It’s that time of year again.
Mt Coot-tha is only a little hill but it’s always been a big hill for me. I started riding its rough and rocky tracks over thirty years ago on an Avanti Ridgerider, a bike I bought with my first payslip. A year later I dropped the same amount of coin on a second hand Manitou suspension fork - the first generation fork with elastomers - and bounced through the same tracks with a bigger smile and even less control. Suspension damping be damned. When I started racing Coot-tha was the training hill with a 2.25 kilometre stretch of climbing free of wind and excuses. The hill has been there in darker times. When I pulled out of races that same stretch told me my times were slipping and I should get a blood test. It was also there in my recovery. My times improved.
Mt Coot-tha has always been there. Nowadays many riders, runners, walkers, tourists and picnickers visit and enjoy this pleasant little hill. It still has only one sealed road winding through the trees but the fire roads are bigger and well-graded. The single tracks are now manicured and there are no baby heads to throw you off your line. Mt Coot-tha has become popular. But, early in the morning, it is relatively quiet.
I like my early mornings. Depending on the season the day will break within a few minutes or in a couple of hours. In winter, moths and other insects dance in front of lights. It is cold and quiet. But winter has gone and the day breaks earlier. Yellow-crested cockatoos screech as I chase the sun through the trees.
