The Courier’s health reporter, Marjory Inglis, is one of those taking part in this year’s Monster Bike and Hike to raise money for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. After making the decision to enter, and selecting the correct footwear, it’s time for the final piece of the puzzle a bike.
The racing bike that took me from Krakow to Budapest the summer after the Berlin Wall came down is rusting in the basement. The pearly white machine that carried my Lycra-clad rear end through Polish hamlets never before visited by Westerners, then powered me up and over the Tatra Mountains, has a place in my heart, and my basement, forever. I could never throw it on a skip.
But when tackling The Monster, there’s no room for sentiment.
Eventually, every relationship comes to an end one way or another and I had to accept it was time to move on and leave my racer behind. I was sure I’d get on better with a mountain bike but, not having been on a bike of any sort for more than a decade, and never having even sat astride a mountain bike, I needed expert advice.
Like thousands of Dundee folk needing cycling advice, I headed for Nicholson’s Cycling Centre. Bryn Williams, the proprietor of the family firm that has been giving a service to cyclists for over 60 years, got straight to the point when I appeared in the shop.
“You should have started your training before now,” he said.
I tried as best I could, wearing high heels and office clothes, to persuade him of my credentials as a former biker and to take me seriously as a contender for completing The Monster.
The 500-mile route from Krakow to Budapest was surely an impressive achievement but that was back in the summer of 1990. If he was impressed, Bryn didn’t show it. But, encouragingly, he didn’t see my age as a barrier to getting stuck in to cycling again.
“The biggest increase in sales of cycles in the last three or four years is in the 55 to 60-year-old age group,” said Bryn. “These are people who are possibly overweight, have got a heart problem, have got an arthritis problem or have just retired and want something to do.”
So, I’m in good company!
Years of experience means that when a customer walks in the door, Bryn already has a good idea whether he needs to guide them towards a shopping bike or a top-of-the-range racer that can cost thousands of pounds.
“You have got to identify what would be suitable for the customer,” he said.
He doesn’t think I should buy a bike for one event and I didn’t have several hundred pounds in my pocket to seal a deal.
“You are not buying a bike for two days at Monster you are buying a bike to last you 10 years,” he said.
Bryn decided to let me borrow a bike from a collection he’s storing on behalf of a local activity group. That was a smart move.
In glorious sunshine on Sunday there, myself and two chums cycled from Dundee to Arbroath. I’m a bit bruised after I got a puncture and fell off the bike but I’m glowing from all that fresh air and looking forward to meandering through the glorious byways of Tayside and Fife on the next sunny weekend.
I’m hooked on cycling again. Guess I’ll have to start saving looks like I’ll be buying a bike soon and joining the pensioners who have rediscovered their cycling gene.For more information on the The Monster Bike and Hike challenge visit www.maggiescentres.org. To sponsor Marjory and donate to the charity go to www.justgiving.com/Marjory-Inglis. You can also find the Maggie’s Dundee Centre at www.facebook.com/maggiesdundee.