Full of surprises

Surprise 1 

"We're riding over the Gladesville Bridge" was THE Coach's first direction on Sunday morning as we set out for a reward ride.  Luckily I remembered my New Year's resolution and so smiled sweetly - I'm sure that surprised him!

Reward ride, 10/01/10 -Views from the Gladesville Bridge

Surprise 2

After amazing myself by riding over the Gladesville Bridge, I discovered that we were riding to Silverwater, one of THE Coach's favourite training rides - "Plenty of little hills". Although it was a very hot morning, even at 7am, I was surprised to enjoy the ride along a shaded bike path beside the Parramatta River. 

Surprise 3

By the end of an hour or so of riding, I was feeling pretty warm and a bit dazed.  As we crossed the river at Silverwater all I could think of was sitting in the cool shade of a cafe and drinking a long glass of iced water.  You can imagine my surprise to see Gabe, our solicitor and the sister of a friend from up north, plastered larger than life on a roadside billboard.  

Surprise 4

I actually shocked THE Coach by suggesting that we ride on to Wareemba, a much cooler shady spot rather than stopping at The Armoury.

The biggest surprise of all

I was truly exhausted by the time we made it home, but confident I would be setting a new personal best ride. Imagine my surprise when the new kilometer gadget showed only 30kms, with an average speed of 15 kms.  
No surprise for THE Coach who reminded me that there's lots of room for improvement, especially on those hills. 

Luckily Rocky was waiting at home to lift my spirits.