"The characters and events depicted in this story are fictitious. Any similarity
to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental." This famous
phrase is often seen at the end of films. But, this story and its main character
are not fictitious, but real.
Before 1995 I'd never even sat on a racing bike. I'd barely even ridden
a mountain bike, never mind a racing bike.
I was 30 and had decided to swap my football boots for cycling shorts
and a jersey. I had an old racing bike that looked like a museum exhibit,
that didn't corner well that had the gears mounted on the frame, meaning
I couldn't reach them. Whose idea was it to put them so far away? I had
to let go with one hand to change gear, and at that stage I really needed
to hold on with both hands.
[…]
