just like paradise

The blog has been neglected for a while, so I figured I'd pop back in to make sure it still exists.

This morning was one of those perfect Sydney mornings that serve to remind me why I live here. I didn't move to Sydney for the people or the sport or the work, I moved here because of the lifestyle on offer. I remember something which may or may not have actually happened but is what I tell people is the reason I decided to move here. About 13years ago, while on a work trip, I was sitting on the deck of Skiffies, a small boating club at The Spit that looks out on middle harbour. It was winter, I was wearing shorts, drinking beer that cost under a pound-a-pint while watching yachts sail past. Decision made. It was relatively early in my scuba days and here was a city where I could dive every weekend. As it turned out I would dive every weekend and often after work.

Anyway, before we get too misty-water-coloured...I now go over Spit Bridge each day on the way to and from work. And so it was this morning. Rewind Two hours and i was up at 5:15 and walking the dogs at 5:30. Blue skies, a few fluffy clouds being lit pink-orange-golden by the sun coming up over the ocean was my intro to Friday. Back home I shared some too-brief-moments with the ladies before hitting the road for work at about 7:20. It takes about 4mins for me to get my first view of the harbour and the ocean, from the top of the hill that Seaforth, the new home suburb, sits on. Then it is down the near-vertical Gallipoli steps before I get to Spit Bridge. middle harbour this morning was pretty damn flat; hardly a ripple and the reflections of the yachts and tinnies were picture perfect. On the south side I loop under the bridge, which is a whole lot better than crossing over the busy road, and takes me to sea level, depending on the tide.

As I head towards Skiffies I typically see three of four pelicans perched on poles at the end of the jetties. Occasionally one will be lazily swimming past. Past Skiffies, which is closed for renovations at the moment, I head away from the main road and up Parriwi. It is a bastard of a hill. However, it does have a few things going for it. First there is the view you get to the left (east.) Middle harbour, the heads and the ocean. Yachts go past, kayaks, the odd small fishing vessel that still goes out from this part of Sydney. Lovely. Then there are the houses. This part of Mosman sits atop a big pile of money, and although there is some old housing stock left there is plenty of evidence oh architects having had a bit of fun. The eastern side of the road drops away very sharply, and it is incredible to see what it is possible to build up in the air. In training terms you get the opportunity, every so often, to race bikes up the hill. The guys on their road bikes usually fly past, but some of the more casual cyclists on their mountain bikes can be beaten. And finally, today, being in an unusually good mood, i had Dave Lee Roth's "This Must Be Just Like Living in Paradise" stuck in my head. In short, it was a good start to the day and the run.

At the top of Parriwi I joined Military Road. The run keeps going up, albeit at a far gentler gradient, right the way to Mosman Junction. It's a bit of a slog, and you're running with the buses and nose-to-tail cars, so not as much fun. But every so often you get another glimpse of the ocean if you look down the side streets. At mosman Junction I caught up with a road-biker and we had a chat. He's broken a gear cable and was therefore now on a fixie - which was why I'd caught him. but up on the ridgeline he had the advantage and once the lights changed he was off, legs spinning a bit more than he'd like.

I was idly musing upon the "Just Like paradise" thing when, for no apparent reason, the Guns N Roses cover of "Mama Kin" displaced Diamond Dave. Maybe because the road and the cars were a little less easy on the eye than the harbour and the yachts. That said, I did have a sulphur crested cockatoo to follow for a while as he flew along parallel with the road.

I was fairly sure I was out-pacing the traffic but started to concentrate a little too much on my right knee that had been feeling a bit stiff. My form was pretty ordinary, especially on the downhills where I felt I was putting the brakes on a bit too much. Ah well, I was approaching 64k for the working week, and I'm old, so it's to be expected. I pulled off of military Road at Neutral bay junction, running down Wycombe Road (a road name the locals have an inability to pronounce correctly.) This takes me within about 400m of my first proper residence in Sydney, once I'd finished dossing. I moved out when the tax breaks stopped.

As I approached the bridge, after dropping down to sea level at Anderson Park, I checked my time and it was, as expected, slow. I wasn't too concerned as I knew I was tired. I decided to take it easy over the bridge and try to enjoy the fact that I was running over Sydney Harbour Bridge, something I do every day and therefore take for granted. That lasted until almost half way when I spotted another runner in the distance and decided I should overtake him. Rather than pip him at the post I overtook with a few hundred yards before the end of the bridge (from steps-to-steps is 1.5km) and had decided that if he wanted to have a race then I'd go for it. He didn't but I kept the pace up and got over in a respectable 6.11 - in fact very respectable considering I'd dawdled (relatively) the first third.

Off the bridge it takes only a few minutes to get to the office...and that is how the day started.

Mustn't grumble.