Me. On a bike. On the road.

It has been 6 months. Six. Long. Months.

Okay, I've not been entirely out of the saddle, given the work on the turbo, and frankly I'm probably fitter than before the arm break, but it has been a long journey. And yeah, the arm is still not sorted (even if the bone is now healed), but there are reasons, quite a few, for the more upright transport bike.

First off let me tell you about the bike itself. It's an 'Elephant Bike'. Originally a Pashley Royal Mail bike. A charity down south got its hands on a good few thousand of these that were destined for landfill. Now let me build the karma that this bike brings. So they are saved from polluting the environment; they are refurbished by young offenders who are training for engineering qualifications; and then a matching bike is sent to Malawi, originally to patrol game reserves to stop elephant poachers (hence the name), but also to provide social mobility.

So why for me? Well apart from all of the above reasons (I almost bought one about 18 months ago but put it off); I need to slow down on my commute. I've got used to the turbo training, and I want to carry on with that. The sessions are more controlled and targeted than getting out on the road; but that means on the commute I can't overdo things, so just taking it easy means I don't build fatigue, but give myself some extra endurance. 

Also, there was a wonderful video from Copenhagen I saw years back that showed an icy cyclepath, and people 'falling'. One after the other. And yet every single one of them landed on their feet, because they were on more upright bikes. It's psychological, I know, but after breaking that right arm three times now, I like the comfort blanket. 

And it just makes it easier to carry 'stuff' with that big carrier on the front. Ideally I'd love a Larry v. Harry Bullitt cargobike, but it's not exactly practical for the daily commute, nor to fit in the garage (the Elephant is in, but I still need to do some jiggery pokery to make it more comfy).

Added to that, a simple 3 speed hub gear is great against the daily weather; as are the drum brakes in the hub. 

I don't think I'll be straight onto it on Monday, but Tuesday. I think Tuesday I'm going to have my first two-wheeled commute in far far too long.

Happy boy tonight.