The Missing Months

July to December 2012

It has not escaped some people's notice that the website has not been updated for some time. Particularly by a bread factory employee looking to pass his night shifts away. It was like this: July started well but I was unexpectedly afflicted with a bad back, a malady I'd managed to avoid most of my life so far. The medical profession took it rather more seriously than I would have done, after explaining the occasional cycling related falls I've had, I was banned off the bike until x rays and their results could be obtained. This took an inordinate amount of time - the results in particular took two weeks from the date of the x ray, how come they're available instantly if you go to A and E? Anyway enough of this self pity, the majority of July passed in a painkiller induced haze, until near the end of the month, when I could stand it no more, the cross bike was dragged out of the shed and a gentle road ride was undertaken, back covered in heat pads. It was marvellous and my back was nicely stretched and felt so much better. I'd only been off the bike for 16 days.

August passed without mishap, we did The Hadrian's Cycleway which runs from from Ravenglass in Cumbria to South Shields in Tyneside. Very nice it was too, although deciding to continue back to Teesside from South Shields was probably a mistake, an 85 mile day after two preceding long days. We all survived intact though. Somewhere in this period the concept of 50 mile Monday was born, I guess we must have been off a lot of Monday's in august, we were riding from Teesside to various North Yorkshire cafes and home on road bikes, this culminated in The Durham Beast, a 50 mile road ride organised by Durham Council. 50 miles taking in every hill they could possibly find around the Durham Dales, great fun it was too, extremely well signposted, even The Pensioner couldn’t have missed a square metre of yellow signage at every junction and an acceptable goody bag at the finish.

In fact the poor old mountain bike was only dirtied twice in the whole of August, it had a few more outings in the first half of September until someone uttered the fateful words, "We haven't been to Rosedale for ages". The following ride saw us assembling in an unseasonably chilly Rosedale Abbey, ready to show Jordan and Steve, The Rosedale Round. The road start, passing the childish gigglefest that is Bell End farm warmed us up nicely, the old rail track was a bit soggy, The Pensioner managed almost total immersion in an especially foul section, much to our heartless amusement. The top section parallel to Blakey Ridge was in fine condition being predominantly gravel, we soon found ourselves cruising at an unprecedented 30 mph all the way to Lastingham. The valley section from High Askew farm was progressing nicely, riding one of the downhill sections, thinking to myself, "there's nothing to worry about on this bit..." I was inexplicably flying through the air, watching my bike disappearing down the track without me. Totally winded, the next few minutes were spent attempting to draw breath, oblivious to the other pains about my person. Suitably recovered but a bit battered, my left arm wasn’t able to lift my sunglasses up to my face, undaunted I used the right arm and jumped back on my remarkably unscathed bike, pedalling somewhat more cautiously than previously it must be said. Turning the bars to skirt a rock, a new pain presented itself in the left clavicle department, a quick feel about, uncannily squelchy, not at all how a bone should feel. Crepitus (I later found out) a characteristic symptom of fractures, two paracetamol later, I was back on the bike, riding only straight lines and unable to take any deep breaths because of the pain in my ribs. Luckily we were not too far from Rosedale Abbey and it is possible to ride on tarmac at 20+ mph with a broken collarbone, so long as there are no corners. Medicinal coffee and cake was administered before I got myself back to Teesside and the inevitable hours of hospitals, x rays and physio which comprised my activity for the remainder of September, all of October and most of November. Broken clavicle and some ribs. Finally got the okay to resume riding in mid-November, “so long as you don’t fall off...” Which was how I got here in the first place. Staying with medical advice to start gently, I had one mountain and two road rides, the mountain bike ride was short and cautious but it felt so good be out again despite being harangued by a menopausal dog-walker who apparently thought it “RIDICULOUS” that people with bikes weren’t riding on a perfectly good road instead of through the woods where she was letting her animals run wild.

Terra Trailblazers September 2012 riding from John Lavelle on Vimeo.