View from a Hill

I was riding home the long way through Broadbottom and Charlesworth which is mostly up hill but on a day like this was worth the extra effort. I was just cruising down past Hargate Hill when I thought that days like these made it worth it. Worth riding in the rain, sleet and hail. Worth all the drivers who try and intentionally kill you and the negligent motorway maintenance trucks that always misjudge the size of the wagons and clip your elbow as they pass you. The kids that throw bricks, sticks and spit at you. Its all worth it on a day like today, the sun shining, nice breeze as you pass through the Glossop countryside heading home on May day.

Then some knobhead flew out of the Gamesley estate in his Fiesta beeped at his mate in the pub and nearly knocked me off. Back to reality.

Its a war out there and the idiots are winning.

I took this after I'd calmed down.

Busted Bicycle 2

So I returned the bike, too many problems and far to tedious to post. Suffice to say that I wouldn't recommend buying a bike from Halfords. My new bike had to be returned also. When they replaced the part I never noticed that they had threaded the chain incorrectly until I got to work. I sorted it myself and from now on will just do that.I do feel my new bike is a little more 'me'. I was also quite chuffed when the kids down the road asked me with complete sincerity if I wanted have a go on their 'jumps' . Unfortunately at 14 stone I probably would have flattened it.

Busted bicycle

I've finally had the hybrid back for a week now and have been riding it in to work. It's a lot easier than riding up the hill on the MTB but I am forever fucking about with it. My old mountain bike I pulled out from behind the shed hosed it down and sprayed everything with food safe penetrating oil(I work in food factories, all my oils and greases are edible!) and away it went. I've racked up the miles with only a single bent spring on the v brakes. The Pioneer however is chalking up a list of faults, defects and annoying niggles. The day I got it home the front wheel was so buckled it wouldn't ride, 14 mile round trip and the wheel is exchanged, the gears just won't stay set up and the chain comes off occasionally. Unfortunately the design of the chain guard means you have to swear at it for ten minutes or so to get it on. The back wheel exploded in the sun thanks to a faulty tyre and the wheel again was buckled, two weeks back at the shop and I'd kind of given up on it. Hopefully it will bed in and stop being such a twat. On the bright side I have got my journey in to work down to 21 minutes from 40. I am getting fitter and less fat.

The bottle

Riding into work this morning, gagging for a drink I reached down for my water bottle and took a swig. as I rested the bottle on the handlebars I noticed something on the bottle, on closer inspection it looked a bit like dog-shit. Oh no I thought, I've had dog shit near my mouth, I'll catch that disease that's associated with dog-shit. I can't remember what it its called but its dodgy. I looked again and had a bit of a sniff. No, it doesn't smell like dog-shit, its something else, not sure what though. At least it's not dog-shit I thought.

I pulled up at the bike shed in the car park and the rest of the slug fell off the bottom of my bike, I preferred the thought of a slug to dog-shit. You can't catch that disease of a slug.

Statuesque

Just got home from my first cycling commute to work and I can't feel my legs. As kermit the frog once said...Its not easy being green.

I think I managed ok, when it looked a bit hairy I just stopped and pushed. I also had a few rests. At one point I sat with Ls Lowry at the top of Mottram road, unlike the local scallies I didn't steal his pen.

View from a hill

My plan to cycle to work is coming together slowly, I've fixed my bike and have been out testing it and making sure being left in the garden for a year(or three) )hasn't done too much damage and it hasn't. There are two flaws in my cunning plan however which were exposed to me yesterday on a ride out. The first was hills, where the fuck did they come from and why didn't I see them as a problem? The second was the fact I didn't realise how totally unfit I was! I rode up Padfield Main which I always thought was a gentle incline and I was absolutely bolloxed. I was coughing and spluttering and I had that sticky spit which won't leave you mouth no matter how much you heave. I really am unfit, I just didn't realise how bad I had got since I became relatively desk bound.

This has spurred me on though, I need to get fit and the easiest way is to ride the 4 and a half miles to work so this week I shall go out for half an hour a night and get used to cycling again with a target of riding to work after Easter. As a teen I used to ride for miles and miles everywhere but as an adult with more of an idea of my own mortality I am struggling on the road. I am not ashamed to admit it is a little daunting if you've not done it for a while. When a car goes past you get all wobbly and have to resist the urge to fling yourself off. Teenage me would ride down A roads none handed, I took one hand off to scratch my nose and nearly fell off! Saying that I also used to ride down hills stood up on a skateboard I suppose its the fearlessness of youth. I don't think I could even stand a skateboard now.

I caught D with some spanners the other day trying to take the stabilisers off his toddler bike. The fearlessness of youth.



The Hill that beat me.