That’s a confusing title because I’ve never stopped riding my bike.

This is my Giant Defy which I bought on May 29th 2020. My first ride was from Edinburgh Cycles in Newcastle to home. Since then I’ve done 332 rides and covered a distance of 9 069 miles.

When I retired in 2009 I began to take my casual interest in cycling a little more seriously. My retirement present was a bicycle, a fairly basic and inexpensive hybrid. My home in South East Northumberland is surrounded by an extensive network of off-road tracks and trails, an unexpected consequence of the long gone mining industry. Waggonways, formerly used to transport coal to the staithes at the rivers Tyne and Blyth, became excellent cycle routes I upgraded my budget hybrid to a series of MTBs, eventually buying a Whyte 529 on which I rode over 15 000 miles. Some of the earlier posts in this blog describe how I cycled some of those miles. As the years (and the miles) passed I came to realise that I needed a different challenge. Road cycling seemed to be the next step in my cycling career. Two things pushed me in that direction: Covid and lockdown. Lockdown was imposed on March 23rd 2020. Social mixing was discouraged but physical exercise was encouraged. In my situation that meant that the off road tracks and trails became very crowded with walkers, joggers and cyclists. Suddenly they weren’t the attraction they had been previously. Conversely the roads which I’d avoided were deserted were devoid of traffic and a pleasure to cycle along. As a bonus, the weather was excellent, dry and warm, and perfect for cycling. Another bonus was the money accumulating in my bank account. Bars and restaurants were closed so opportunities to spend money were greatly reduced. There was an obvious way to deal with all these issues – buy a road bike which was what I did. I wasn’t alone in thinking that cycling was the ideal way of coping with lockdown. Bike shops were enjoying record sales.

I almost got the next step wrong. I hesitated and vacillated about what to get and how much to spend. I eventually decided that the Giant Defy was the bike for me. My timing was just about right. I had to wait three weeks for the delivery of the bike. If I’d delayed much longer I’d have waited months or possible years for the delivery of a new bike.

The Defy was delivered on May 29th and I collected it from the shop in Newcastle and cycled home. I was in love with the bike then and now, four years later, I’m still in love with bike.