Riding High, Riding Pretty!: June 2020

A learning Swerve...... Curve

Hello readers.

Guys, I was busy writing up my report about me and Naggy going out for our bike ride, but then I was distracted and it never got as far as the second sentence! Anyway, it was all about how I was going to bite the bullet and go and do another solo bike ride, but then, as it happened I saw Naggy as she came out of her house and asked her to come along with me. We had a great time! Weather was great and we did the nice route through the parks, away from traffic, the one I had done with Bims and then again by myself! Perfect, I thought. Naggy hadn't been on her bike at all this year, well, not outside that is, she has got one of her bikes up on a torture and tormenter machine, for inside biking thing, the turbo training thing! So it was just perfect, for her and me! I didn't have to do a solo ride, even though I did it before, it's still much nicer with at least one other person and Naggy can get her first bike ride in for the this year.

We had a fab time, it showed me that Naggys is still much fitter and stronger than me, but then I am older than her! For the first few miles Naggy was behind me, now I understand it's because she wasn't quite sure of where we were going, I was just going to say 'Turn left' or 'Turn right' when we were nearing the turns. The riding through the parks was fairly easy and gentle as there were quite a few people there, especially Normans park, so we just took it easy, but once we were through and back on the roads and with the knowledge of where we were heading Naggy found her form. And that was it! She was in front for the rest of the way. I did kind of get in front of her by Crown Lane Spur, she was waiting for me, as I caught up with her I decided not to stop but just carry on riding by! It wasn't that long that she caught me up and said "Come on, get up that hill" Hmm, yup, deffo more fitter than me!

This is our geeky stats for that ride, it's a lovely route, off road but on cycle paths, quiteish roads, especially due to this Covid shit going on, but one that we can do again as we gain our confidence and strength back!

Sunday 31st May!

There will be some graphic pictures at the end of this blog, if you don't want to see them just scroll up slowly!

Me and Naggy had decided to go for another bike ride, the same route as we did a couple of days before, just a bit later on in the day, so hopefully less people about. I got myself ready, my shoes, gloves, my bike, then went over to Naggys house. The weather, again was just lovely, I forgot to bring my water, but it's only going to be less than an hour, so it's all ok.

We rode along our road, then Farringdon, side by side, it is nice and quiet down our roads and we can get away with that, we were on to Southborough lane next heading up the hill. Naggy was in front as we rode up and took the left hand turning called Crestview, Naggy seemed to whizz up there. The roads were lovely and and peaceful, the very small incline of a hill that is Southborough, giving me a little workout, before the rest of the ride, which is just nice and flat (ish) to enjoy.

We turned into Tentpeg Lane, I rode along the road to go on to the cycle path and then......I saw it......just as quick as anything, a big husky dog ran in front of my bike! Then......nothing! Absolutely nothing! I don't know if I hit the dog, or swerved or what, I just don't know! My next memory was of Naggy, my friend Karin, my very calm but very concerned friend, holding my head telling me to stay with her! I couldn't understand what was going on, I looked down at my hands and saw blood, I heard voices. The next memory I was on the ambulance trolly, I saw the dog and the dog owner across the other side of the car park "There, that's the dog" I said pointing.

Why couldn't I remember anything else? It was all just bits of stuff, I couldn't remember getting to where I was or anything. Why? What's wrong? Well I shall tell you what was wrong! I was not wearing a cycle helmet! I had on a cap, a running cap, a hanging around cap! I had all the other gear on but nothing to protect my head! What an absolute nutter! Ok, so it's a route I've done before, many times before now! But on this particular occasion, a dog not a leash, which they should be apparantly during this shit corona times, was doing what dogs do, contributed to me coming off my bike. I contributed to the fact that I didn't protect my head with a helmet and ended up with a head injury!

At the hospital they stitched my head up, I have six stitches in my head and I also had to have a CT scan to make sure I didn't do any other damage! Since then I have head from my next door neighbour, about someone he knew who went riding on his bike but on the one occasion went out he didn't put his helmet on, which he always did before, crashed his bike and is now in a wheel chair! I also head from another friend saying that she came off her bike, wearing a helmet which broke, she still needed stitches but doctors told her that the helmet protected her from even more damage!

The thing is, you hear about these things, you read about them, your friends tell you about them, but until it happens to you, you always think "I am going to be ok, I don't go that fast, I stay in cycle lanes etc" but it can and does happen!

SO PEOPLE, PLEASE, PLEASE WEAR A HELMET, DON'T BE VAIN, DON'T BE "IT WON'T HAPPEN TO ME" DON'T BE LIKE ME!

That's all I can say really! Don't be like me! I am lucky that I can still write this blog. Am I being over dramatic? Feck no I am not, as you can see from the picture below, I am lucky it wasn't any worse than that! What if......just what if.......?

And now, I am going to have to try and get back on that bike!......Shit!