So what is the joy of cycling? Is it going fast? Is it the social aspect? Is it setting yourself challenges? Is it racing? Is it coffee and cake rides? Is it a new bike? Is it flying downhill? Is it blasting uphill? Does it matter??? To me...YES...yes it does! I bloody love cycling. If I'm on my bike and pedalling then it won't be long until I'm smiling. And if you're wondering...for me it's all of the above!
So on Saturday morning it was once again time for yet another C&D Cycles CC shop ride. This is not where I discovered the joy of cycling but it is without a doubt where I went from an enthusiastic occasional rider to a fully fledged Lycra Loonie. It is also where the joy volume got completely turned up to 11.
Once again I joined the fast group and off we set for a really good ride around some of my very favourite roads. It was similar to a couple of weeks ago but in the other direction and with some slight variations.
The highlight of the day had to be riding down Haselbech hill. At the bottom of that glorious hill, we, the so called fast group decided to chase down a fellow cyclist from outside our group. With maximum effort we caught 'today's fox!' At this point I should point out that our target was a Dad on his mountain bike riding with a child seat with his toddler daughter on the back. I have no idea who this man was but I'm certain he's one hell of a cyclist! The little girl was also beaming from ear to ear due to her Dad's efforts. I asked her if she had just come down the big hill and the YES I got was explosive. She was 100% experiencing the joy of cycling!
We had a great ride and made to back to the shop within a couple of hours. The usual coffee and banter was in full flow. Some newbies had joined us and I hope they'll come back next week.
In the shop we encountered this weird contraption. It's a kind of ugly beautiful. I don't want one but I also can see how it's owner loves it! What I will say, is that the copper dove bottle cage is a stunning detail.
Today I woke up without a plan and with no advertised rides on the club page. So I made a post asking what everybody else was up to and before you know it a plan emerged! Claire was heading out to watch the racing at Medbourne, Neil said he'd like to join her and I also got in on the group.
We met at the C&D Cycles shop where we also bumped into our old friend Mr Major. Steve was already done for the day having done a solid 30 miles on his steel flip flop. That bike weighs at tonne and it's more like weight training than cycling! Then Steve Wong also appeared and our little group became four.
The abundance of sunny days plus yesterday's rain have clearly done some good to the countryside. I don't ever think I've seen the place look so green.
The racing was in the heart of the Welland valley so we made our way out to Ashley and then on to Medbourne. Our plan was to ride the reverse of the race group and therefore get to see them on their laps.
We cycled up the seven sisters in a direction I'd never encountered before. Which is kind of a good point. there's loads of good roads around here! This route would definitely make a very good club ride. It was great to see the racing. Those lads definitely can shift! I didn't hang around for the finish though as I had more excitement to come.
You know those annoying PPI cold calls? Well we just let one of them look into our financial history. It paid out!!! In addition to paying for a load of home improvements we had some spare cash for a new bike and the bike I wanted to complete the collection was a cyclo-cross! I'd had a chat with Andy at C&D Cycles and he recommended the Forme Calver. I knew of this bike from seeing Andy Brown in action on his and reading about it being a proven race winner.
It's just a stunning looking bike and I couldn't wait to get it home and go for a quick spin. Andy had done a splendid job putting the bike together. They don't come as complete bikes, you can only buy the the frame and forks. the rest is a custom build.
I only went for a quick spin and the first order of the day was a bit of gravel track around Prologis Park.
The bike did not disappoint. It was lively, accurate, responsive and frankly just a great big load of fun!
From there I decided to introduce my new bike to Weekly Woods. I mentioned earlier about joy. This was pure joy!
I then decided to go the Rushton and check out the Llamas. Oh yeah and it was a good excuse to take another bike picture.
So there you go. That's my joy of cycling! This sport keeps me sane. It can make me smile on the very worst days. I get my buzz. I feel so healthy through cycling. I have great cycling friends. I enjoy the challenges. What could be better?
Happy Pedaling
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