Feeling my Age

My arms and shoulders ache: I've been out on the singlespeed in the woods again, but feeling less fit than I should be. For some reason I was slow, which has a bad effect when cycling on worn tyres over wet roots, mud, and polished smooth limestone rocks. Like skiing, it's necessary to have a certain momentum and pace to carry oneself over the tricky bits of trail, as the wheels get thrown sideways and the rider thrown off by small obstacles if one goes too slowly.

With my wheels were slipping and skidding I just didn't feel confident, which in turn meant that I was cycling more circumspectly and slowly instead of faster, and the whole circuit of Leigh Woods and Ashton Court was a mess. It's the sketchiness that scares me, when my front wheel starts moving in a different direction from the intended one. Yes, scared. I've hurt myself a few times when falling off, so I don't want to do it again. I'm a wuss. But at least I'm a 54-year-old wuss still cycling in the woods.


:-)