email: phillip.hart@hollierhart.com.au

Ph: 0407044020

When my kids gave me a bike for Christmas many years ago, tears came to my eyes; what a treasure! It was a modest suburban bike but pretty soon I was roaming along cycle paths and along rivers with friends.

Then came the Gong (the annual ride from Sydney to Wollongong). In our struggles to get Gong-ready we struggled up McCarrs Creek Rd, reasoning that if we could get up that, then we were going to be OK on the Big Day. I did NOT enjoy being so close to traffic!

I love that the human body gradually gets better at what you keep doing. So now, we get up such hills with less huffing and puffing and swearing. I am still not a fan of traffic but am more skilled and used to it.

One day I was road-riding on my hybrid out at West Head, feeling rather grumpy with the world and with myself. I saw a gravel bush trail off to the side and took a detour down it. What an eye-opener! I love cycling and I love being in the bush, and now I was doing both simultaneously! So began my love affair with riding trails through bushland. Yes, on an MTB but not the technical stuff which will get me into trouble.

I love longer rides - on-road or off-road - through bushland and want to take them a pace that I find comfortable.