In the end, did go to Abberant – and yes, you guessed it, biked there and back. Very good going there, as it’s all downhill… but there’s a downside to going to a place that’s downhill, and that is that going back is uphill… plus it started raining sometime during the game… Still, It’s All Good For Me, right?
I have identified a junction that I think I’m going to avoid, coming uphill, from now on. Just get off and walk. Basically, the road suddenly goes even steeper uphill, and comes to a T-junction, and as it’s a fairly important junction there’s plenty of Big Things around to scare me. The two times I’ve actually ridden up it I’ve basically hurt my thighs sufficiently I don’t have the endurance to get much further, so I end up getting off and walking later anyway.
What a fascinating life I lead…
You can read what happened in the game, should you care.
Tags: bike
The main thing old folks like us should probably worry about with cycling is not puting too much strain on the knees. Pedalling with a high cadence (using low gears and spinning the pedals fast) is healthier than pedalling slowly in a high gear and straining a lot. It uses your leg muscles more efficiently (more aerobic) and puts less strain on the knee joints. If you use the zillions of gears on your bike properly this should not be a problem. The main problem spot will be intersections where end up you stopping on an uphill slope and it is hard to get started again. Your plan of walking that little bit probably is the best solution!
As for the rain, well I guess no-one in Scotland can afford to be afraid of being rained on. Commuting doen in England I find I get rained on less often than you might think.
On Mull they have different words for soft rain and hard rain (hard enough that you give up on weeding the garden…). Does the same apply in Dundee…?