A ride to Mount Wilson
Four months ago, I cycled up a few Tour de France mountains. It was the best fun I've ever had on two wheels. Since I've been back, my daily ride to Wentworth Falls and back has satisfied me, but I miss the thrill and challenge of a sustained climb. So today, I decide to ride to Mount Wilson, from my home in Katoomba. I figure any place with a name beginning with the word 'Mount' would require some climbing. A quick google map check tells me, I'm in for eighty-five kilometres return. I have a large lunch and set out. In my novel, 'the simple gift', the main character, Billy describes the Great Western Highway as 'not great, not much of a highway, but it does head west...' He's right. Trucks and delivery vans crowd me as I climb steadily to Mount Victoria, where I turn off and ride past the Mount Vic Flicks. The Darling Causeway is a truck speedway and I'm buffeted the undulating length of it before turning onto the Bells Line of Road and hea...