D
Debbie
Guest
Thanks to all for encouragement to start cycling again after 15 years.
Today was day 1. Best beloved very kindly gave over the whole afternoon to working with me in the
kitchen to get the machine roadworthy. This involved buying lights - gosh, haven't they got pretty?
- and a computer to tell me how far and fast I go, replacing tyres (one of the *new* ones came with
an integrated puncture. Nasty cheap thai junk), tweaking brakes and raising the saddle (has my
inside leg increased, or did I always ride with it too low before?)
Then out for a spin. It was only a bit over a mile, and as we live at the very top of a hill, the
first bit was easier than I expected. Coming home wasn't quite such a doddle, and I had to get off
and walk about 20 yards, up two steep bits, because I just don't have a low enough gear to make it
possible for flabby thighs to keep the bike moving. I suppose it was about 10 minutes in all, and I
arrived home triumphant but with stiff legs and wobbly knees, puffing like a train and it took me
half an hour to recover from the shock to the system. Talk about unfit! 5.8mph average speed isn't
much better than a mollusc.
But I did it, and I actually *enjoyed* it, and it wasn't any worse than I expected.
--
Debbie Urban Theology Unit, Sheffield Views expressed in this email are my own and are not
necessarily those of the University of Sheffield or UTU.
Today was day 1. Best beloved very kindly gave over the whole afternoon to working with me in the
kitchen to get the machine roadworthy. This involved buying lights - gosh, haven't they got pretty?
- and a computer to tell me how far and fast I go, replacing tyres (one of the *new* ones came with
an integrated puncture. Nasty cheap thai junk), tweaking brakes and raising the saddle (has my
inside leg increased, or did I always ride with it too low before?)
Then out for a spin. It was only a bit over a mile, and as we live at the very top of a hill, the
first bit was easier than I expected. Coming home wasn't quite such a doddle, and I had to get off
and walk about 20 yards, up two steep bits, because I just don't have a low enough gear to make it
possible for flabby thighs to keep the bike moving. I suppose it was about 10 minutes in all, and I
arrived home triumphant but with stiff legs and wobbly knees, puffing like a train and it took me
half an hour to recover from the shock to the system. Talk about unfit! 5.8mph average speed isn't
much better than a mollusc.
But I did it, and I actually *enjoyed* it, and it wasn't any worse than I expected.
--
Debbie Urban Theology Unit, Sheffield Views expressed in this email are my own and are not
necessarily those of the University of Sheffield or UTU.