Hand-me-down bikes rule

Woke up on Sunday and was surprised to see the sun shining and despite having flagged so much in the afternoon following the Saturday ride I decided to go out on the bike again to see how the body reacts to day after day punishment.   

I didn’t have a precise route in mind and was not sure how far my knee would be co operative for so set off with the intention to do 20 miles.  Knee was grumbling quite a lot for the first 12 miles, giving me enough pain to let me know not to expect any ability to power up the hills but either I got used to the pain or the mental knowledge of “only 8 miles to go” made it possible to speed up.   

Pretty pleased with how it went but I have a long long long way to go before being ready for the 80 miles that is day 2 on the trip! (Fundraising Page)

Whilst out I noticed a cycle trail in the woods next to the road and seeing the jumps made from mud got me thinking about my earliest memories on a bike.  I was seven when ET came out generating the first BMX craze in the UK and loved spending time with the older kids in the street riding my little version of a chopper over jumps made out of mud down the park.   

Thinking about it I was probably in a rush to get to the jumps at the park when I picked up the five stitches mentioned in the post below.  All the older kids had BMX’s and I would have done anything to have one of the little mini BMX bikes but being the fourth of five kids it was hand-me-downs all the way so I made the best of what I had.  I learned how to go over jumps, wheelie and bunny hop on that bike so doubt the wheels even went round any more by the time I was finished.