Today I passed by

Another set of flowers by the roadside. Someone has been knocked off a bike. Maybe a motorbike rider or a cyclist. It could even have been a pedestrian. My gut feeling thinks its another cyclist who has simply not been seen and has now entered the void. A terrible thing. As a roadman I probably cycle 150 odd miles most weeks which puts me at risk of a collision. I take precautions such as wearing highly coloured cycling kit and Ive always believed that if you ride at a good pace in traffic you are safer then riding slowly. Drivers dont see cyclists. Its as simple as that. I get asked a lot by people if I worry about being struck on my bike. The answer is of course !!!!!. But not one of these people have ever asked me what I actually get out of riding a bike. So after all the risks, and odd times I think what if ?. The art of riding a bike, and it is an art gives me many things. Freedom. No one can ring me, e mail me, shout at me, tell me its my fault. I am alone when pedalling and that is a wonderful thing. The bike has kept me fit. I am now heading for my 42nd year and weigh 9stone 10 and can still ride at 20mph uphillanddowndale. I have not had a cold for over 4 years. It enables me to feel better than i felt when i was twenty. The bike takes me places that I would have never been to. Whilst television becomes more mainstream in our lives I can pedal and gain a hundred things more than that bloody box in the corner of the room can ever give me. But most of all the bike allows me to suffer. Any roadman or woman will tell you about suffering. Most will buy a bike and suffer maybe three or four times. Ive suffered on a bike until I have collapsed in a heap. Everytime i go for a ride I make myself suffer. Suffering keeps you rounded. You have to like the repetition and the work that goes with riding a bike thousands of miles a year. You need that suffering to appreciate the special things in life. More people should ride bikes. That way we would get more awareness of the plight of cyclists. Its time this country gave cyclists more rights and quite frankly got motorists to bloody slow down. Those flowers will die, more will replace them. The cyclist will never be forgotten and I will done my cap sometimes when I pass. The bike is an amazing machine. My life wouldnt be the same without it.