It was a bit of an impulse buy. I had had no intention of buying a bicycle when I left the house. I was just doing a spot of shopping at the local arm of an international supermarket chain that probably doesn't need me to advertise its name here (let's just say it has a seductive middle aisle... ).

I was seduced by an item in the middle aisle - a two-wheeled, 21-speed mountain machine which was going for $69.99.

'How do they even build them for that?' I wondered. I decided I'd have one.

They were available in an array of colours. I chose black and headed for the checkout where I was quickly processed through an under-utilised checkout three.

I enjoying that little sense of superiority and righteousness you get on the odd occasion you're at checkout three with your sensible purchase and looking over at those ineligible for checkout three - the punters queued at checkouts one and two with their beverages among their groceries...

My first job out of school was as a pushbike mechanic at Camerons in High Street, so upon returning home and removing the bike from its flatpack I began the assembly process with considerable confidence.

There were a couple of setbacks - I've never been one for reading instructions - and, upon completion, there were what seemed to be a few inessential items left over.

I decided the most likely scenario was that there had been a bit of generosity in the packing department and they had kindly given me some spares.

The bike was, as far as I could tell, functional. Given three circuits of the yard I deemed it roadworthy, and with the addition of a $7.99 helmet (red) I was ready to start my cycling fitness regime.

But I didn't want to rush into anything, so I put the bike in the shed and left it there for two months.

I put it down to spring, that most inspirational of seasons, for finding myself, on this Sunday just gone, heading off with the bike in the back of the van with the intent of a vigorous, health inducing, pedal around Maitland Park.

I thought I'd kept this all pretty quiet and so was a little nonplussed to find that when I arrived at the park and unloaded the cycle I seemed to have a couple of thousand spectators.

Somewhat surprisingly, the actuality turned out to be that the crowd were not there to witness me adroitly working my way through the gears - they were there for the Hornets Regional Touch Football Championships, with teams competing from as far afield as Dubbo, Nelson Bay and the Central Coast.

What a great thing to have cycled into!

It was a two-day carnival, sponsors tents and marquees; throngs of people - competitors and spectators - everywhere, and the park looking glorious.

Another fantastic event staged in our wonderful facility.

Maitland Park shone again as I viewed it from the velodrome, my Tour de Louth Park.

Speaking of touch footy, that's maybe what the Rabbitohs should be playing these days given how they've been carrying on about Canberra's Josh Hodgson not being taken from the field for a head injury assessment after appearing stunned in the aftermath of a tackle on South's prop Liam Knight.

For a club that has continually glorified in John Sattler's heroic performance in a grand final with a broken jaw (as have we all, really), to now whinge about somebody staying on after having maybe bumped their head...

The thing is made more ridiculous by the fact that the reason for their bellyaching is that the player with the supposed head injury subsequently played well enough to be instrumental in the Rabbitoh's loss.

Souths complaining that the player absolutely demolishing them on the field is head injured and shouldn't be out there? That's funny, really.

Following on from South's logic the GWS Giants could maybe have done with a bit of banging of their own heads together in their grand final on Saturday...

What an incredible loss!

And it makes you wonder: How on earth can a side play so competitively throughout a season so as to make the grand final, and then cop such an awful record setting drubbing?

Still, the event looked great - packed house. They know how to do this stuff in Melbourne.

And now - the Roosters and the Raiders... Like most I think the Roosters will win, but you certainly can't write off the Raiders.

They'll come into it as the "underdog" and that can be a very good thing.

We tend to think of them more as a southern suburb - they are in no way hated by us like the Broncos and the Storm - and with the added incentive of not having won a premiership in 25 years Canberra will be well supported.

At the very least I think we can safely predict that the match will be quite a bit closer than the Giants and Richmond.