You’re cycling too fast…

I’ve now done about 1,500 miles on the Kangaroo trike, which means I know how it handles and can ride it fairly hard with confidence.

The only problem being that I had not thought through the implications of being able throw a hefty trike around with relative ease.

That was driven home this morning when I nipped through the village to collect Wee ‘Un from the school nursery.

As I was doing the short downhill run to Commercial Road, I noticed one of the mums, a familiar face from nursery, waiting to pull out and gave her a wave.

As I braked, checked and then crossed Commercial Road, I noticed she was right behind me but didn’t think too much more it of as I cycled down the next street and took the right into the road that passes behind the school.

The road rises uphill so I dropped the gears down to fifth from seventh and did my usual uphill burst of cranking.

Whup, whup, whup, whup, up the hill I went, stoking hard.

After a couple of hundred yards I noticed the car fall back but didn’t think too much more of it.

As I hit the crest of the slope, I checked behind me, touched the brakes, indicated right to cross the road to the school, checked again as I braked harder and then brought the trike to a stop just down from the gate.

I was securing the trike, when I was suddenly confronted by the mum who’d been behind me, who said “do you realise you were doing 25mph in the 20 zone!”

Okay, I obviously need to back off a little, but I have to admit I was quite chuffed to discover I’d been doing 25mph uphill in fifth while pedalling all 120kg of myself and trike.

Now I just have to teach the Wee ‘Un to do a Mick Jagger impersonation and belt out “You’re so deranged, you’re going blind, you’re driving too fast”…