Ouch!!!

Back from a lovely holiday in Nerja in Spain in the Costa del Sol. The photo is from near the top of a hill you are going to read about later. We rented a beautiful villa with views of the sea. The weather was hot and sunny and I spent time relaxing and reading. I read Barry Hoban's autobiography, "Vas-Y Barry; My Cycling Story". They were real hard men in those days and it puts today pro cyclists achievements into perspective. I am not saying that modern day stars are not brilliant or "hard", but they have so much more team assistance and support with all aspects of their racing and training than back then. The "men of old" (Hoban, Simpson, Rik Van Looy, Coppi, Merckx, Poulidor), to name a few, raced differently and much more independently as well. Many more long solo breaks. It must have been more exciting to watch, but of course there would not have been the TV coverage to allow us to. By the way if I was going to change my name by deed poll it would have to be to Rik Van Looy. What a cool name!

I see that the film "Battle Mountain" is out now. It's about Graeme Obree, I hope he won't mind me saying a "man of old", and his attempt to beat the land speed record for a human powered vehicle. What a guy! A hero of mine. I do love a story about an underdog; hope it's ok to say that Graeme. I think things in life that are hard fought for are so much better. If you look at him and Chris Boardman (a great guy too), and I am not saying that Boardman had it easy, but such different lives and routes to success and fame.

It was a three book holiday, which is a great index of how much time was spent by the villa's pool and a marker of a relaxing (lazy) holiday. It was not supposed to have been quite so much like that. I hired a bicycle and intended to do a few hours cycling each day during the week. I went out on the first day. It was beautiful; up into the hills on some lovely roads. I had already noted that the front brake was on my left hand, unlike at home, when it is on the right. There is a reason for this, although the logic is flawed. In "right hand drive" countries hand signals are done with the right arm, and where they drive on the right, with the left. In the past it was thought better to use the rear as the primary brake, so the rear is on the non-signalling side. As we know now though, most braking should be done with the front.

Anyway I was descending from the hilltop, just coming into a left-hander, when I caught up with a van. I braked automatically with my right hand and I must have already been slighly banked over. The rear wheel locked, skidded out and down I went on my arthritic left hip. Then I skidded down the road on my front. All in slow motions as is usual with these things. Had I used the front brake as intended the bike would have been fine and would have just "sat-up" a bit and no crash.

The result was a bruised hip and the muscles torn around it I think, plus some gravel rash. I managed to cycle back to the villa, but could not cycle up the hill to it, and could not walk when I got off! So the three book holiday.

Walking is still sore (supposed to be walking up Ben Nevis, Scar Fell and Snowdon in three consecutive days, in three weeks time!), however, I got on the turbo trainer today (12th September) and was able to cycle fine . Thank God, that's what really matters!

So back home for a few days and then we are off to Tenby to watch Leigh a friend of my step-daughter, do Ironman Wales. I will be doing a bit of cycling to facilitate supporting her.