Looking Back

It has just occurred to me that it's been about 9 years to the day since
I walked bikeless into a bikeshop and left a couple of hours later, £175
lighter and pushing a bike for the first time in 3 years.
In the intervening truncated decade I've cycled over 23,000 miles or
36,000 km. That's over £3,000 saved on fuel - and more than that saved
every year since I decided to go car free.

I've bought 5 further bikes, a tandem and a trailer and a multitude of
tools, waterproofs, luggage and lights. Of those bikes, 1 was lost to
thieves and 1 written off in a prang. The others I still have, with the
exception of the first which was passed to a younger brother and still
sees daily use. So I have a stable consisting of a hub-geared day-to-day
bike, a drop barred Audax iron and a folder for boats and trains.

In 9 years, I've fallen off three times - once due to ice, once was the
compulsory SPD moment and once because I was looking at the view rather
than my direction of travel. There was also my crash which put me out of
action for a time but didn't dilute my passion for cycling as transport.
I don't actually regard that crash as cycling related - after all, I was
perfectly OK riding my bike; it was the dozy cow driving a car that
caused the problems. Had /she/ been cycling then I'd have come away with
no more than bruises.

I've progressed from a timid pavement Pete (I'm sorry, I know better
now) to a thoroughly assertive taker of roadspace. I used to look at
pavements and wonder why on earth they couldn't be converted into cycle
paths. Now I curse even the merest suggestion of blue signs and have
been known to enter into roadside "debate" with motorists who
misunderstand the law.

I've progressed equally in my ability to deal with weather. I'll admit
that my cycle commuting that first winter and autumn was a little patchy
but now it's rarely, if ever, weather that dissuades me from cycling. In
fact, I rather look forward to snow, sleet and other interesting
precipitation. The only weather factor I don't think I'll ever learn to
accept with good heart is wind. God I hate, hate, hate headwinds.

I am forced to admit that I am now a Cyclist. The first sign of the
downhill slide from the status of cycling motorist was probably the
purchase of panniers to replace the rucsac. By the time I found myself
buying a SON dynohub and a trailer, it was all too late and I was beyond
help. I've gone the whole hog now and not only don't own a car but don't
even drive; it's been almost two years since I touced a steering wheel.

That foray into my local bikeshop was certainly a Significant Life Event.