and, although I can’t quite believe
I’m saying this, their own sun
deck, and the rest of the house
stays exactly as it was?”
I had to concede that to the
architecturally unsophisticated
eye that might appear to be the
case. “But I promise, absolutely,
that the toilet-roll holder will
be replaced,” I said.
“Will it be one of those ones
made from a head tube, a fork and
a front-wheel axle?”
I had actually already bought
one on Ebay. But I decided
that rather than mention this,
I’d pop out to the garage and
tell the bicycles about the treat
that awaited them. I seemed
certain of a warmer welcome.
As I stepped outside, the front
door slammed behind me. Then
I realised I couldn’t get into the
garage without the key. What I
needed was...
The letterbox snapped open.
“If you’re thinking that what
you need is an electric door, just
remember that if you had one I’d
already have taken the fuse out of
it,” said Mrs. Doc.“There will be a
workshop with two
workstands and a
bike-wash area”
How To...
Stretch
Stretching is very important. Everyone knows it’s very
important. We repeat it to each other regularly, and read
about it all the time. There are videos of how to stretch,
when to stretch and what to stretch all over the internet
— and that’s before you even get to those areas of the
internet that you wouldn’t want your boss looking at over
your shoulder.
This means that when most of us get in from a ride
we think, “I must do my stretches.” Then we have a
shower, a snack, check any emails or messages, have
another snack, make a phone call, and about two hours
later think, “Oh well. No point now I’ve cooled down. But
tomorrow! Tomorrow I will do my stretches, and from that
day forth I’ll be disciplined enough to do them without fail
as soon as I finish my rides.”
Tomorrow the process repeats, and so on. Our toes get
further and further away, until some day an injury arrives
like an Act of God. Then we spend a week’s wages getting
a physiotherapist to show us some stretches that, now
we think about it, we were shown the last time this injury
occurred, and which we promised ourselves that from
that day forth, etc, etc.
As soon as the injury clears up, stretching returns to
the list of good intentions never to be realised.Cycling Weekly | January 11, 2018 | 61