Morning glory
ONE can learn a great deal about Geelong simply by going for a stroll.
With another walking marathon beckoning — and my training, well, non-existent — it was more than high time to put some semblance of discipline into my otherwise lacking preparation.
The hardest part of marathon training for me is simply getting out of bed — comparatively, the rest is a cinch.
My morning stroll on a crisp, three-degree Saturday a few weeks ago took me around the waterfront, along Eastern Beach, down Limeburners Rd through the East Geelong Golf Course, the full length of Boundary Rd past St Alban’s reserve and into the Breakwater industrial zone.
Then over the low-level river crossing, along Barwon River, across to Balliang Sanctuary before the climb up Shannon Avenue’s unforgiving hill (Everest Base Camp it ain’t, but don’t suggest that to my right calf).
Then a meander through the back blocks of Geelong West and Drumcondra. All up, 23.3km according to the wonders of Strava.
From that chilly, clear morning, some learnings about Geelong were gleaned. So, in no particular order: There’s nothing so still as a still Corio Bay. Our bay’s watery smoothness provided a near perfect mirror for a flaming red sunrise that morning, the sky’s hues reflected in the water.
Even the normally bobbing yachts moored at Western Beach were motionless, their perfectly upright masts standing as silent sentinels. A sublime sight.
People who ‘ice’ their legs in Eastern Beach waters are to be admired, but not joined.
Golfers who brave early winter mornings are not strange — they simply grasp the wonderful opportunity to embrace Eastern Park’s beauty earlier than the rest and kick off the dew.
No matter the temperature — wind, frost, anything — kids under-10 will play footy at any time, under any conditions and with equal enthusiasm (just spare a thought for the freezing goal umpires).
Jim Beam Black seems the beverage of choice for Geelong drivers who — by the location of many empty cans I collected over three hours — simply throw them onto roadsides. Disappointing and wrong for so many reasons.
Our city is indeed ‘Too lovely to litter’. Sorry, but it’s not good enough, folks — we are better than that.
The vibrancy of Geelong’s economy can well be gauged by the light industrial area of Breakwater.
The warehouses, sheds, storage yards and manufacturing premises seemed chockers — no vacancies in sight — and are among our most important economic powerhouses.
While most were micro or mini in size — although there are also some notably large outfits — they provide employment and turnover that multiplies and fuels Geelong’s growth.
Around Barwon River, legions of bike riders bedecked in flouroyellow flow. Not Cadel Evans types or even MAMILs; just local peddlers enjoying the fresh air and tranquil environment.
Princes Bridge is now sadly inadequate for walkers, runners, cyclists, pram pushers, dog walkers and the like. The narrow pedestrian path simply does not cut it anymore and is potentially unsafe given the volume of users.
There’s a great opportunity for CCMA and CoGG to collaborate and install one of their new hitech bridges (GA 17/7) for the aforesaid cohort of users. Such a bridge would be spectacular and very well-used.
An amazing urban forest is being created around the mountain bike track — and that was before the additional 3000 trees were planted in late July.
And finally, who would have thought, Geelong now has its own Circus School — we have really made it!
You can have your Gold Coast, you can hang out at Noosa or Port Douglas or even Bali — often longed-for places during a harsh southern winter — but the natural beauty which a crisp, clear winter sun brings out on a crisp, clear morning like that day can cause one to rethink that, if only for a moment.
Sure, there may be places we might rather be at times.
But for everyone I saw that morning out enjoying what Geelong has to freely offer, my guess is that they, like me, were content, appreciative and, yes, even a tad humbled by the beauty which is inherent to our marvellous home town.