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The Sunday Ride Experience

Ok, so I thought I would share my Sunday ride experiences so you could all have a laugh - mainly at me...

Firstly, I have always been an athlete in some way shape or form and I have done most sports - apart from cycling. So after a session 'fail' last night in the pool and being full of hayfever my motivation for my Sunday ride wasn't 100%. May aim for this session was to improve on last weeks ride which was only my 2nd outing on the road. This meant trying to signal whilst still maintaining control of the bike with one hand, making sure my left cleat was tight so that I didn't fall off in front of everyone when I tried to stop and also to ensure that I always stopped in a small gear so that I didn't end up in front of any 4x4's when coming off the curb.....

So myself and 3 others set off from Potters Bar and all the negative feelings went as I managed to clip in easily (twice I'll have you know..) and we set off on a nice country ride. About 5 mins in and the 'fast' club group flies by, reminding me of how far I have to go to my goal of 70.3 and IM. Now I'm competitive so being past this easily pains me. Soon enough I have forgotten about this though, and I am just concentrating on keeping my cadence and speed up and enjoying myself. Then a Finchley RT clad rider flies by at speed..then another..and another...and another...how many of you are there?! Ah yes, great, ANOTHER reminder of how slow I'm going - thanks guys. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Anyway, the ride was great and I had a fantastic time. The pace was right, the company was friendly and positive, the sun was shining and the views were spectacular. A year ago I was the part of the 'horseriding pack' so as I rode by all the horses and riders around Bayford, Newgate St and Brickendon I was just joping that I had made the right choice and that tri's were the way forward....

So I made it back to Potters Bar in one piece and proud of the fact that I was getting fitter and faster and all that. All I had to do now eat and drink at the cafe and ride the 10km home. Easy...

I manage to navigate my way through Garden centre traffic (bad idea) and I'm now 3km from home and rounding the corner at the top of the hill...when I come across a very large horse and similar sized rider just poodling across the road right in front of me I think the rider was more shocked than me and he somehow managed to get his horse out of the way in time and I was just thinking how lucky I was that I had been lazy and glided around the corner otherwise it could have been interesting.....

So I pedal on and I'm now 200m from home. I have ridden almost 55km which is the furthest I have ridden so I'm kinda proud and just glad to be home. 200m to go on my still shiny new bike and cool looking Sugoi kit and I decide to make things easy for myself so I unclip both feet and glide in to the front of my house...only somehow - without trying - my left foot clips back in just as I touch the brakes for the final time and....you guessed it....SPLAT. Right outside my house I hit the deck. After 53.96km with no major incident I manage to come unstuck and take the skin off my knee at at 53.96 3/4 km. Didn't I feel like a right nob...

Any one else care to share??

P.

Comments

  • fatmattfatmatt Posts: 145
    Don't worry i've done exactly the same,
    did a 50 mile ride, up and down (52.1mph) some of the biggest hills i could find, back home and just rolling into a stop, looked down at the bike computer to see what i'd done, (this is my last ride before a big race) and the front wheel clipped the kerb as i wasn't paying attention, straight down i went and spent the next 3 hours in A&E with a broken shoulder!
  • diddsdidds Posts: 655
    pah. that's rubbish.

    I fell over last week starting OFF from standing still!

    didds
  • PetabPetab Posts: 13
    I feel better already
  • That's nothing! When I first started I came to a busy busy junction so i thought I'll get on to the pavement and wait for a clear spot to pottle across. Got onto the pavement and just stopped! WALLOP in front of everyone. How did I forget to unclip my feet when the exact reason for getting on he pavement was to take them out???????
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