Sunday 24 August 2008

My Next Challenge.

I haven't been on a bike since November 1990. To be precise November 10th 1990. This was the date I collected my Peugeot 309 from the garage in Yate (Nr Bristol) where I was living at the time.

Up to that point I had cycled the four miles from my home to the factory where I worked. Every day for almost a year. All shifts in all weathers. I loved it. I felt fit and healthy.
Then I got my car. My bike was sold for a tenner. I had to get a car. Cycling from Bristol to visit family in the North East was not an option. I've had a car ever since. But I've always missed the healthy feeling and freedom a bike ride gives you. For a number of reasons since that last bike I've never had the opportunity of replacing it - marriage, children (child), working out of town, lack of money etc.

Now, thanks to Freecycle - a worldwide web site on which people give stuff away rather than see it binned, scrapped sent to landfill etc. I have a bike. It's a bit of a shed - old (manufacturing date of 1980 stamped on it), tatty, in need of some tender loving care and perhaps a respray and some new tyres, but essentially sound and in full working order. It's in my shed and I'm itching to get started on it - I'll be documenting its progress from time to time on this blog.
I can't wait!!
Watch this space!! (To coin a Mrs Nesbitt-ism!!)

4 comments:

CherryPie said...

Looks like fun :-)

Jane Hards Photography said...

Freecycle is a marvellous idea. am all for recycling of anything and everything that can be re used.

Anonymous said...

Great idea. Less fuel too!

As for the previous post, greed is a terrible way to be isn't it.

CJ xx

mrsnesbitt said...

Hey Gary lucky you! I advertised for one on freecycle but without success. In the end I got one second hand for £50. It had only been used a couple of times and is from Halfords. I aim to do at least 3 miles each day, with Wilma running next to me. Saturday I managed 6 miles in all! Wilma responds well and sleeps like a log! So do I!