Cycle of Obsession

To the cinema in Sawtell last night to see The Flying Scotsman, about the cyclist, Graeme Obree. Cycling is really taking off in Coffs Harbour at present, I’m glad to say, with twice-weekly community rides attracting up to 80 people, as well as the group training runs for the racing fraternity.

So one of the cycling shops sponsored the showing and handed out free tickets to all those who habitually spend their pocket money on lycra and exotic bits of metal. It was very strange watching the goings-on in a gloomy Glasgow and stepping out afterwards into an evening of Mediterranean warmth to have coffee in a street café surrounded by palms and fig trees.

Stranger still was the story told to me about buying a tandem on eBay and travelling to Vilnius to collect it. And yes, that was Vilnius in Lithuania and not some other Vilnius in Queensland or Tasmania. Cyclists are the same the world over.