Modern Cyclist Magazine Issue 3, November 2014 | Page 43

The “new” steed.

ride on any road or path you see, unless it says private.
Unfortunately, hunting season had started, so riding in
the forest can be dangerous at times. The hunters here
all have to wear orange reflective jackets as they tend
to shoot each other, what chance would a lone cyclist
have?
A week after my mother had her operation, she came
home. And then, I with the queasy stomach, had to
become nurse, lifting her in and out of bed and into her
wheelchair and, worst of all, BEDPANS!
The saving thought was that, in between all my chores, I
could get on the bike and escape. Also the Amashova
was coming up and the three “50 Shades/Non clip-ons”
are going to ride this, so I had to do my road training as
well to get fit enough. So I pulled out the map and found
a nice circular route. This area is criss-crossed with roads
so getting lost is very, very easy. (I know!)
Life is never simple, because just as I was getting the
hang of this bedpan thing, my father, yes wait for it,
tripped over a ramp he was making for my mother’s
wheelchair. He broke his femur! Same place, same
leg, worse break … so we started again, hospital visits,
operation etc. Luckily, by this stage, my sister from the
States had come across too and we could share bedpan
duty (she is not quite as squeamish as I am).

The Amashova is not going to happen for me this year. But I will keep
trying to ride my dad’s old bike around the countryside here. Early
mornings here in September are beautiful. Mist lies in the valleys, the
mielies are standing proud, the cows move along the meadows, the birds
are twittering, the fields are glistening w