We run out of luck

On March 18 (Mothering Sunday, would you believe) Jacqui took a tumble from her bicycle while we were making our way from Vila Real to Monte Gordo in Portugal. It's almost impossible to say the amount of bad luck that was necessary to create the accident, but after 8 years of touring we finally ran out of luck: Jacqui had her first fall of any sort and managed to break the ball at the top of her arm as it joins the shoulder into three different bits - on a dead flat and smooth cycle track.

After an emergency trip to Vila Real Hospital and a transfer by ambulance to Faro Hospital, our insurance company arranged to get us home to Aberdeen. Five days later Jacqui had an operation to insert a stainless steel plate and socket set to keep the bits in place until they knit back together.

So, since then its been a world of painkillers and iron tablets, sleepless nights, physio and scars, but we hope the worst is behind us now and we can begin to hope we will be back on our bikes before the end of the summer.

One thing is for sure, we will ride every mile defensively now, not just when we can see we are in a dangerous situation. This episode has taught us that accidents can happen anytime, anywhere, but with a bit of luck and forethought they can be avoided too. I hope we will get the chance to find out for ourselves that this is true.