paulb55
Über Member
- Location
- Birmingahm
It could be a fact that about 90% of Brummies do not realise what countryside they are missing out on, I mean what can you see in a car on a country lane travelling at around 50 mph, there are sights that I have seen that still make me smile, the sight of lambs suckling up to mother sheep, the sound of a lark in the bushes, the long winding roads that are so quiet it is deafening, the squirrels or the rabbit jumping out of the hedge and running across the road in front of you, the sight of a buzzard circling in the air looking for his next meal, and the views from the top of a hill that you have just struggled to get up in granny gear.
It makes me frown when I am cycling along and a car roars past me, ok, he may have an emergency but most of the car drivers just get behind a steering wheel and want to get to where they are going in record time, I drive a car but since I have been cycling on a regular basis I tend to go a bit slower and hate driving on motorways.! It is just so boring.
I have seen Muntjaks, Lamas & Alpacas, and on one of my regular routes I regularly see a peacock in the driveway of a house, a fully grown peacock, and I always stop to admire him as I haven’t seen him with all his feathers out yet, but i will one day, these are all species of animals you would just not see from a car, or you would just get a fleeting glimpse as you roar past, and I admit to doing just that when i was in my own car, you can only see and appreciate these things from the saddle of a bike.
Cycling has given me an interest in wildlife and the countryside, it has given me an interest in historic buildings and churches, of old dilapidated buildings that used to be a thriving manufacturing base that employed hundreds of people or a Tudor building that has stood the march of time and is still inhabited to this day, the National Trust buildings and parks that you cycle past and through, there is so much to see that the miles usually just melt away as you pedal along finding these gems in the country side, cycling certainly opens your eyes and your ears to what is on your doorstep and sometimes it’s only a couple of miles from where you live.
The other day I cycled down a hill at close to 40 mph and when I reached the bottom of the hill I had such a buzz, a feeling of freedom, of exhilaration that you can only get from riding a bike, then you cycle about 500 yards further on and you hit a hill so steep you start to,wonder how you will ever get up it, but you just get down into your lowest gear and slowly grind your way up until you reach the top with that exhilarating feeling again of just accomplishing another feat of endurance, strange as it sounds, life just doesn’t get any better although I am sure a lot of people,who do not cycle are reading this and thinking that I am totally bonkers, but believe me you have to get on a bike and want to do it to get that feeling of accomplishment, don’t knock it until you have tried it.
I realise that a lot of organisations do a lot of good work to get people on their bikes but you have to take the first step and just get out into the countryside and see for yourself what you are missing and you know what, it doesn’t even cost a penny, except when you stop for a well deserved Tea & Cake at the local craft market, and that’s usually after you have been on your bike for hours and didn’t even realise you had clocked up so many miles, that really is a good feeling whilst you munch on a nice piece of chocolate cake and don’t have one little bit of guilt, now where else can you get that feeling from.
AND FINALLY……………………………….
Brilliant picture I saw on the wires the other day and it is just a brilliant photograph of a praying mantis riding a bicycle, just brilliant…………………………………………………….
It makes me frown when I am cycling along and a car roars past me, ok, he may have an emergency but most of the car drivers just get behind a steering wheel and want to get to where they are going in record time, I drive a car but since I have been cycling on a regular basis I tend to go a bit slower and hate driving on motorways.! It is just so boring.
I have seen Muntjaks, Lamas & Alpacas, and on one of my regular routes I regularly see a peacock in the driveway of a house, a fully grown peacock, and I always stop to admire him as I haven’t seen him with all his feathers out yet, but i will one day, these are all species of animals you would just not see from a car, or you would just get a fleeting glimpse as you roar past, and I admit to doing just that when i was in my own car, you can only see and appreciate these things from the saddle of a bike.
Cycling has given me an interest in wildlife and the countryside, it has given me an interest in historic buildings and churches, of old dilapidated buildings that used to be a thriving manufacturing base that employed hundreds of people or a Tudor building that has stood the march of time and is still inhabited to this day, the National Trust buildings and parks that you cycle past and through, there is so much to see that the miles usually just melt away as you pedal along finding these gems in the country side, cycling certainly opens your eyes and your ears to what is on your doorstep and sometimes it’s only a couple of miles from where you live.
The other day I cycled down a hill at close to 40 mph and when I reached the bottom of the hill I had such a buzz, a feeling of freedom, of exhilaration that you can only get from riding a bike, then you cycle about 500 yards further on and you hit a hill so steep you start to,wonder how you will ever get up it, but you just get down into your lowest gear and slowly grind your way up until you reach the top with that exhilarating feeling again of just accomplishing another feat of endurance, strange as it sounds, life just doesn’t get any better although I am sure a lot of people,who do not cycle are reading this and thinking that I am totally bonkers, but believe me you have to get on a bike and want to do it to get that feeling of accomplishment, don’t knock it until you have tried it.
I realise that a lot of organisations do a lot of good work to get people on their bikes but you have to take the first step and just get out into the countryside and see for yourself what you are missing and you know what, it doesn’t even cost a penny, except when you stop for a well deserved Tea & Cake at the local craft market, and that’s usually after you have been on your bike for hours and didn’t even realise you had clocked up so many miles, that really is a good feeling whilst you munch on a nice piece of chocolate cake and don’t have one little bit of guilt, now where else can you get that feeling from.
AND FINALLY……………………………….
Brilliant picture I saw on the wires the other day and it is just a brilliant photograph of a praying mantis riding a bicycle, just brilliant…………………………………………………….
