First ride of the year

So far, as I start to write this, we have yet to get out and about on our bikes this year as the Spring weather where we live has been either too cold or too wet for us. We seem to be caught in a pattern of weather which shifts randomly between cold squally showers and bright sunshine which bursts through in between. If we leave home with the sun shining then almost certainly there will be torrential rain before we get home. We try to be patient. Surely Summer will soon be here.

Winter has passed, or moved on somewhere else, and our daffodils know that Spring has arrived as they are bobbing their flower heads about in each gust of wind. And there are plenty of them. In fact there seem to be more every year as we view them from the house. On the rare occasion that the wind has abated it has been raining, maybe only a light drizzle but enough to justify us staying indoors. Not that this is where we want to be, far from it. Our bikes are lying idle waiting for us to take them out, and we are keen as ever to bring them into action but cycling in the rain has never been appealing. We might be tempted out and find ourselves caught in a shower but setting off in the wet is not our thing at all. We do get the odd dry day, clear blue sky, which calls us outside to stumble around the garden wrapped up against the cold. Once again the thought of cycling does not enthuse us. The cold air rushing past our bodies, chilling our fingers, making the eyes water and the nose run. Once again, this is not our thing.

Then one day we hear a weather forecast which gives us an idea. We need to do some shopping to top up the food supplies, something we would normally do on foot with a shopping basket on wheels to make the return uphill journey easier. Rain is forecast for later in the day but the morning is sunny, warmth in the sun, and the wind is reasonably light too. We decide, suddenly, that our bikes should take on the mission. We both have panniers which fit easily onto the rear carriers and, of course, we have electric power which we can make use of to ride back up the hill for the journey home. Then, maybe before loading up the bikes with shopping, we think about cycling a little further so we can justify waking the machines from their winter storage. This has become our first ride of the season and it will also be an opportunity to try out our latest bike modification, the handlebar extensions.

We move quickly. The weather forecast gives us a timeline to meet if we want to avoid the rain so we don't hang about. We don some appropriate clothing - light but windproof - fit the panniers then wheel out our machines ready for action. Can we still remember how to ride? Might we have forgotten how to use the gears or the brakes since last year? It seems not. After a quick wobble we are both riding smoothly, chased along our narrow road by an impatient car driver (who we ignore) and soon we are flying down the steep hill to the main road. We swerve across the carriageway so we can turn off to ride alongside the harbour quay then start to relax. Here most of the hazards are pedestrians strolling about in the sunshine, walking their pet dogs or else pushing a pram. What wind there is feels cold on our faces and on any exposed fingers but we press on past our ferry terminal then follow the shore road to its end where there is a viewpoint across the loch. This is our turning point so we dismount here, smiles all over our faces brought on by the experience we have just completed.

We pause there for a chat with a local man who is out for a walk and, so it turns out, is also a keen cyclist. Before we know it we are comparing different ride experiences, both local and further afield. He has yet to experience the joys of cycling in Holland but  understands perfectly why we have chosen this particular day for a ride. He is even perhaps a little envious. But then we recall our mission, which is to do our shopping, so we bid him farewell, remount and ride back into the village. Our local supermarket has recently undergone a complete refurbishment so it is disappointing to discover that there are still no cycle racks outside but after locking the bikes securely to a railing we enter the shop. Our shopping mission doesn't take long and we trolley everything outside so we can transfer what we have bought into the panniers. We can immediately feel the extra weight but set off undeterred back up hill to our house. Some firm pedalling and a boost of electric power is required for the steepest section but we are soon back home, mission accomplished. This short ride has given us so much joy and the new handlebars work well too.

As it turned out the rain held off until mid afternoon in the end. Not that we cared in the slightest. Each day now we study the forecast in detail for the coming days, looking for the next cycling weather window.