Over the past forty years, I’ve pedalled more than 100,000 miles on a tandem with my husband, We are both retired and go out cycling along the Dorset lanes a couple of times a week and usually manage at least 30 miles. Youngsters come tearing past us, intent on clocking up the miles but we keep a leisurely pace and enjoy the scenery.
It came as a huge shock in 2007, when I was diagnosed with bowel cancer and needed major surgery. I’d always taken good health for granted and the slow journey back to fitness was a tough experience. After many months, we attempted a short tandem ride and I was horrified at how weak and vulnerable I felt.
But I’m sure being fit helped me make a good recovery from cancer and now I enjoy cycling more than ever. It is always good to see older people out on their bikes and we often linger a while, swapping bike related news, gossip and memories.
I’ve written a book about my cycling life, narrating traveller’s tales gleaned from a lifetime of cycle touring holidays in the UK, which includes the Yorkshire Dales, Scottish Borders and the Lake District. There is unsentimental nostalgia and intriguing snippets of local history about places visited.
Mrs J Winter, Blandford Forum, Dorset
