It's been a week now since I got the cast off and my hand is starting to get a bit of strength in it, so what better way to take advantage of the lovely weather today by giving my beastie a wee outing.
After taping up what bits were left of my right indicator, and checking that the stump of a rear brake lever was sufficient to still be able to use, I declared him rideable and got myself ready. Apart from the aforementioned breakages, some scraping and the end bar weight dipping down at a rakish angle, he looks pretty good - swashbuckling even!
Now as you can imagine, gravel makes me a bit nervous now, so the first hurdle was to get myself to the end of my street. For some reason the powers that be decided to pour a whole load of gravel on what had been a perfectly good suburban street and then just leave it like that.
Then followed a leisurely cruise out through Clevedon and on to Maraetae. Ah bliss! The discomfort in my hand was soon forgotten as I relaxed and enjoyed being able to ride again.
After stopping at Maraetae to sit on the beach and eat an icecream, I headed back. I was fortunate that my return trip coincided with a huge herd of cows crossing the road. While I sat astride my beast, waiting for the procession to finish crossing, I was startled to see some very lascivious looks being cast at my studly SV by some of these bovine beauties. Thank goodness I had parked well back otherwise they might have been tempted to wander over and try to get his phone number. But they probably decided to steer clear when they noticed I had been lucky enough to have been chosen by a swarm of sandflies to be their new best friend. While most decided to investigate my helmet, some of the more adventurous ones went exploring up my trouser leg!
When I managed to extricate myself from the situation (by making a break for it when there was a gap in the herd) I continued my leisurely journey home.
Amazing how even a small ride can make you feel so alive and put an end to those blue moments I've been having so frequently in the last 6 weeks.
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Originally Posted by White trash
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