So while it might be true that you never forget how to ride a bike, it seems that it is all too easy to forget just how badly you ache from getting back on your bike after a couple of years. I obviously got carried away when I finally stopped wobbling around on my bike, I think I rode for about an hour, thoroughly enjoying the sense of freedom on my bike, and of course the lovely countryside I found myself riding through after not too long. When I realised I’d been out for a while I thought it best to turn back as I didn’t want to wear myself out, or even worse discover that my puncture repair wasn’t the great job I thought it was – I had certainly ridden too far to push the bike back and riding on a flat tyre didn’t appeal. Home I went, and I felt great – it certainly made the trials of digging the bike out of the shed and fixing it up worth it and I decided that I would really make an effort this time to get out on my bike at least twice a week.
I suspected I might feel it a little bit the next day and was pleased when I was only a little achey and sore when I woke up – the sign of a good bike ride I thought. I was also pleased to see that the tyre hadn’t gone flat overnight just to spite me. I resisted the temptation to go out again that day and agreed with myself that I would go again tomorrow, perhaps further this time, seeing as I and the bike were apparently in good shape. I spent a while looking on the internet for cycle routes around my way and found a couple that I thought might be worth a try. This was not to be the case however, as on waking the next day, full of thoughts of cycling I realised that I was in pain, lots of pain in fact – my legs felt like they had been run over by a truck and my back was throbbing dully. Not as fit as I thought apparently, so much so it took my body a day to realise just how unfit it was. Delayed onset muscle soreness apparently – it’s a common thing in unfit people returning to exercise. I am considering returning the bike to the shed.
The lovely spring weather inspired me to dig out and dust off my bike and see if you really don’t ever forget how to ride one. It was buried a little deeper in the shed than I remembered, I guess it must have been at least a couple of years since I rode it, and it had made a lovely home for countless large spiders and their tangled mess of webs. It took me nearly half an hour to get the damn thing out and the resulting gash on my arm was very unwelcome, I have no idea what I did it on but it seems to be OK, no lockjaw setting in so far! The first thing that became apparent was both tyres were flat, unsurprising really so I pumped them up and carried on peeling off cobwebs and making sure everything else looked in working order. The back tyre proceeded to flatten again, annoyingly meaning it had a puncture. A good rummage in the toolbox revealed an old puncture repair kit, seemingly unused – I was beginning to wonder if in fact the bike had got a puncture which led to me lazily leaving it in the shed with a view to “fixing it sometime soon”, conveniently I don’t remember if this was the case or not, remembering affirmations of laziness is not a good habit to get into! So the next day, puncture fixed and cobwebs dusted, I ventured out on the bike – at first I wondered if perhaps I needed stabilisers as I was wobbling all over the place, overcorrecting each wobble and making things progressively worse as I went. Taking an emergency stop break against a tree I was really wondering if all this hassle was worthwhile, if I really was going to be able to enjoy riding my bike again – one last try I thought, and off I wobbled, only this time I didn’t wobble – I actually managed to ride my bike in a straight line and after 5 minutes of panic that it was just a fluke and any second I was going to crash I realised that in fact I wasn’t, and it is true, you really don’t forget how to ride a bike.
So while it might be true that you never forget how to ride a bike, it seems that it is all too easy to forget just how badly you ache from getting back on your bike after a couple of years. I obviously got carried away when I finally stopped wobbling around on my bike, I think I rode for about an hour, thoroughly enjoying the sense of freedom on my bike, and of course the lovely countryside I found myself riding through after not too long. When I realised I’d been out for a while I thought it best to turn back as I didn’t want to wear myself out, or even worse discover that my puncture repair wasn’t the great job I thought it was – I had certainly ridden too far to push the bike back and riding on a flat tyre didn’t appeal. Home I went, and I felt great – it certainly made the trials of digging the bike out of the shed and fixing it up worth it and I decided that I would really make an effort this time to get out on my bike at least twice a week.
I suspected I might feel it a little bit the next day and was pleased when I was only a little achey and sore when I woke up – the sign of a good bike ride I thought. I was also pleased to see that the tyre hadn’t gone flat overnight just to spite me. I resisted the temptation to go out again that day and agreed with myself that I would go again tomorrow, perhaps further this time, seeing as I and the bike were apparently in good shape. I spent a while looking on the internet for cycle routes around my way and found a couple that I thought might be worth a try. This was not to be the case however, as on waking the next day, full of thoughts of cycling I realised that I was in pain, lots of pain in fact – my legs felt like they had been run over by a truck and my back was throbbing dully. Not as fit as I thought apparently, so much so it took my body a day to realise just how unfit it was. Delayed onset muscle soreness apparently – it’s a common thing in unfit people returning to exercise. I am considering returning the bike to the shed.