Peddle pushers

Amsterdam is a long way from the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire UK. I arrived from the Netherlands for a little taster and some training with Dad on Friday. A year of living with the bike-friendly Dutch has revealed some serious flaws with British cycling. No back pedal breaks, 28 different confusing gears, no holding an umbrella or making a telephone call whilst peddling, uncomfortable cycle helmets, no space on the bike for dogs, side-saddle riding friends or a few bags of shopping. I won’t even get into British cars and drivers, this is serious biking, on the left hand side of the road and up some frighteningly large hills. Sitting up and begging all the way to John O’Grotes is not an option.

Thankfully we have had a couple of days of good cycling weather. Dad has recently been fully trained in bike maintenance by Buckinghamshire’s very own Dr Bike and has patiently talked me through using gears and toe clips. But first things first… we just visited the cycle shop to buy padded shorts. Twenty seven days to go before we start the bike ride and the most important piece of kit is already organised.