Last Sunday Tom and I and a group of friends went cycling down at the Penrith Regatta Centre. Built for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Rowing and allied events, the centre now operates as a public park and recreation space, when it is not being used for sports events.

A single lap of the rowing course is 5kms and we rode twice around the man-made lake, taking a leisurely hour or so. It was perhaps the greatest distance Tom has ever cycled. 10kms is not bad for a 9 year old. The winter weather was mild, the sky full of a blueness that only chilled air and warm afternoon sun can produce. Water birds danced and chattered noisily in the shallows. We will do this again, soon.