My first "reborn cyclist" purchase was in 1987 when I spotted a Raleigh Maverick mountain bike in the window of a shop in Harrogate. It looked stunning in white and yellow with red graphics, with chunky tyres and a triple. Having invented the mountain bike back in the 1970s when I bolted a tiny chainring onto my 10 speed I knew that at last, here was the bike I wanted. I walked in, paid the shop keeper £199 on my credit card, took the bike without a word of advice or preparation from the shopkeeper and set off to ride the seven hilly miles home. The saddle was too low, the tyres half flat and I was wearing jeans. By three miles out of town I was flagging and by four I was exhausted. A neighbour passed in her camper and nearly stopped tp pick me up, saying later that I looked like I needed a lift. When i reached home I stuck the bike out the back, covered it with a tarp and didn't touch it for several months. Then I started thinking: "Hang on.... people ride bikes for a hundred miles! I should be able to do better than that!"
I got the bike out and started messing around, riding a mile or two out from home, learning how to get up hills without doing a wheelie. The rest is history.