A 'cyclist's' worst nightmares

In this entry, I thought I'd refer to a few of the things that give 'cyclists' like myself cause to wake up in a cold sweat. (Incidentally the inverted commas shall remain around the word cyclist until I can change me rear tyre without wanting to kick lumps out of it and anything around.)

I'll begin with getting a puncture. It's horrible. I did the first 900k clean as a whistle, and have punctured twice in the last three days, both on the rear tyre. This means hoisting off the paniers, and pretty much everything else, before beco,ing entangled in the chain trying to get the wheel off. Then you've got to get the tyre off the rim, replace the inner tube, replace the tyre on the rim, and slot the wheel back into the frame. I'd imagine a pro can probably do this blindfolded in a couple of minutes. I have no idea what my PB is, though I shudder to think. Today's flat in fact saw me taking shelter out of the rain in the entrance to a cemetery before enacting this awful ritual - nice.

Another cause for concern is any road that requires a sign saying whether the road is currently open or not, rather like you have on ski runs. Such a sign is never a god omen, as you're in between a rock and a hard place. If it's shut, you're buggered and can't get anywhere. If it's open you're buggered anywhere because anywhere that may have to be shut due to snow is seriously steep.

And last night I discovered a new worst nightmare. A plane takes off from Heathrow every 7 seconds, or something like that, and the sound is over 100 decibels. There was a guy in my dorm at the youth hostel last night who did his level best to recreate this effect all night. At 2am I moved to the next door room, only to discover it had in fact been replaced seemingly by a sauna.

But, at the end of the day, these hardships really aren't bad compared to what many people face. So if you're reading this and you're student loan cheque's just come in and burning a hole in your pocket, get sponsoring me and help Save the Children!