Solo Ride Take 2

Blog Date - 21 May 2015

It is that time again. Solo ride time. 

This time around I decide to leave my little mole (my daughter) happy and warm in her bed. I will try getting out the bike by myself. If I have trouble I can always wake her up then. 

Strange really what a difference a day makes. Well a weekend because when I first brought my bike home there was no way I would have thought that come my second solo ride would I have had the confidence to even try getting the bike out of the shed all by myself.

Once again I get up early just in case it all goes wrong somehow. Today is not warm and sunny but it is at least dry and dry is always good enough. I inspect the path leading to the shed and because it is has been dry the last few days I decide not to lay all  the boards down. I just place one either end where there is a lip as the path meets the flags on either end.

I smile a I slide open the shed doors. There is just some warm pleasure that stirs inside your belly when you see your bike. I unlock the beast and push him out of the shed. I do not get the angle quite right at my first attempt but I am getting better at knowing which way to turn the handle bars and steer the bike in the direction I actually want to go. So a couple of adjustments and the bike is soon out of the shed and onto the patio. Nice one. I feel most proud of myself. 

I go back into the shed to collect my tyre pressure gauge and pump. I recently bough a large plastic container to put all my bike bits into. It is a very simple thing but it gives me pleasure to have all my bike bits stored safely together in the shed with Zen. It somehow makes it feel like this shed is now becoming home to Zen just as my house is beginning to feel like my home for me. Seeing I was so resistant to my bike initially being at my house I really do have to admit I was wrong. In such a short space of time I like my bike being here it makes me smile ... a lot.

I don't know what it is about my new home but it seems to have brought a lot of positive energy into myself. I wake in the morning and coming into the lounge and seeing the sun shining through the French doors lifts my spirits. Closing the curtains in the evening and sitting in my snuggle corner is so cosy. It all just makes me smile ... a lot. 

Hey, you wanna ride with me huh? 

So with this more positive frame of mind that has been flowing my second solo ride does not feel nerve racking, I am happy just to get on with it.  Zen had a good 3 hours clean the other day so he stands gleaming on the patio. He is looking pretty good for a bike with 13k now on him. Yep that's right I am now up to 13k. Not too shabby that is it? 

Without any drama me and Zen are once again going solo. And, and ,and you know what ... can you believe it ?? Hmm you wont believe it but I swear it is true ... I am enjoying myself. I am actually enjoying riding solo. No way I never expected this. I had hoped I would one day but I never thought it would happen this soon. But it has and here I am riding all by my lonesome and not feeling in any way bad about it. I am totally surprised by how I feel as hedgerows and fields of yellow fly by as me and Zen whizz along. This is like, well fun.  Ahhh ha can you Adam and Eve it.!!!! Yeee haaa!!!!

I am confident enough to open it up a little bit and take the corners at a much better pace than last time. I even get disappointed as cars in front eventually slow me down. The only fly in the ointment of this glorious ride is time. I have misjudged how long this trip will take and once I hit the half way mark it becomes clear I am going to be late meeting up with my friends for the bike club ride out. 

I admit I used to be rather a tardy person when it came to being on time. But I have cleaned up my act for a long time now and the realisation that I am going to be late makes me unhappy. However I need to just accept it and ride safely. Better I arrive a little late than not at all. I will know better next time how long this journey will take. So I settle back down and enjoy the rest of the ride. 

As I approach the meeting point I see it is a good turn out from the bike club so I have managed to keep lots of people waiting. Dooh I am keeping my helmet on then to hide my embarrassment and so we can all set off as soon as possible. 

We have a lovely bimble out , eat cake and chat. All the ingredients necessary for a jolly good time. I was worried when I took my bike home that I would end up missing the bike club ride outs because I would not want to ride my bike all the way to our meeting point. But today proved that fear was not founded. Ok It was a nice dry spring day and not all rides down here will be so enjoyable. But they can be that's the key. I can and I did not only enjoy the ride out in a group with my bike club friends but I also enjoyed my solo ride too. It was like the best of both worlds all rolled up into one day. That is one bloody awesome day in my books. May I have many more like this one. 

The feeling I get when a plan comes together.

Reader's Comments

Post Your Comment Posts/Links Rules