On Sunday, I went out for the obligatory park & ride - I'm trying to build up slowly, so I am doing about 5 laps of the park at the moment which is about 6 miles.
Obviously the park is incredibly convenient - close, and entirely off-road.
However, there are other perils. It was post-lunch and the park was full of mobile obstacles - some travelling in packs, creating a 100% blockage. I am not exactly power-cycling, so I didn't mind the enforced slowing-down.
After a few laps, I got the hang of the distances and was able to negotiate around most of the walkers, push-chairs and dogs. The small dogs are the worst - they cannot be trusted to get out of the way, or stay put.
On lap 5, I encountered a triple-threat - pushchairs, dogs and 2-way pedestrians. I opted to pass on the left of the pushchair, slightly on the grass.
Or mud, I should say. My back wheel lost grip and slid beyond what I could correct. Then I lost the front as well and the bike slid along the tarmac with me under it. Luckily, the bike itself seemed to take most of the impact (and left some light scoring marks on the tarmac).
However. I saw that part of my shoe had gone red - that was where my shoe was on the ground and the abrasion went through the trainer, through Maxine's Xmas socks and took off a thin layer of skin which was now poking through.
Dangerous things, pushchairs.
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