Self Righteous Cyclist

Transformation time; from self-righteous cyclist to self-righteous runner.  Aside from being a dedicated cyclist I've run an average of one marathon a year for the past 15 years.  Why running? The answer is simply time efficiency.  When Paula and I started our family back in 2001 the 10-12 hours a week of triathlon training had to give way to a part time Masters, a full time job and becoming a father.  Restrictions on my available time meant that if I was going to choose one element of triathlon to concentrate on it would be something I could actually take my young child out with me when I trained.  Hence a new love of running was uncovered.  Previously running had been the worst of the three triathlon legs for me, but before too long I became equally strong across them all.  I've had many conversations with cyclists over the years about what happens when you change from cycling to running.  The common thread of the conversation is losing top end speed  because of the diff

I was fortunate to spend the Easter long weekend with family near Wangaratta in the North-East of Victoria.  Wangaratta is the home town of Olympic 4000m team pursuit gold medalist Dean Woods  and is host to several annual road and track cycling events.  In addition to getting out for a ride on some relatively quiet country roads, one of the things I enjoy is reading the local newspaper.  When reading the most recent copy of the Wangaratta Chronicle, I read a  letter to the editor in which the author complained about cyclists riding whilst using a mobile phone and the need for cyclists to be registered.  Stopping for a coffee after a ride, I overheard a table of fellow cyclists discussing the same letter. Clearly the feedback was gaining traction in the local community.       After speaking with the editor of the paper, I found out that the story that prompted this letter was the most recent local cycling fatality back in November 2015 when a cyclist was hit from behind by a car