GLOBAL CYCLE EVENT

In a world increasingly preoccupied with throwaway materialistic things; where people are constantly busy earning money to pay for those things, or so their children can have those things;
This is the story of my dreams of travelling the world by bicycle. Because it's there. And because I dont want to die without experiencing the truly important things in life .

A sense of wonder and a sense of adventure.

Sunday 28 August 2011

Cycleways

Another weeks gone by and I have logged up 400kms on the bike. O' and in case you are wondering 0 kms in the car as it it still in pieces. Really only two pieces. Car piece and engine piece, not together.
I am seriously going to try to get those pieces together in the not to distant future. By employing a mechanic you ask? Not likely! Pay someone else to do what you can do yourself is not in my nature.  As I've said before if a boy racer can fix an engine it's got to be pretty easy. I will however join the local VW club and re associate myself with the local VW repair shop to make the process a bit easier. After all these people dream about aircooled VW's for 20hrs of every day. Whereas my kombi has always been just a platform to get my bike and I to the next cycle event or holiday. Cant say it didn't help in pulling chicks . Adi liked it. Anyway I digress

400kms this week and its spring now. I know its spring because I have been able to get my legs out from under the bike tights. I showed my Lily white legs off this week with my white shorts.

Freshly Shaved Legs Out For Spring.
I made my best effort to go out on the Sunday bunch ride today. I checked the departure time in advance, setting the alarm clock, and putting the 'Sunday wheels' on my bike. All to no avail because as I heard the dawn chorus I decided once again that only guys with babies had to get up this early for cycling ( they only have a pass until noon then its back to fun family life) and promptly went back to sleep for another couple of hours. At lunch time when the others turn back into Mums and Dads I downed a can of spaghetti, an egg and a slice of cheese and headed out on what was to become a typical 100km roadie out and back. A ride lacking any real interest except the feel good aspect of knowing that 'Your Doing It' as the Americans would say and the anticipation of a coffee and hot shower at the end of it. Normally I'd throw in a bit of gravel to spice it up but my 'Sunday Wheels' wouldn't like that and my bike would get all dusty. I did however manage to fit in 10-20kms of cycleways. Cycle ways can be fun if you're in the right mood.

Plotting My Next Move on the Cycleway Underpass.

You can often spice up the ride playing dodgem with dim witted teenagers. This is particularly fun as they leave school for the day because their brains are still asleep and they are even more sluggish and usually don't notice you coming until it's too late. But today was Sunday and there weren't many around.
Playing chicken with parents and kids coming the other way is usually a Sunday special. Most parents haven't quite grasped the old keep Left rule yet so you can be fairly sure that they haven't instilled it in their kids either. What joy to get the Mercian cranking in top gear, barrelling down the cycleway on the left side (so you're legal in case of mishap) and watching people jumping in all directions as you rifle past. Ive been playing in this way with non cycling cycleway users for some time now and still my most prized memory is from a couple of years ago when I came around a corner to find a teenage girl lying on the cycle way either drunk or asleep or maybe just in a state of pre brain development. Anyway the pain in her arm once I had run over it will remind her not to do that again. I take my responsibility for educating people on cycleway etiquette very seriously.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Niel,

    Love your method of teaching cycleway etiquette, saves me having to do it.

    Iain Dephoff.

    ReplyDelete