Hello blog lovers.
Going out on my bike when it's cold and windy and raining, is not my idea of keeping cycling fun! There was a couple of days that we could have got out on our bikes, but other issues needed our attention, illness and goodness knows what else was keeping us from getting out. But this evening, well it was just too good an opportunity to miss.
A bit of bike maintenance, pumping tyres mostly, before we left to make sure there wasn't going to be any punctures or flats, and we were ready. We were only going to stay very local we did not bother to take extra inner tubes. We were soon Bromley bound, with our lights blazing, reflective trim looking sparkly and a smile on our faces.
My cycling has really taken a nose dive recently, what with the problems with my bike hating me and the fact that I now seem to have less strength in my left hand, my confidence seems to have nose dived as well. This evening I am riding on my Giant, with the flat bars, to build my saddle bum again and also to boost my confidence on two wheels!
During the time when we first bought bikes up until now, we have had various different kind of lights. Lights that look as bright as a tea light in tin can to lights that have aeroplanes trying to land on cycle path! I do like having bright lights, I like to know that people can see me! The lights that we both were using today were predecessors of the ones that we now use on our 'posh bikes', in fact the Old Boy uses an even brighter light than the one that I have now! But it is always re-assuring when you get told that the lights are bright, as this young man said to us while we had stopped at a local car dealership, (the Old Boy can't pass a car dealership without having a nose around)
Anyway, after this little break (for me it is most welcomed), we had the small hill to climb up. Plaistow Lane! If the timing of the traffic lights is with you then you can get a bit of speed on as you come down to the lights, turn right and then use the momentum to get up there. Well, this evening we had the lights with us, but then a car, just two or three cars ahead of us, wanted to do the next right and held up the traffic! I had to stop to let this clear. Bang goes my momentum to get up the hill!
Now, this is the bit of our ride that infuriated me! Maybe I am wrong here, but quite frankly, I don't think I am! There is some temporary traffic lights just after the round about at the end of Plaistow lane, on the second exit. As I approached the lights they were green, we went passed them on green! It's not just a little bit of road works here, there is at least 50 or 60 meters of road works to pass by before you got to the other side. Now I was riding along, after passing the green lights, which must have changed while I was passing the road works. But before I had go to the end of the temporary road block the traffic ahead of me started coming towards me, on the road. They had to drive on to my side of the road! Now they would never have done that if I happened to be in a car! I had to go onto the pavement to get out of the way of the them!
Now, was I wrong! Maybe I should have waited to see how long the green light had been on before I went through it, waited until it had changed to red and then to green again, just to make sure I would have had enough time to pass by the road works! Grrrr, makes me mad when people intimidate me!
Rant over! Still bloomin annoying though! From there, it was just a few moments before we stopped off for a light refreshment at the Red Lion. We sat outside, which is quite spooky really, it's winter time and we were sat outside enjoying our drinks. Apparently the colder weather will soon be here. I expect my cycling to be taking yet another nose dive if it does!
We went through the high street, our destination is Hayes. We are going to go through the ally way by the school and then ride through Hayes and up Barnet Wood Lane. Just to make sure that I could be truly seen and to make sure that drivers were fully aware that I was on the road, I put my head torch on! There, let them try and intimidate me now! I shall stare at them right in there own headlights!
We got home safe and sound, and both feeling fairly happy that we had finally managed just this small ride today.
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