We live in difficult times but thankfully the UK Government will still allow us to exercise from home….. a walk, run or cycle is good for soul and our mental wellbeing.
At the present time, bike shops remain open subject to restrictions so have a rummage in your garage or garden shed and dust down your old bikes. If you haven’t got a bike, there are also some fabulous second-hand bikes available through a number of bike shops across the country. Bike for Good, the Bike Station, Recyke a Bike, Soul Cycles to name just a few.
I remember well getting a recycled bicycle for Christmas as a young child. I was born in 1963 in an age and era where you had to “make do and mend.” That might have been a generation issue because I remember the joy on my son’s face visiting his grandparents one summer in Northern Ireland. Grandpa had been to the dump and found a couple of old bikes. He lovingly cleaned them down, pumped up the tyres and voila! For our young children, it meant hours of fun.
I know how hard it is at the moment but it’s important we all try and work some exercise in to our daily routines. If you haven’t cycled before, now is perhaps as good time as any to start. I know when I first started cycling, I did it alone but the one thing that was always at the back of my mind was the fear of what I would do if I got a puncture.
So, I enrolled on a bicycle maintenance class and was joined by a number of our politicians. Lucy Husband of Swift Trails took us through the practical steps of changing a flat tyre stage by stage. I realised it wasn’t so hard after all. Mind you, the first time I did get a puncture , it took three of us 45 minutes to sort the damn thing but sort it we did.
If you’re venturing out for the first time, don’t worry. Practise changing a tyre at home and go online as there are so many good YouTube videos to guide you. Your friendly local bike shop will always support you with some key essentials – tyre levers, spare tube, puncture repair kit and pump for when you go out. Just make sure you contact them in advance as they are restricted in terms of their opening for casual visits.
Imagine how good you will feel when you have sorted your own bike or your child’s bike.
Keep cycling – Keep safe.
Brenda Mitchell