With all the snow of late, its been hard trying to spot the right opportunity for a bike ride. That combined with family life has made it almost impossible.
So last Saturday, we needed a few things from Sainsbury’s so I decided to cycle there, but to go there via a running route. Just as I was out in the countryside I was suprised to find that there was still a little snow lying in a ditch; it must have been there since before Christmas. This ride is about 7 miles, not too far by any means.
There were quite a few scary bits. My front light – normally very bright – was just not bright enough when bombing down some slopes. I just couldn’t see clearly enough in front of me to avoid all those usual hazards – potholes, gravel etc. It seemed quite weird losing all sense of whether I was going on a flat road, up or downhill until the speed changed significantly. Suddenly finding yourself gathering speed on gravel was really scary. And then through the woods. Remember, completely dark, no other cars around. Normally when I run this stretch I can hear anything around me and just know what’s going on. I’d forgotten you just don’t get this the same way on a bike. Anyone could spot me a mile off and I wouldn’t know.
So the best bit was back on a main road and speeding down the road that comes from the Downs back into town. That’s a nice smooth fast road and some lights around at the bottom. I was down on the dropped handlebars, tears streaming from my eyes and enjoying the feeling of the freezing cold blast on my face. I was almost in the middle of the road, just on myside of the white line (I figured that was the safest) and I couldn’t resist that “Wa Heeeeeeeeee” when I was at top speed!
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