GIBR

Too tired to write too much tonight but here we all are at the start of this years Great Inverurie Bike Ride.

Before you go thinking I'm a big fan of bikes let me just say that I'm not the cyclist in our family. I quite enjoy cycling but I'm not the one with the subscription to single track magazine or the platinum account at wiggle.

However, the bike ride is a fun event, a 25 mile route or a 14 mile family route, usually attended by hundreds of people with a whole lot of fringe entertainments half way through and at the end. The roads aren't closed but the critical mass of cyclists makes it feel like a safe route through some beautiful countryside.

Today however the heavens opened about 10 minutes into the ride and by about half way on the approach to the second big hill when my tyre was totally flat, the baby on the back of my bike was beginning to look a little blue and the wheel of my eldest' bike detached itself from the frame, I was wondering why the cyclist of the family seems conveniently to be away again at this time of year.

Anyway, we managed the miles and finished in (our) record time after which we dashed home for warm baths and hot chocolate and all was well again.