After a huge fish feed at The Ship on the Shore with Fraulein Direktor I set off home along the bike path.  Grooving away to Spotify, zooming in that kind of slow, sluggish zooming way that I zoom and then …. what’s this ….. I am sprawled on the ground, covered in muck and leaves and dirty water.  Reason for falling off with no notice?  A huge, rude area of ice with a surface layer of rain.  Nice. An no sympathy when I get home, but rather a snigger due to my muckiness.

I am no stranger to falling off and the injuries associated it with it.

Red1 has been in hospital these past two weeks while I have been prancing around the Highlands on my Christmas holiday. But Red1 was in the safe hands of Dr Dave, of the BicycleWorks bike mechanics.

Dr D surgical removed and incinerated the shonky red saddle, amputated the rear wheel and replaced it with a shiny new whizzy Deore hubbed true one, inserted new cables and sorted the gears and brakes.  Red1 now rides smooooth.

Me and Red1 are now set to start our plans for our next tour together.