Busy December - Dec 2013

Sometimes life does not go to plan and things happen we have no control over. Things like stomach bugs, job interviews and daughters requiring an operation to have their appendix out. So please forgive your errant blogger for not keeping up to date. I have been out on the bike on occasion but have not had the time to write any of it up so I will just give you a brief summary of what I have been up to this December bike wise.

Monday 2nd December 2013

The start of December sees rather mild weather if somewhat damp. It is definitely good enough to arrange a little ride out with friends. Ren and I meet a few of our friends, Nikki, Carl and Jason in Westhoughton and then ride together to Orrell. I like riding in a group. I am confident enough now to not feel too intimated at the prospect and I enjoy being part of a what feels like a little gang. Today I am lucky in that everything just feels right on the bike. I am still experiencing good and bad days and this seems so far to be a good day in which things just come that little bit easier. I have been this route to Orrell a few times and knowing the route helps with my confidence.

At Orrell we meet a friend of Nikki's, a blood biker called Matthew. We have not meet him or rode with him before but he fits right in and we are soon chatting like old friends. The next stop will be Southport. Again I have done this trip a couple of times and I am feeling surprisingly relaxed on the bike. I am actually having fun now some of my nerves are beginning to abate. It is very quiet at Southport on this coolish Monday morning and parking is very easy at the Carousel because our little group is the only one there. We warm up with a brew and after the usual banter return back to the bikes. My heart skips a beat ... one of the bikes is missing ... oh noooo ... 6 bikers, 5 bikes. This is wrong, this is horrible, this is .... me having a senior moment. I forgot Carl had some chores to attend to so left just before the rest of us. Dooh! All is well, 5 bikers 5 bikes phew.

The 5 of us decide the day is still young and we are all up for more riding so we all follow Ren to Eccleston Delph Scuba Diving Centre. http://www.thedelph.co.uk  No we do not plan to try diving with our bikes but it has a nice cafe on site and it is a pleasant route to ride to. The roads are twisty and littered with leaves. Even so my little bike is handling the corners well and I am able to keep up with the pace without too much effort.

I have yet to figure out why some days just feel so much better than others. Is it just growing experience helping my confidence or will I always be dogged by good days and bad? Too soon to tell yet but I am totally enjoying my self today. It just feels right.


Waterproof gear but no good for diving

It begins to rain just after we arrive at the Delph so the warm open fire of the cafe and another brew is most welcome. We watch with interest some divers getting geared up to dive. Of course the rain does not matter one bit in their chosen hobby. Matthew asks me how long I have been riding and I tell him 4 months. He says I am doing very well for a beginner and already ride better than some guys he knows. I am well pleased to be told this and I grin from ear to ear. Jay also says he is impressed with my speed around the corners and how I don't panic and brake and of course my head grows enough to cause concern over whether my helmet will go back on.

There is not much daylight around at this time of year and all to soon it is time to head home. It was a great day. Just what I hoped biking would be about. Friends, laughter, twisty roads and a few compliments on my riding thrown my way. Perfect.

Monday 16th December 2013

It a cold one today but blue skies beckon for the bike to come out and so I wrap up well in my thermals and get on the bike. Just a shortish local trip today around the Angelzarke area.

Once again my confidence is up and the riding goes well. Ren persuades me to ride in front for a while. I am not keen on this as I prefer following. But I know it is something I have to learn. One thing is does allow is for the bf to assess my riding more easily. He does offer me praise on my growing confidence but also a criticism. It appears I am going around sharp bends too fast.

Here in lies the dilemma of many a newbie biker. When do we know fast is too fast? If we are lucky a slip or slide might give us a clue that we our our bike has reached its limits. Most likely the former if we are novices. I have had times when I knew I had got it wrong. Like the time I almost ended up in a barbed wire fence when first riding or when I found myself on the wrong side of the road when taking a corner too fast. Both times I was lucky to escape with a scare. However the problem now is I was not aware my speed was too fast. But as the bf pointed out I was probably not allowing for any hazards like diesel spills and on a day like today the possible risk of ice.

