VIDEO BIKE BLOG: Training session ‘war wounds’
A team of local novice cyclists are shedding their excesses by training to cycle from London to Paris in two days during May in aid of Parkinson’s. Their third blog details the painful pitfalls of poor cycling...It’s been quite hard to write the latest edition of the blog - literally. A training crash has left me with a sore arm and shoulder - and Richard Eldridge and Alex Etches the only ones of our five not to have ‘hit the road’ as yet.Following on from earlier incidents involving Richard Candlin and Andy Charles, this time it was my turn to fall victim to my lack of biking prowess when out bright and early on a drizzly Sunday morning.It went something like this. Riding towards Ollerton, a lorry was making it obvious he wanted past, but didn’t have room because of islands in the middle of the road. Andy sensibly moved onto the pavement and I was aiming to courteously follow suit when my wheel went from under me in the wet and I was down.Of course, the rest of the lads helped to pick me up and the lorry driver briefly stopped at the side of the road, without getting out of his cab, to check that it was nothing too serious.Once they dusted me down, what do you think the next think they did was? That’s right - make sure they got a video interview for the blog. Sympathetic to the end, those guys!As you will see looking at the video, I didn’t seem to be in much pain at the time, but it’s amazing how you stiffen up as the bruising comes out (at least I hope that’s all it is).As well as the upper body damage, I’ve also taken a good chunk of skin off my left hand (despite wearing two pairs of gloves) and my left knee as well, which tends to sting a bit in the shower.It’s not even as I wasn’t trying to be careful on the damp road - I’d already queried whether we should call off the run, but was overruled! If nothing else it will teach me to be more careful when transferring from one surface to another at speed.Thankfully, it’s nothing like as bad as when I came off my bike in a
