Bicycle No. 23: Thursday 17 May, 2007

This is my new bike. Look! It has gears -- 21 of them! And brakes -- 2 of them! However, it doesn't have a mudguard or a stand. But it's purple -- so yay! I went out for a pootle around this evening, and realized that you can't get very far here without having to use a main road. Or cycle up a hill. Thank goodness for those 21 gears, although it's still exhausting. So far, the car drivers have been pretty good, giving me a wide berth, letting me pass, that kind of thing. But it's still scary and just generally more difficult. Not just because there aren't cycle paths, but because all the roads twist and turn. You hit far more blockages -- be they t-junctions, traffic lights, roundabouts, or hills -- than you do in the Netherlands, where it's all straight, flat, and fast. Still, it felt good to get out there.

Bicycle No. 22: Sunday May 6, 2007

Hurrah! We have bought our new bikes, and they're currently being fitted with mudguards and rear brackets. It was extremely odd riding a bike that had TWO brakes and 21 gears -- I need an instruction manual to cope with those -- but they should make the steep incline of Canon Street a silky dream. No pictures of them yet, so here's a picture of two chaps on a rather nice bike route along the Test Valley, out near Houghton in Hampshire. All we need do now is buy a car that will allow us to get out to these idyllic spots.

Bicycle No. 15: Monday February 26, 2007

OK. It's not a particularly interesting bike. But it IS where we will be keeping the bikes we buy when we return to the UK. One of the attractions of our new rented home is that it has a side gate, giving easy access for our bikes. Hurrah! Mind you, there are a few hills in Winchester, so I'm not sure how easy it will be to cycle around. Time for a bike with gears and a lightweight aluminium frame.