Well, after more than two months off the bike I got my first ride in this morning. A combination of extreme caution before the surgery meant that I didn’t ride in case something prevented me from having the surgery done. Then there was the 6 weeks since then when I was waiting for the doctor to clear me TO ride and then there was the time waiting until the weather was actually amenable to me even getting the bike out of the garage (170mm of rain in a day last Friday!!)
I am delighted to report that all went well. A lap of the lake and a detour down to Kiama and home (via Jamberoo) and around 70kms in a bit over an hour. The main concern for me was whether I’d be able to get my repaired leg over the seat but, if anything, it was easier than before so that was a big plus. The weather was glorious and, even though it is a Long Weekend, the traffic on the roads was much lighter than I expected it to be.
I didn’t stay away too long as I didn’t want Helena to be concerned and, as it turned out, my timing was impeccable as I arrived home just as she was getting ready to serve lunch, no pre-planning even.
I even prevailed upon a tourist at the Rock Pool in Kiama to take a photo of me and the bike as I didn’t have one up until today.
In other exciting news, Russell Collins Jr posted a wonderful video this morning. After years of hard graft, Russ and his crew have finally finished the restoration of The Sorcerer, his dad’s V8-engined Honda drag bike from 41 years ago. This morning was its first start and it started and ran at the very first touch of the button, how good is this?
Oh, and the Isle of Man races finished last night with Michael Dunlop taking two more wins, taking his overall total to 29 wins, the greatest number of any rider ever. And Australia’s Josh Brookes finished 2nd in the Senior TT. A pretty terrific day all round, I’d say.
