Then

Lots of things have changed in the 3 years since I lived in Southampton.  I think some background is needed!

As a bachelor in Southampton, I was mainly a leisure cyclist.  I dabbled in semi-commuting for a while, taking the train to Salisbury, and then cycling the remaining 3 miles to work, but getting the bike on the train was a mixed affair.  If there was no space for the bike in the bike cupboard things that were on the train, I was often told to get off.  When this started happening several times a week, I stopped trying. 

I regularly went for rides into the New Forest, however, and I also strapped my bike to the back of my Nissan Micra so that I could drive to Dorchester and then cycle around bits of Dorset with my old friend James.  Nothing competitive - just seeing the sights, and dropping into the odd pub or three.  :)

I forgot to mention the bike involved in all of this - a Specialized Hardrock XC, which I bought new in 2004.  I bought it from Hargoves cycles, and I remember there being two Hardrock models for the same price - a fat tubed black model, and a thinner tubed brushed silver model. I went for silver! It's served me well on singletrack and dual carriageway alike, and is somehow still going with most of the original components!

But then, one day, I met a girl I liked.  Now I'm living in Stockport with her, in our own house, with a 2 year old boy and a grumpy cat.  My friend James moved to New Zealand, then moved to Spain, and now I'm not sure where he is.  Lima, possibly.  Who knows!  I don't have the time to bimble around the countryside anymore.. weekends are for the family! My son is too young to cycle, and my partner just plain hates cycling, so I don't cycle with them.

The end of an era, for sure.  But it's also the start of a new one!