First ride on my bike since 2000

Well, the bike has been sitting in the underground garage for 12 months in this place. Looking sad with it's flat tyres. I decided last December that I should start riding into George street but needed to get the bike going. Also, I have decided not to get a new lease car, so at the end of March I will have no car. I have no intention to get another one in the immediate future, but I have some longer term plans. So from April, I will ride to Paddington. It is a short ride with no hills of significance. If it is raining I will catch the 355 bus.

But I had a problem. The bike was locked. An hour of searching found lots of old keys to who knows what, but no bike lock key. So I had to take the bike up to the bike shop (Mick Mazza Cycles) with the back wheel locked. I got one comment form a Greek man on the way. In the shop, the assistant thought I was a bike thief and wanted nothing to do with it. But the owner cut the lock off, sold me a new one , replaced the rubber liner for the front wheel and cleaned and regreased the bearings. I can't believe am so slack I did not do this myself. In the future I will do it myself again.

Yesterday I walked around looking at the other local bike shops. The one in Marrickville Road is good but it had a very limited selection of add-ons and did not have what I wanted. I found that a shop on Kings Road (king street cyclery) was excellent and had the things I wanted (clip on pedals/shoes and a handle bar bag. I forgot to ask about racing handle bars. But I did not buy any of this. I'll have to get the bag first.

Today I purchased a pair of black dunlop runners so I have shoes that fit in my existing toe clips. They will do for now.

I did not go for a ride yesterday as I was not completely set up. Today I did. I rode around the cooks river and past the airport. All in all about 6km. I feel really good for the exercise. Though my left arm is hurting while I ride. I will have to see the doctor about that. I think I might had RSI. But I do not know.



I took a few photos and one movie with my mobile phone. When I get the bag, I'll have to connect the phone to it so I can take movies while I am riding.