A lot has changed over the last year of bum-in-saddle cycling – I’ve got my first proper road bike (my old Dura Ace equipped Mr Blue Bike), built (with help) a couple of singlespeed bikes and lost quite a lot or weight.
Cycling to work every day has also made me reasonably fast, at least by Strava standards (35 KOMs at one point!) but most of all I feel fitter and healthier than I have in my whole life.
The last few months haven’t gone quite so well though. I managed to beat my previous average speed over 100 miles but foolishly didn’t warm down properly afterwards and borked my knees to the extent that I couldn’t go down stairs without excruciating pain! I did the sensible thing and took a couple weeks off the commute so my knees could recover and all appeared to be well.
On my first day back in the saddle I managed to slip on a wet cycle path and remove a fair amount of the skin from my left leg. I’ve since learned that I bent the frame on my new singlespeed which is particularly gutting as I only finished building it (based on a vintage frame) a few days before stacking it. The bigger problem however is the damage that fall did to my ribs. I’ve just found out that it will likely be at least six months before my ribs are right, which pretty much wipes out pushing myself hard this summer. Having slogged it through a rotten winter the prospect of not being able to make the most of this summer is pretty disappointing I can tell you.
So am I downhearted? Am I bothered that I’ve lost about fifteen Strava KOMs in the last month? Nah, I’m just looking forward to the next ride, no matter now short or long, no matter how fast or slow. You know why? It all comes down to the fact that I like riding bicycles, everything else is just silly details!
Last Updated on February 18, 2023
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