Back on the Road

After 2 months of driving around the UK with the family, I finally got back to my wheels this morning but not before a bit of preparation and motivating myself to get back on the bike once again. The day began with getting the bike ready - inflating tyres, checking the gears and completing cooking for the day. The most important bit however being to get Vikrant also sign up to hit the road. Vikrant has just seen off his wife and kids to India and Mahesh and I certainly wanted him back to his cheerful self after his family left. This was very much the same feeling a couple of weeks ago when Ranjini and the kids went back to India. An expats loneliness!
Today we also welcomed another new member to our cycling fraternity - Zakir Yellala. Zak decided to cycle with us on Sundays and has recently bought a swell of a bike with all the springs and coils in the right places,a gleaming red Bandit.Our first ride after the rather long hiatus was a 14 mile ride this afternoon through the swindon borough countryside taking us through Shaw Forest, Moredon country park and finally towards Cricklade passing through the little but beautiful village of Purton. The village pub was very tastefully decorated with the English flags and world cup buntings. If only the chaps in Brazil do some justice to the millions of English fans by first getting out of the group and then achieve a recent best show if not win the title. The bikes held well through the ride with just Vikrants bike once stalling due to a loosened chain sprocket. We gave ourselves a few short breaks for rehydration (South west England is quite warm these days). At the end of it, it was all very satisfying to complete today's ride (with sore backsides) but the real thrill lay in the fact that we got back to the roads after such a long break. A little dirt on the shirts, chain grease on the hands and sweat on the brows..but what better than crisp wind on our faces and a mind that just refuses to age..until the next big ride..