I definitely love but also dislike cycling at this time of year. The extra risks brought by heavy frost weigh heavily on my mind. I do know rationally in my head that with a little extra care and the right preparation, all the conditions I’m ever likely to encounter cycling can be negotiated. In all my years as an adult cyclist I’ve never stopped cycling in the winter and never having had an ‘off’ makes my experience is fruitful evidence of this. Or am I just one of the lucky ones?
Last night I woke up in an anxious state. I had looked at the weather forecast the night before, and with that running through my mind I remembered a minor stop skid that took place outside our house as I brought the tandem to a stand still at the end of our journey. I also recalled some of the loony-bin drivers and their poor passing antics – this road is icy don’t ya know! And I found myself wishing that we didn’t have to venture out the next morning. I even considered for a moment the misfortune of the twelve Rhyl Cycling Club members out on their club run in January 2006 when the driver of a car with three bald tyres ploughed into them killing four of their number. I wouldn’t be this anxious if it was just me cycling alone, but having introduced my partner to cycling and this being her first cycling-winter, I feel some sense of responsibility and therefore I worry; what if something should happen to her? It is worse still when I’m piloting the Tandem and I’m in control for both of us.
I set my anxieties aside and went back to sleep. And the time for setting off on the next morning’s Tandem commute arrived. I gave the tandem it’s brief routine check over, lifted it out of the hallway into the cold, switched on all the lights and walked it down the drive whilst I waited for my partner to lock the house up. I steadied my nerves and we set off towards her place of work, riding over the icy patches on our untreated street without so much as a wibble. The tandem with its heavy weight, long wheel base and I have to say, two very proficient riders is very sure-footed. That journey passed without incident, and on the way back I called into a supermarket to pick up some supplies. Loading heavy items into the panniers and strapping the large pack of loo rolls to the rack, a small group of staff from the supermarket and the nearby shops gathered around to ask questions. I answered a few, made my excuses and went on my way, only guessing at the weight of the shopping behind me. All the way home, the bike turned heads. It always does, but I’m guessing in the cold weather the effect was even more pronounced.
I arrived back at home feeling awake, refreshed and ever so slightly smug. That was a piece of cake. In future I shall stop looking at the weather forecasts and more soundly I shall sleep.
