Lou unchained her bike from the stand and wheeled it to the cycle path. A few seconds later she was moving swiftly away from the university, her tiny office and the stack of marked essays ready to go back to their writers. The cycleway curved down towards the Lane Cove River and her heart lifted as she was surrounded by trees. She loved these few minutes without brick walls or fences. She loved the feeling of openness, the towering gums and the air that was a little less polluted by car exhaust and big city smog.
She was sweating in the midsummer heat and moving fast as she dropped down onto Riverside Drive. At this time of day there weren’t many cars and she could almost convince herself that she was already on holiday. Just two weeks to the end of the term, and then she was taking a well-earned break. No classrooms, no students, no lectures and no walls. Just hiking boots, a tent and the mountains. With a loud whoop, she steered her bike around the next corner, the river glinting through the trees below her. She wasn’t entirely sure what a master’s degree in environmental science was going to do for her job prospects. When she’d chosen the course, it seemed to suggest travel, the possibility of mixing city excitement with her love of the bush. So far, beyond the tutoring work she’d been doing, she hadn’t thought too hard about it. There was still plenty of time for her to make that decision.
Lou loved Sydney. She liked the energy and the excitement. She loved the way the harbour and the Opera House looked at sunrise and the fireworks on the bridge at New Year’s Eve. But still there were times when all she wanted was to get away from the noise and the people. Between school and uni, she’d taken a year off to go fruit picking in Victoria. It was back-breaking work, but she’d never been happier than labouring under the open skies and getting dirt under her fingernails. She was a city girl, born and raised—well, raised at least. She’d never really understood why the bush called to her like it did, but there was something to be said for feeling comfortable in both worlds.
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