Transitioning
There are some remarkable people in Welland Valley Cycling Club. Dave Birch is one of them. He writes………
On August 18th last year I rode a hundred miler with 5000ft of climbing in 7hrs 58 on my road bike. At age 82, I was pretty pleased with that but absolutely wrecked.
After that I began to lose confidence in my climbing ability and my stamina over longer rides.
In mid October, Carol and I went for a week of riding ‘sit up and beg’ touring bikes in Puglia. I managed to fall off my bike on day1 which resulted in a very sore right side and a broken crash hat but I was able to continue and complete the week. Strangely though, my left hip began to hurt.
I carried on riding a couple of times a week but the hip got no better.
On November 20th I woke up feeling very woozy which led to my having a pacemaker fitted. I can thoroughly recommend the Indian cuisine at Glenfield Hospital.
I began to think that my body had perhaps taken enough of a battering over the past few years and it was time for a change.
I was able to start riding again in February – heart good, left hip still sore and now a very sore left knee to go with it. I felt even less confident on the bike and really wasn’t enjoying riding. I couldn’t even walk to any sense!
If I was to continue riding, it had to be an Ebike and fortunately I would be able afford a good one thanks to compensation following my crash in December 2023 (which finally went into my bank account today).
I rode my small Liv Avail E+ for the first time on March 20th and it’s wonderful. Getting on and off the bike poses problems on account of my very stiff hips, hence a bike with a very small frame but once I’m on the saddle I’m well away. The bike has 5 levels of power setting. Apart from steep hills, where I change to the second power level, I only use the first level, or no power at all. The power assistance reduces my hip and knee pain to easily manageable levels and I’m back to riding 4 or 5 times a week.
Most important of all, I have regained my confidence and am greatly enjoying riding again.
Dave Birch
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