Cycling:

Canberra's great for cycling. Things are generally pretty close together, it never rains, and the cycle paths are amazing. And I've realised how much I like to cycle.

When I cycle the 14 km into work, I start out on a suburban path along a drainage ditch. You cycle under buildings and low bridges. In the morning, there aren't many people on the path, but in the afternoon, it's full of walkers carrying packages from the shopping centre home and a few other cyclists on their way home from work.

After about 3 k, I switch to a path near the shoulder of a busy road. This is my least favourite part of the journey. Not only are you close to the road, but there is a killer hill and twice you have to cross over the road riding on sidewalk. It's always a relief to make it to Yarralumla.

In Yarralumla, the path leaves Adelaide Avenue and cuts up through an older suburb towards the lake. You ride past houses, tennis courts, and soccer fields. There are a couple of road crossings, but the streets aren't very busy. The other traffic tends to be kids in the afternoons and people walking dogs in the mornings. This is my favorite part of the ride.

You join up with the lake path after passing through Yarralumla. About 6km more to go, but this is where the professional cyclists are riding, whizzing past me on my poor overloaded hybrid huffing and puffing as I ride up the hill. This is also where I had the worst accident I've ever had on a bicycle. I got whiplash, bruised up one knee pretty badly, and have bruises all over the rest of my body in really weird places (why would I have a bruise along my shin? It makes no sense). Oh yeah, and damaged the front brake lines on my cycle. Go me! It can be windy here in the afternoons, but there are some beautiful parrots and cockatoos that live along here and the lake views are amazing.

A quick ride on the Commonwealth Ave Bridge (fine in the mornings, full of pedestrians in the afternoons), then a steep descent leads to another 1km or so on the lake path. Then you have to ride on the road, but just for 1 more km or so. There isn't a lot of traffic, just a couple of not very fun right turns. And you're there, feeling like you've really accomplished something before 8:30 am.