It is a sobering reminder to me that I must be careful not to get over confident. Again it is such a hard thing to balance. When we first start out it is our nervousness and hesitancy that may lead to mistakes. But over-confidence becomes the new enemy once we gather some miles under our tyres. I remember when I was learning to drive a car. My driving instructor would tell me when passing parked cars that I was too close or too far. It used to get me so angry because I could not find that correct perfect distance. I do not yet know how I will discover what is too fast on my bike. I guess the best I can do it calm my enthusiasm down a notch.  

We learn later that evening that a fellow biker who was known by some of my friends but not myself personally was killed that day on his way home from his own day out on his bike. It is a sad day when yet another fellow biker pays the ultimate price for our beloved hobby. May he RIP and ride the rainbows.

21st and 22nd December 2013

Saturday

The bf is a kind hearted soul and has agreed to go and view a bike for a friend that she is considering buying and report back on the bikes condition. The bike is in Southport so that seems a good excuse as any for a ride. The days starts out sunny and then the heavens open turning what looks like a promising day into a grey disaster. But lo and behold just when it is time to set off good fortune favours the brave and it stops raining.

However although the weather appears to have improved my confidence has taken a step back today. I do not know if it was learning of another bikers death last weekend, or the knowledge I myself was getting a little too overly confident. Then of course it could just be one of those off days. I do not actually make any real mistakes it just feels more like hard work today and not the lovely easy flow I experienced the last couple of ride outs.

We find the address of the bike for sale, the bf gives the it a look over and takes some photos for his friend. I do not know what she will make of it but in my opinion it is a shed. The fact it won't even start without a bump only adds to its distinct lack of appeal. Add to this the fact the seller was still in bed when we arrived and had to woken up by his mum and he hadn't even washed the bike is, well, errr, it is a resounding no from me. But fortunately I am not buying, I have my well loved and polished bike by my side.

Seeing we are in Southport a trip to the Carousel seems in order and once again we find it completely deserted apart from our own bikes. After a quick fuel stop of tea and toast we decide to travel to Croston next. The Wheatsheaf is a delightful pub and a particular favourite of mine.  http://www.wheatsheaf-croston.com . A roaring fire warms us up in no time. It is definitely a bit chilly outside today. My thermals and furry gloves are keeping the worse of the chill at bay fortunately. Even so my fingers begin to feel the cold on the way home and it is quite windy. This is something new for me, riding in the wind. It rocks my bike side to side slightly and its an odd feeling. I think on another more confident day I might have enjoyed the new challenge but today I just grip my handle bars and grit my teeth.

I did not dislike the ride today. I was glad to be out and about on the bike. I just lost that ease I had the other week and it felt like hard work at times.

Sunday

It is another cold and windy day but it is dry and I really want to get out on the bike so thermals on. We ride some windy county roads to Tockholes. It is probably on a warmer day a pretty place but my fingers are cold and as it is even more windy than yesterday I am concentrating more on rocking and rolling and staying upright than on the scenery.

A sudden incline on a bend in the road that leads to a major road takes me by surprise. I am simply not prepared. I am not in the right gear and a look to my left shows a car approaching along the main road. I should stop but I am all to cock and totally unprepared. I am aware that if I try to stop while on this incline which also has quite a camber that I am most likely going to drop the bike. So I make a stupid choice and decide to pull out onto the main road, well to close to the oncoming car. I get away with it ... just. But on reflection I should have stopped. A scratched bike and a possible sore knee would have been preferable to a flat me.


I took this to show how filthy the bike was but the winter sun makes it look all clean and shiny

We finish off the day at Rivington Barn. I pull into the car park and again find myself in the wrong gear. I am just not with it today once again. However at least I do not panic I just stop the bike sort myself out and get into first gear and park up.

I guess I have to expect good days and not so good days will be part of the course, at least for a while. They are not bad days as such. I do not hate them and wish I never rode. There just not easy days, not I did better than I did before days. New experiences such as wind take time to master. I am still learning bit by bit.  

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