Proper Cycling - on BIKES

YAY! Today we did real cycling on real bikes. The 'we' is me and Guy - he knows more about bikes than I do which is handy as I know absolutely zip, other than they have two wheels and I fell off one once... The weather was absolutely vile - we woke up to torrential rain but, hey, we've hired bikes so we're going cycling. Even the cycling chap at the shop (Rhys) said he didn't think we'd turn up... Before we could get bikes we needed helmets. We had decided to buy helmets as then we've got them each time and they'll be comfy. Guy quickly picked out a flashy yellow and grey effort that looks really mean and like he knows what he's doing. Which he does. I got my selection down to a cool looking pearlised white effort and a very girly pink squiggly one. Normally pink would win hands down - but this one is somehow very ridiculously pink and suitable for an 8 year old... So, pearlised - elegant, professional, understated, classy. Pink squiggly - comfortable. What to do? Yep, I went for comfort. And the fact that once it's on my head I can't see it, so does it matter what it looks like? Then Rhys set us up on the bikes - they were (this is the techy bit for my nephew Charly, to whom It Will Mean Something). They're Legnano Aerons. And they have two wheels. That's enough technical stuff. Anyway, Rhys adjusted the saddle heights and we were ready to go. The bike hire shop is on a hill at the top of Caerphilly High Street - lots of traffic, lights, people, one way system, the works. I had a plan though... if we walked through to the station car park we could start off on nice quiet roads and get used to the bikes (this was more for me, not Guy) before we actually encountered traffic. Good plan. So we set off on foot. We carried the bikes down somesteps (they're really light) and then we were ready to set off. First of all we took pictures... Here's Guy looking mean in his mean helmet:

And me looking distinctly worried in my Girly Pink Helmet:

And off we go... The last time I rode a bike properly it had 3 gears and they were on a little lever on the frame. This one has - actually, I don't know how many it has, but there were 3 'on the front' and at least 6 'on the back' (whatever that means) so that means 18 or so. Good grief. And then it gets as complicated as playing a melodeon (which Guy has tried to explain to me on numerous occasions...). OK, here goes: The lever near the left handle does the back brake if you pull it but if you push it sideways it moves the front gear down and the button on the handle on the left moves the front gear up whereas the level on the right handle does the front brake and the back gears. Yep, tricky. Fairly quickly I cock up the gears and the chain falls off. So do I. Nice easy tumble on to a grass verge, no problem. Our nice road is lovely and quiet so I don't get run over. It's also about a 1:10 hill to the top of Rudry Common. Eek! I decide to abandon trying to find front first gear (the one that makes it easier to pedal) and do the rest of the hill in front middle gear. Actually I do the whole of the rest of the ride in front middle gear - it's easier than falling off. Once we've made it to the top there's the whole matter of Going Down The Other Side. This is where I have a problem... when I was 12 I had a Mini Moulton bike (trendy design at the time, very small wheels and a pretty red colour) and one Christmas Eve Dad, James (big brother) and I went out on a bike ride. Long downhill, very fast - James first, me in the middle, Dad at the back to pick up the bits which, as it turned out, was quite lucky... I got into a speed wobble, aimed at the nice grassy bank and, SPLAT, fell the other way. No helmets in those days, so I bounced along the road on my forehead... Hence the large scar for those of you who know me well! So I'm a little hesitant about going downhill at speed. I like the flat bits and the uphills though - look, here's a picture of me cycling and smiling on a slightly uphill bit!

[I would like to point out here that I had to cycle past Guy 3 or 4 times as I was going TOO FAST for him to take the photo! TOO FAST! WOO HOO!]

We pass other cyclists who have all the right gear on - we say 'morning' to each other. They think we're proper cyclists! Despite the Pink Girly Helmet! We also call in on mum so that she can admire us in our cycling gear. We are a little wet, but she still let us in to sit down and have a glass of water... (She's not mean, she did offer coffee but we were really thirsty!) Then we're back on the bikes and heading back to the shop...

I really enjoyed it, and want to hire bikes again next weekend. Guy thinks we should see how much we ache tomorrow...

PS: One of the cars that passed us had a little girl sitting in the back looking out of the window. I think she liked my helmet.