...That I am at least 25 years older than the last time I rode a bicycle!
This weekend I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a push bike. I wondered whether the old adage of '...it’s like falling off a bike, you never forget...' actually worked. Well, for me it didn't quite. It wasn't so much the fact that I couldn't ride the darn thing, it was more the fact that I was extremely wobbly setting off outside the shop. Much to the amusement of the gorgeous shop guys waving me off. Oh, and another thing, these new fangled bikes have more than 3 gears - what's that all about then.
I decided to miss the roads and to use the cycle path (Kingston has quite a lot of them so very handy for us novices). Quite handy actually as I think I must have looked like I had never ridden a bike before. Did I tell you that the last time I rode a bike I was in my late teens?
I eventually made it home and declared the maiden voyage a success. Well in my terms it was a success. I achieved my objectives of getting home in one piece, albeit slightly puffed and worse for wear! The bike was duly placed in the garage and I felt extremely pleased with myself.
Sunday and Monday came and went without even peeking inside the garage. You may ask yourself "Why?" Well I will tell you why. My poor old bones were shouting at me "DON'T DO IT". I ached in places I didn't even know I had muscles. With this in mind I decided to give myself a couple of days of rest, which is exactly what I did with the promise to myself Tuesday after work would be the next session.
Tuesday came and I arrived home to the threat of very dark clouds in the sky. Did I chance it, yes I did. So I changed into my 'Cycle Gear" (get me eh!) and took the lovely Trek 7.1 fx out of the garage. The only problem, I had left my glasses back in the house and I really didn't want to have to go traipsing back to get them. Anyways, I only need glasses to see! On I got and off I went, down the road towards Richmond Park. Did I tell you I live near one of London’s most glorious parks? Rode through the big cast iron gates and I was in heaven, until the chain popped off. A rather nice chap stopped and offered to help when he saw me looking at the chain and scratching my head (quite difficult through a helmet but you get the gist). He mentioned something about changing gears in the correct order, or in my case the incorrect order, which is why the chain had come off. He kindly showed me how to reattach the chain and smiled at me and sent me on my way. ONE HOUR LATER I arrived back home feeling like someone had exchanged all my internal bones and muscles to jello. I must have looked a sight. Anyway ride done, bike safely ensconced back into the garage, Facebook and twitter updated then I jumped into the shower.
So, what did I learn from this, as I always think you can learn something from anything.
1) Riding a bike isn't easy so take your time with something new
2) Always remember your glasses
3) You need to change gears in a particular order for them to function correctly
4) Not all strangers are rude, most are very helpful
5) Age doesn't stop you from learning, you do
