My family are having a bit of a time – well me mam is – we've spent most of last week having familial hissy fit on trying to do a nice thing, and whether it would make things worse or not. I have come to the realisation that parts of my family don't have a very good opinion of me. Me mam thinks that I can't get from Birmingham to Redditch (I'm apparently incapable of booking a taxi at 32) and my bro thinks I'll throw myself on a coffin of someone I barely know, because I'm a wild pathetic little creature who wails at taxis and behaves inappropriately at funerals.
Ah… to see ourselves as others see us. It takes practice, a massive level of arrogance (or – as I prefer to call it - self esteem), and discipline to do what you think is right and sod them all. The scunner of doing something for your nearest and dearest inspite of them, and not because of them will wear off no doubt.
Needless to say there has been no cycling. Nothing, nada Zippo and zilch. So a plan has to be put in place to introduce this back. I'm down south on Wednesday until Saturday so I can't do much. Instead I shall start commuting to work by bike again. It's only 2 miles there and back but it's better than the nothing I have been doing.
I shall come back early on the Saturday and see if I can go out on Sunday for a proper ride.
A goal into next week will be to get in touch with some clubs/groups. I am in a bit of a quandary about finding a club. The one's we've (me and my occasional cycling buddies) come across all seem a bit too 'hard core' for my liking. Rather than going out and riding (which is what I like to do), there does seem a rather big pull towards time trialling, maximum heart rates and all sorts of jiggery pokery I don't want to have to adhere to (or more honestly can't be arsed with).
Going out two weeks ago (16 miles roughly 11mph) we did come across a set of cyclists that were going down the Deeside railway line – one of them had a carriage on the back with two kids inside – who looked like my kind of cyclists. They had CTC Grampian tabards on so I'll get in touch with them.
Mx
