Concours
Enjoying a rest (par Neil Marsh - United kingdom)
FREEDOM! 83 days or 1,992 hours or 119, 520 minutes. This was how long I was forced to stop riding after breaking my left femur Mountain Biking.
A dynamic hip screw - read “metal bar” - was fitted, followed by crutches and rehabilitation exercises. I was now ready for my first real ride. Nerves were jangling, even though I'd done many hours on the turbo training and circuit/light weight training sessions. I clipped in, took a deep breath, and took my first pedal strokes. Carefully at first then more intensely, pedals rotated, wheels rolled, gears clicked. Taking a cycle track, which is an old slate quarry railway meandering through rolling farm land, then onto empty country lanes and trails, familiar sights, sounds and smells returned.
The feeling of floating/flying served to bring everything that I loved about cycling rushing back. Sun, wind, sky. Fields, hills, mountains. Sweat, effort, skill. My “Old Friends” raced to greet me. Beautiful hilly countryside soon turned into more demanding mountainous terrain, where strength and power were required. Sweating, heaving and yanking on the bars was cathartic, and the discomfort, combined with the amazing terrain only served to make me push on-and-on.
Further, faster, harder. Cows, sheep, crows and buzzards blurred by. Lakes, streams, steel grey mountains covered with purple-red heather and green bracken flashed past. Nature in all it's glory hit me full in the face. Before I knew it, 3 hours had passed. Three glorious, amazing hours where I was reborn. Tired, thirsty, aching and soaked with sweat, I was back...and loving every second!
