As easy as riding a bike? Not for me!
HOW I agree with Mail columnist Susanna Reid: ‘Sorry, Boris, it’s terrifying to get back into the saddle.’ Like many people in lockdown, my husband and I felt compelled to buy bikes as we are used to doing exercise. I usually go to the gym at least twice a week and have been missing it terribly. I haven’t ridden a bike in more than 40 years, but stupidly believed that wouldn’t be a problem. I mistakenly thought that a 20 in bike meant the size of the wheels, not the frame. I got it home, tried to get on and promptly fell off, resulting in two huge bruises on my legs. Not a good start. So I swapped the bike for another model with smaller wheels. But I couldn’t get on with that one either. I was getting cross as I wanted to join my husband who, annoyingly, had got on his bike first time and took off like a pro. My third attempt was a Victoria Pendleton junior bike, which everyone thought was amusing. My husband nicknamed it Driving Miss Daisy because it has a basket. Well, whoever coined the phrase ‘like riding a bike’ to describe something easy was having me on. I rode off down the road wobbling like crazy and fell off, bruising my ribs. I was beginning to lose confidence, but had the bright idea of putting Daisy in the car and driving to the park. I figured that if I fell off on the grass, it wouldn’t hurt as much. I soon found myself going down a slope rather fast, and guess what, I fell off again, bruising my elbow. I think I may need professional cycling help.
LISA BIRCH, Rainham, Kent.