When I was younger I was in the school swimming team and played in goal for our hockey team, but cycling has always been my sport. I have always gone hillwalking, but for me that is definitely not a sport and more something that I enjoy doing. I don’t obsess over it the way I do about cycling.
In recent years I have started swimming again, but it is infrequent and I find that I get irritated by being dictated to when I can go and swim – with cycling I can get my bike out of the shed whenever I like.
Even more recently I tried running, partly because my son loves it and I thought I would join in with him. That didn’t last long when I found that at eight years old he was actually almost faster than me and that my body just wasn’t built for such an activity. On one occasion, after a longer run, I found I couldn’t walk down the stairs, such was the pain in my leg muscles. I ended up sitting on the top step and bumping myself down one step at a time. That was when I knew my running days were numbered.
Another sport I thought I would revisit was hockey. Again at the behest of my children, who had just started playing at school, I joined in an after-school parent and child hockey match. Needless to say, the next day my muscles were shredded as was my skin from sliding on the astro-turf.
No, cycling is the sport for me. I know where I am with a bike – and the great joy with cycling is the varied forms it takes. I can choose a bike to suit my mood. If I want to ride, but the dogs need a good walk then out comes my mountain bike – two birds with one stone and all that. If I feel I’ve been hitting the crisp and chocolate cupboard too much, then out comes my fixed gear bike – the quickest way to weight loss that I know of.
If it’s wet and cold and too grotty for a road ride, but I still want some skinny tyre action, then out comes my cyclo-cross bike and off round the farm tracks and trails around my village I go. If I’m really after something different then my track bike goes in the boot of my car and I head off to the velodrome in Glasgow.
All these bikes have different characteristics, not just physically, but also to the type of riding I do. To me they represent several different sports in one and I find that I don’t really need anything else. I have been asked if I get bored from riding my bike all the time. The simple answer is no because the variety of routes, bikes and company is always changing.
I work away from home a lot and on a recent trip where I was away for a month I considered packing my running shoes. I thought it was a quick and easy way of maintaining a level of fitness without too much bother and effort. In the end I packed another cycling jersey and thought to myself:I’m a cyclist – why would I do anything else?
Join the Blazing Saddles Strava Club at: www.strava.com/clubs/BlazingSaddlesWeekendCourier
Where to Ride? Lednock Wood – Comrie
Start/ Finish: OS Landranger 1:50000 Map 51 Start at the car park by Comrie Golf Course NN 776 223
Distance: 1km
Suitable For: Young children and their families
Description: This short off road route that runs by the River Lednock is an ideal route for the youngest of children. As well as offering a scenic route, it has plenty of interesting features on the way, including a wetland area, motte and weir; with plenty of seats along the way to stop and have a picnic.
