Bike training.

The dirt lane between the Polo fields.

In 2010 I was in England and I did a number of walks and a bike ride. On the day I climbed Skiddaw peak I noticed my right ankle was a bit sore. On the decent it got worse as if the nerve was being hammered. A few weeks later, I was riding a bike, in borrowed bike shoes and I crashed. The foot did not release from the pedal and I twisted the same ankle.
I put up with this until last year when I had surgery.

The Cannondale Synapse is an excellent training bike. ( Note its covered in dust!)

So, its been 2 and a half years since I really put training klms on a bike. I have done some small rides but really lacked inspiration to "hook in", and have done very little in the way of major walks. So my fitness has really suffered and I put on a bit of weight.

This week I decided to start some light training to get the ankle to flex and to improve my overall health and fitness.

I started in the Hawkesbury lowlands which is like riding through English country side. I have posted about it before. It was a steady pleasant 25kms and I hope to ride it every 2nd day. So far so good.

The ankle? well, it seems not to mind the rotation of the pedals however its still a bit tender, and perhaps it will never be right.

The route.

I have chosen the Cannondale Synapse to train on, as its light and nimble. I will move to the mountain bike once I have built up some stamina. It had been a while since I rode it, and its heavy by comparison. The Synapse was covered in dust, however a pump of the tyres and it was ready to go.

On the ride I saw- royal spoonbill, firetail finch, superb fairy wren, red-rumped parrot, australian magpie, pee wee, australian pelican, yellow-rumped thornbill, cattle egret, pacific black duck, house sparrow, and my favourite bird. the black winged stilt.

All the birds are starting to display breeding behaviour and nest building. Spring is not far away!