Move over Sir Wiggins…

For my 29^th birthday I was given a road bike.It’s been that long since I have owned a bike it felt like when I was 5 years old again with handlebar tassels and balloons attached to the crossbar.

This was back in October 2019. Since then I have been out a grand number of……. OK just once! This is an absolute shocker but to be truthful, the term “it’s like riding a bike” didn’t quite work with me. I don’t know if it was the thin road bike tyres, or the fact I have just got a little wimpy in my older age but riding it made me really nervous.

With the roads having next to no cars on them I thought now would be the ideal time to get my confidence up and get cycling. Throwback to the days of my cycling proficiency test at primary school, I literally felt like I had to relearn everything – even signalling with my arm without wobbling!!!

Here are 15 things I have learnt about cycling:

  Padded cycling shorts are an absolute must….. the more padding the better!

       Most chaps and gals I’ve seen out cycling look super hot in their cycling attire….. I do not!

  The uphill thigh burn is strangely addictive.
   
 Be prepared to be walking like John Wayne the day after a cycle.
   
  I don’t like going super whizzy down hills.
  
Pot holes are not your friend.
     
Gravel paths are also not your friend.
    
There are some pretty epic places right on our doorstep to discover.

    Tea and cake post run is always a wonderful idea…. And very much deserved.

 Downhills will turn you into a human windscreen with all the bugs that you will take out.

  Gloves are a necessity – if for nothing else to act as support for the excessive braking (possibly just me).

  Every time you will go out you will feel yourself getting stronger.

  Every bump you go over you will be ever grateful for said padding in lesson 1.

   Keep your mouth closed – the incoming flies are not the kind of extra protein your diet requires.

   Go at your own pace – like with anything else you do, no one else’s ability matters.

** Just a side note…. I know how fortunate I am with regards to being in a location that has allowed me to exercise during this time and not see a single person. Again this is simply how I have been coping and spending my daily exercise allowance during lockdown.