Tag Archives: cycling

The spirit is willing, but….

OK, so we bought a bike for me.  2 weeks ago, but maintenance has precluded its use until now.  Not a fancy-dancy, all-singing-and-dancing one but it has more gears than I’m likely to use in aeons, and that’s assuming that I manage to make it out of the valley floor, which isn’t looking like a money-earner any time soon!

Yesterday I set out to find the aetelier of the clog maker, close to Les Verdiers.  I found it … not difficult as it as well sign-posted.  The disappointment was opening the door and wishing the 2 men inside a cheery “Bonjour” and receiving looks that strongly suggested that I was less welcome than ET.  Suffice it to say that I didn’t stay long!  After taking a swing from the bottle of cranberry juice that I had purloined from Mo and filled with water for my ride I continued on with no idea of where I was going and quickly found myself on a road about 20 feet above the limpid waters of la Dordogne.  I trundled on and manage not to terrorise a group of retired walkers (they shouted back to each other a warning re the “velo!” that was making its way through their pack).

I finally made it home to Les Terraces only gently red-in-the-face and realising the illusion of a so-called level road, but not properly until I swung my leg over the saddle, parked the bike and made it up the 2 flights of stairs to the 2nd floor with thighs quivering like a good jelly.  Before you ask, the run was only 7.5 miles per Google Earth.  Sad, but true.

Today I decided to head eastwards instead and go through Le Fleix and back home via LeClerc to pick up a 1kg pain.  There was quite a head-wind.  Graham tells me that it was only about 20KM, but I swear it was more.  Today’s run was a mere 9.5 miles, but I worried about my ability to walk through LeClerc.

In theory, this ought all to get easier, and I bought the bike for fun ….. Please don’t tell Graham, but it may find its way onto an “A Vendre” notice board sooner than I’d thought!  No, I’m not that much of a wimp,  but this cycling thing has made me realise that I’m not as young as I thought I was.