Rudd Money Rockhopper

By 2010 I had a car, was living in descent accommodation and was starting to take my health and fitness into better consideration. I was using a shop brand mountain bike and it was good enough, but after the global financial crisis hit, the government of the day decided to stimulate the economy with cash handouts to people. We were told to go spend it for the sake of the economy and not save it. The politics of whether that was a good decision or not, is not the purpose of this story but for me, I got a nice cheque in the mail. It was a descent chunk of money for the time, about equivalent to a week’s wage. I decided to go to a better bike shop and put it into a newer, better bike with the aim to improve my fitness by having another option. This would be the Specialized rockhopper mountain bike. Like anything new, it was novelty, rode nicely, had front suspension, disk brakes and could go anywhere. I was happy with it and what I could do with it. I wasn’t into road cycling or riding with groups, I just loved getting out on it and seeing where I could take it.

I would use it as the main source of transportation for commuting to work and for exercise on days off. I remember having a polar watch at the time to track fitness and it used a heart rate monitor. I’d pop on the polar stuff and a tiny little bike computer that calculated speed and distance and take off towards the beach. The linear park track that runs along the coast would be my go-to destination. This was long before smart phones would come into play or the existance of Strava as a mainstream activity tracking software. I’d head off towards the beach and time myself and push it as hard as I could. Attempting to catch anyone else in front of me or keep up with anyone who overtook me. I remember the feeling of pushing the bike to 40kmph and the strain on the legs pushing it uphill on the track. I’d get out as much as I could, three times a week on average with a period of every day for 2 weeks at one stage. It was that sense of pushing myself that I now use at the gym and in my other sports. As I sit back writing this, I ponder those memories more about the time period and where I was in life. That bike, while I own it, I can’t get to it right now, but long for more adventures to have on it. This bike would be the consistent bike in my life for over the next decade or more. Road bikes would come and go and eventually a Gravel bike would become my go-to bike that gives me the experience I had on the rockhopper. I think its more about the memories of the person I was and would become that this bike reminds me of, prompting reflection.