. A friend of Deirdre's Sandra came along too, to make a happy foursome.

The band turned out to be quite good, the lead singer and her music was very similar to Belly, a band of the nineties which I remember.

There was a pinball machine at the pub so Allen couldn't resist another challenge. I just had to put him in his place again ( :-) ). He had a big lead of twenty odd million, with one ball each to go. I fortunately managed to get a good score with my last ball and had taken a five million lead, and Allen cracked and couldn't make up the difference. Tee Hee, boys and their competitiveness as Deirdre said.

I went out cycling again this Saturday. To be honest I couldn't wait to get out again, especially as the weather was fantastic. Even though it's winter here the temperature is quite pleasant and most days are clear skies with plenty of sunshine. After my usual two hour session at the gym I grabbed some lunch and went out on my bike. This time with my better camera too.

Here is a much better shot of the Harbour Bridge as I rode along it. I'm constantly amazed by its construction and size. It's only spoilt by the barb wire along the bridge to deter would be jumpers. Not of the pullover Christmas variety, though they should be banned and strung up on barb wire too.

After going along the bridge I just decided to just explore around north Sydney a bit and try to reach the various bays and beaches. I still had to take it easy initially on my bike as my first few yards were a bit wobbly again!

Here's my view after a few miles along the suburbs of north Sydney. I cycled passed some really amazing unique houses around the place. I could quite easily imagine myself living in some of them. They all looked very different with some great design touches. I guess they were also all very expensive as well. Probably much more than my Sydney pad too, and that is currently being sold for $800,000.

You can just make out the top of the Opera house in the centre of the shot too.

After a few more miles I ended up at Mosman bay. This is the view from the top looking east over the bay. There was a small winding path down to the bay but it wasn't very bike friendly so I didn't go down to explore.

The wooded area in the centre of the picture is just the other side of Taronga zoo. For a few pixels you can just about make out the cable car at the top of the wooded area. The cable car takes you up to the top of the zoo from where you can walk down to the harbour while seeing the animals.

Finally this is as far north as I managed to get today at Hunters Bay. I would have made it much further north had I not got lost so many times. I did plenty of loops around the suburbs after cycling down dead ends and ending up on main roads which I wanted to avoid.

The picture on the right is actually at the top of a very steep hill looking down to the bay. I only managed to cycle half way up the hill before my legs felt too tired. I think going to the gym for two hours and then cycling for three hours in the afternoon is my limit right now. I did feel the onset of cramp a couple of times on my thighs which I never normally get, so I must be pushing myself a little harder.

The sea in the distance in the picture is of the Pacific Ocean! There's a small white sand beach at the bottom of the hill too, but this was a little to crowded for my liking. I remember cycling all the way down the hill and thinking that I would regret going down as I would only have to cycle back up. But the lure of the ocean was just too much and I had to get down there to see the beach and sea.

I had some fun coming back too. I had about and hour before sunset so decided to start heading back. I tried to take the main highway back which was very busy on a Saturday late afternoon. I had lots of fun cycling past all the slower moving cars and there were obviously one or two of them which had problems with me cycling past as they wouldn't slow down for me at all. At one point one of the cars just overtook me to get a few yards ahead of me in the traffic queue and then closed the gap right in front of me so I couldn't get past! Just don't ask about the extra wide 4x4's than I couldn't get past either!

Once the weather started to get slightly darker I was getting concerned as I couldn't find my way back to the entrance of the Harbour Bridge. I saw more fantastic houses and also smelt some amazing curry smells too which wasn't helping my predicament! However I didn't have any lights on my bike and was obviously quite lost on the wrong side of the harbour. I asked someone for some directions and fortunately he gave me some excellent directions to the bridge and I got back just as it was getting dark. Phew!

In case you're wondering the "Love Generation" in the title refers to a song that's playing in my local gym. Its called Love Generation by Bob Sinclar. The video features a small boy who starts out cycling from his house and ends up going past various American landmarks before ending up near the Golden Gate bridge to eat his sandwiches. I think of myself as that boy right now, just exploring Sydney on my bike instead, and not so young either!

If you want to know what I might look like after three hours of wearing a bike helmet on my head then look at the next picture! :-)

It's true what they say about riding a bike!

I decided that I really wanted to get further out of Sydney centre seeing as I've explored most of the centre. Rather than relying on my own feet and public transport to get around I figured that it would be a good idea to get a bike to get around.

I chose the bike on Saturday and the very helpful guy at the bike shop said he would prep my bike and have it ready for me on Sunday. I felt like a young kid again after ordering the bike, as if it was Christmas, I was so excited.

I picked it up today after my normal gym session. I was quite anxious when picking it up to be honest. Remember that I've not ridden a bike since I learnt to drive and that was when I was 18! So it's been almost 18 years since I've ridden a bike.

The guys at the shop asked if I wanted to ride the bike home. Images of them all watching me ride off into the nearest lamp post or car convinced me that I should say no and walked off with the bike, helmet and bike lock. Once I got home I decided that today was as good a day as any to try for a ride so I put on the hair flattening helmet and took the bike onto the streets of Sydders.

Well more truthfully my first few goes were four laps around my apartment on the pavement. I was very very shaky at first and it took quite a lot of concentration to get going again. After a few hundred yards it was all starting to come back to me and I felt confident enough to tackle the roads.

By this time I was picking up courage and started to cycle down to The Rocks near my apartment. Then I went further a field around the harbour and then across the Harbour Bridge. Cycling along the Harbour Bridge was really good fun and I really enjoyed the freedom of cycling again.

It made such a change to be able to slow down to a reasonable speed to be able to take in the scenery around me. I found the effort involved in cycling very easy as I cycle and row quite a lot in the gym anyhow. The only thing that was really tricky was trying to take in the street signs while looking out for cars at the same time.

Still after a while it did get much easier. I must admit to not giving any hand signals when riding about though as cycling one handed is still a little shaky on my bike. I'm sure that this will improve with time though.

It also felt very strange to be on the road and not in the safety of a car too. Not having that protective metal around me did make me feel vulnerable to the other cars on the road. When overtaking parked cars you're always aware of cars moving to overtake you and also cycling though junctions I was always thinking that a car might just drive though me!

Still I made it around Sydney for ninety minutes without an accident today so can't wait for next weekend when I can cycle and explore some more around Sydders.