Touched by Le Tour!

Influenced by the imminent arrival of 100s of men in tight lycra, or maybe just as has been suggested by offspring - midlife crisis dad! A swanky new road bike has been purchased. So we set off this afternoon on the flattest route we could find in the Yorkshire Dales. It's been years since I last cycled in the Dales, and on that occasion my pedal fell off round about Malham! Not ideal, but its surprising what you can achieve with a push and a downward stomp on remaining pedal, but then we were a whole lot younger then!

Apart from the thigh burning uphill bits, it was a real pleasure to travel further quicker than walking but without sacrificing the pleasures of being close to nature, the smell of bluebells, the sounds of the birds.

The new bike performed well. The rest of us slogged up the hills on our heavy mountain bike and hybrid city bike, so I guess that means we win? 10 miles, not bad for absolute beginners but we're going to have to do a lot more if we're going to join the petit depart in June!