June 2017| 7
ED's LETTER
June 2017: Lessons learned
on the bike
T
his month has taught me a lot about
the type of cyclist I am. Firstly, a trip to
Betteshanger Park, an attraction near Deal,
Kent, just a short drive from my house,
taught me that I CAN cycle on mountain biking
trails! My seven-year-old son and I visited the park
last week and chose to follow the blue trail that
took us through dense forests where the surface
was rarely flat and smooth. lthough we both
started nervously, choosing to tip-toe down some of
the steeper descents rather than trust our balance
on our bikes, by the end we were hurtling down
them all, if for no other reason than we wanted
to be able to make the climb on the other side of
the ‘valley’! There was only one hill at the end that
we both lost our nerve on; it was called ‘Chicken
Run’ and was the only section of the trail that
actually had a name. I think it was this, rather than
the actual terrain that ut us off. ooking back, it
wasn’t too steep – just long and thin. If there had
been another way round, I think we would have
happily have taken that route, but instead we
hopped out of our saddles and walked down.
Next time we will conquer it!
Secondly, I learned that cycling on busy roads
makes me nervous. I had to collect my car, which
I had left at a friend’s house, and decided to cycle
to it. was fine almost the whole way, but there
were two main roads to cross in between, and it
was at these points that I chose to transfer from
the road to the path and walk. They were only short
distances, but confidence on the road is definitely
something I need to work on.
Thirdly, I learnt that I need to make more of
each stroke of the pedal. A trip to the Lee Valley
Velodrome has helped me to hone my technique,
so that can cycle more e ciently and with more
power. You can read all about this experience later
in the magazine.
My mission is clear: become a better cyclist and
build u my confidence. f can increase my fitness
in the meantime, that would be great too!