Cycling

Recently I have taken up cycling again, as a way of keeping fit. A good friend recently gave m his old bike, to replace my old bike which was a good few years older than his, about 10 years I think. It's a bike by Alpine Stars and is nice and lightweight which makes cycling easier. I'm still getting used to having 7 more gears to play with.

Also I enjoy going on rides in the country side, which is really good where I live as there are plenty of country lanes to ride on, though with Petersfield surrounded by hills most of the lanes have up and down stretches! I hope that by the end of the summer going up hills will become easier, and that I will be able to do a good 30-40 miles per ride, currently I can manage 20 miles. I have been advised that when cycling I should not "stand up" on the bike as that uses more energy, however I have yet to test this theory.

What is good about Petersfield is that I live near a cycle path in to the town centre, which makes getting in to town a lot safer. I think it is about time that more cycle paths where built where possible in towns, cities and in between towns etc so that there is a safe way to cycle - I have noticed that when cycling, a minority of car drivers pass me in an unsafe manner as they do not allow enough room between themselves and me on the bike, which is not good, especially if an accident happened. Also I think some car drivers want to get cyclists too quickly, meaning that the overtake may be done on a dangerous stretch of road, perhaps just before a sharp bend etc., as they feel cyclists are an inconvenience on the roads, when in fact we have just as much right to be on the roads as car drivers.

I hope in later blog entries to let you know what is happening with my cycling.