My bicycle

My bicycle is one of these, a blue one, photo from the Claude Butler catalogue.  I bought it when I was in my mid 3Os, I am now 77 and I still own it. I can remember learning to cycle as a child,  it was a but like learning to swim, it seemed impossible until suddenly it wasn’t and you never unlearn.  

I have covered a lot of miles on this bike, regularly cycling 12 miles to work then back again, long rides with MrFF onto the North York Moors, Youth Hostelling holidays into the Dales and the Lake District.  I truly fell in love with my bike, I think MrFF is on his third model but I have been faithful to mine.

When we moved to Ilkley Claude came with me but languished with other bikes in a storage cupboard in our basement.  Whilst Ilkley has a large cycling population and one of the largest cycling clubs in the UK, the roads here are extremely busy, even the little back roads, I didn’t think I had the confidence to ride.   I remember seeing my bike just once over the last 12 years and thought it was in quite poor condition, I considered trying to sell it for renovation.  Then last week MrFF called me down to the basement, he’d taken my bike out of the cupboard and pumped up the tyres.  It’s actually in great condition and everything seems to work.  

Now I am wondering if I could manage a bit more pedalling even if it’s just round the quiet residential streets, I’ve never been afraid to dismount and push if the situation got tricky.  There’s just one problem.  I chose a bike with a man’s frame, it has a cross bar which maximises structural integrity and gives better handling.  In my prime I confidently threw my leg over the cross bar to mount, last week there was no quick swing of the leg.  I really struggled to get my leg high enough to clear the bar.  I can still touch my toes, I thought i was reasonably flexible, this was a bit of a shock.  This week when I am not watching the Tour de France you may find me hanging onto the furniture whilst practising swinging my leg high, take no notice.