I have had a gaping developmental delay in my cycling ambition. It started off when I taught my brother to cycle. Well, pushing him down slopes was not at all difficult and it was a success. I have no memory of anything else – typical of memories.
Fast forward five years down the line, my uni friends tried to teach me and I jammed my bike into the wall. Unfortunate then that our professor decided to come between the wall and my bike! After a good 15 – 20 years, I watched my friend cycle and I dusted off my past memories, thankfully she offered to teach me. She found a plain, long slope…it had to be a slope to do the trick. I couldn’t believe it! I took off with steady hands with my friend running besides me or so I thought untill I turned around and spotted my friend still on the top of the slope cheering me on. I nursed my bruises and decided on a straight road the next day. She felt I had fairly good balance, so instructed me, “keep your hands steady and don’t hit those breaks hard”. Not a hard instruction to follow, until the ditch appeared and the instruction lost its meaning! Did it just manage to scratch my ambition too?
My husband realised that even with a slipped disc, a slippery confidence and a disco of cycling memories, I still wanted to cycle. He wrapped me with persuasions (annoyingly) and brought me a gift for my birthday. A bicycle!
2020 has two zeros just like the wheels of the bike. This must be the year then…especially with less traffic…let’s go!
Jubee Matthews
Health advisor
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