"A Bicycle, A River and Neptune"
by Neptune
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Riding a bicycle is good way to get that bit of exercise and enjoy the countryside. It is also a
great excuse for getting wet and muddy, especially if you ride your bike near rivers or lakes.
My bicycle is quite unusual as it is a folding mountain bike made by "Mongoose", so I can just
throw it into the boot of the car and drive to some really nice places which are much further
away from the big city where I live.
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Having waited all through the winter for some nice weather it was amazing to find the sun
warm and bright on this April morning, an ideal opportunity to go out for the first bike ride
of 2003. I put my bike in the car, loaded the waterproof camera with film and collected my buddy
twillin we then set off for Box Hill in Surrey. We parked the car and I got the bike out of the
boot, since I had not used it for some time I checked it over, then changed into my cycling gear.
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Now wearing my bright yellow lycra cycle shirt and shorts the bike ride started with a winding
woodland path from the car park. The tree roots made progress slow and difficult, especially
since I was rather out of practice, but soon we came to the river where we found a shallow area
that I could cycle through, it was great fun splashing through the water while twillin took some
photos with the camera.
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The water started getting much deeper and the current stronger so there was nothing for it but
to get off the bike and carry it across. The water was cold and came up to my waist. With my
cycle shorts now soaking wet and clinging to my legs I left the river and continued riding
along the path, I then rode across a small wooden footbridge to get to another shallow area that
we could see on the other side. I rode down the bank into the river with water spraying in all
directions.
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With the midday sun now getting even hotter, it was time to cool off. Fortunately some nice
person had conveniently left a rope swing tied to a tree and I just could not resist the
temptation to have a go, so with a BIG splash those cycle shorts were soaked once again. A few
more splashes later and it was time for the last part of the cycle ride back to the car park
still wearing my soaking wet cycle shorts and shirt, and with my trainers full of water.
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Now your probably wondering about poor twillin just standing around taking photos of me, well
actually he had a little go on the bike too and I took a couple of photos of him riding through
the river. It was quite surprising that we did not find any deep muddy puddles to ride through,
but both twillin and me enjoyed the adventure and are planing to take both our bicycles with us
for our "Wales Mini Adventure" later in April so who knows what will happen then.
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Safety Note
We recommend the use of a good cycle helmet, especially in unfamiliar places, bumping your head
on over-hanging branches or crashing into a tree are not very pleasant. So go out enjoy
yourselves, but Please be safe
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