In a bizarre occurrence for an English summer’s day, 2^nd August ‘09 saw no rain. Even shockingly-er, it happened to coincide with a massive outdoor event in Manchester’s Skyride – in which 1000s of cyclists hit the streets of Manchester to raise awareness of just how cool cyclists are, despite the helmets, florescent jackets and those trouser clip things.

A signed photo.

The event saw a few miles of Manchester’s city centre roads being closed down to allow the cyclists free and safe passage in their route from the Town Hall up to the Velodrome and back again. Cyclists of all ages and abilities joined in. Including a couple of guys on Penny Farthings, strangely.

As this year I decided to scrap my car in favour of a much more environmentally friendly and road-tax dodging option of cycle-power, my girlfriend and I decided to join in.

Our first lap was marred with children on stabilisers causing periods of extreme slowness, but the 2^nd lap gave me the opportunity to unleash the power that laid dormant within my thighs and travel at my (admittedly-not-all-that-fast) top speed… until my back tyre inexplicably exploded (just as I was overtaking someone on a bike much more expensive than my own).

Luckily, the gel within my tyres seemed to fix any cracks and after a quick pump-up, I was off again… just in time to see crazy bmx stunt-riders at the Velodrome jumping off Land Rovers with only their back-wheel attached… which kind of put me in my place with regards to my ability.

You can visit the Skyride website by clicking here, and as a special treat for all the females out there, you can have a signed photo of myself in all my bicycle glory.

I’d like to take this opportunity to share my pain. I along with 6 others at Cuckoo design are running the Manchester 10k in May. For anyone reading this that doesn’t run…..that’s really quite far. My pain is caused not by the hard training, early mornings or nicotine cravings but by the constant mockery from my colleagues. Apparently tread mill running isn’t “proper training”! “Proper training” is road running!! Not what I signed up for, but pier pressure has got the better of me, so I start my “proper training” Saturday…on the cold, wet and hazardous streets of Manchester.

So if you happen to be in town on Saturday, taking a leisurely stroll, looking in shop windows, tasting the delights of the big city and you see a tall, skinny, pale guy with a face of death crawling by, give him a cheer.