Those who know me know I sure aint no Wiggins wannabe, I aint no sporting person to compete (not with my disability) & I definitely do NOT wear Lycra, I sure hell don't have the figure for it & if I did I would look more like the Michelin Man.
Photo thanks to Peter Monk
Definitely don't fit the misconceptions & to be honest most do not...
And when I mention shopping by bike I often get the look of horror as if it is some feat that can only be done by car or possibly by bus. Again I blow this out of the window too...
But the best one is when I get asked if I went out cycling on my days off during the past few months & I go yeah I went to this place or that place & cycled 30 or 40 miles on my 20+kg Cruiser.
And its the OMG moment I get as if I am totally mad (like I had today), as if it is some impossible task & in some cases I've had been mentioned that cycling 5 miles is quite far (REALLY??), its something I can do in 30 mins easily & not break a sweat. And as I have said, I aint fit & I sure don't do those 100 mile rides on lightweight racing bikes (roadies) & go as quick as possible. Why bother? I go at a pace I like in clothes I feel comfortable in, I stop when I want or feel I need to & eat & drink whenever I like & do these rides with friends or alone.
I often get remarks on my feat of cycling on these long rides or when shopping which I just smile & shrug, often tho I get comments on my Cruiser as one person said last week as they went past its a 'Radical bike'. :D
To me it's just a bike that's comfortable to ride, easy to ride & very reliable. I think my limit so far is 50 miles (due to disability) but hope I can increase that in the future (depending on disability) but every time I am out cycling I am showing the world a bike is a mode of transport, nothing special needed to ride one & if you get the right bike for your body you can eventually build up the miles & do what you would never think possible. And I have 4 I can use, all different & all bought for a purpose in mind.
Photo thanks to Ashley Parmenter
Hell, when I got back to cycling I found 1 mile was an effort until I got cycling regularly & it is possible to do far more miles than what I am doing now on any bike. :D
But for now I am happy with how I am doing & smashing the skewed perception of cycling.
Totally inspiring fella!! Stuck in a ♿ at the mo but looking at ebike trikes 😀 nilling
ReplyDeleteThankyou, just something I needed to get off my chest after a convo with a fella on Saturday & then those I work with on Monday following my ride to Flatford. If you're looking in the UK for a possible Trike you could speak to Wheels for Wellbeing (http://www.wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/) or You Can Bike Too (http://www.youcanbiketoo.org/) for any places that could help or try these companies
DeleteTomcat SNI Ltd (http://www.tomcatspecialneeds.co.uk/) &
CycloTricity (http://www.cyclotricity.com/)
Just because you hate road cycling mountain bike and doesn't mean everybody else should. Also, wearing a motorcycle gang vest on a beach cruiser doesn't make you a badass.
ReplyDeleteOh look, here we have a sad lil person who didn't really bother reading the blog & try understand it, where did I say I hate road cycling or mountain bikes? Not anywhere & I do in fact have different cycles I use if you had bothered to read my other blogs. All cycles are road bikes thus everyone can do road cycling & you're proving the stereotyping I am on about.
DeleteAlso I ain't wearing a motorcycle gang vest, you're talking complete nonsense! Nor am I riding a beach cruiser tho the make of my main cycles do build them & have a totally different look.
You're a silly lil person just happy to troll & spout complete bollocks & won't even put your name to it coz you're just so sad & lonely...
Love your bike with the sensible mudguards Foxy. I have a similar one 18 inch frame hybrid but I'm too scared to go on the road with it. I'm 73.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for commenting, great to hear you're cycling. I've always preferred to have a cycle that's properly equipped so you are covered no matter where you cycle & my Cruiser (now e-Cruiser) came as standard with mudguards & dynohub lights.
DeleteI can understand how you feel about the roads & I work with many people around the country to get better cycling infrastructure suitable for all no matter their age or ability. Have you looked up any local group rides for the general public? Won't be any atm due to the lockdown but will be running as soon as they can. Some do group rides for the over 60s. Normally off road or quiet ones. Here's some links that could help. https://www.cyclinguk.org/community-cycle-clubs, https://www.letsride.co.uk/guided-rides
Have you tried an ebike, I now have one as converted my bike into one & it really help with cycling on the road when I would normally struggle. (https://the2wheeledwolf.blogspot.com/2020/01/building-of-e-cruiser.html).