Wheezy Rider Blog: Hello, fellow riders

THERE'S a strange camaraderie between cyclists. Nine times out of ten you do not know the person coming the other way from Adam, and yet a cheery wave and a knowing smile cements a connection.

Whenever I am out, I make sure I say hello to all those I pass. I am not the most gregarious of people, in fact I hate small talk and am not much good in social gatherings - odd for a journalist, I know.

However, I feel the need to let other riders know I'm one of them.

If I lived in a country where cycling was second nature to its inhabitants I might think differently - I'd get repetitive strain injury if I waved to everyone I came across in say, Holland.

But here in the UK we are still in the minority. We are growing daily, but we remain, to some degree, outsiders.

That said, there are some cyclists who have refused to join in.

Some have reacted with a look of disdain, others are clearly too in the zone to be concerned with such frippery.

I'd like to think I'll carry on with my little routine until I'm too old to push a chain around any more.

APRIL 2

IT'S tempting to say, on making a purchase, that it's the best thing since sliced bread before you’ve really even tried it.

Often, though, such things are not black and white.

It can take a little time to appreciate what you now have.

That's how I felt about the Defy after the first few kilometres.

I regularly ride between Stockton and Sadberge on a weekend. It's not the hardest ride you'll ever go on, but it has a few inclines, twists and turns and you can encounter a fierce crosswind from time to time.

The initial stretch felt harder than usual – it felt like I was pushing harder than on my Cube.

Around 8km I was beginning to wonder if I had made the right decision.

Then, pausing for breath at the halfway point, I looked at the cog I had been turning and at Strava.

I’d been riding faster without even realising.

Armed with this information the ride back was a breeze. It felt like I had completely dialled in.

Despite the inclement weather, a stiff breeze and the kind of rain that soaks you through, I was coming close to or matching my times without even trying.

As well as being fast, the Defy is also a terrifically well-balanced machine. Changes of direction are effortless. You lean, it goes – working with you – almost symbiotic.

That, combined with the slick gear changes of the Ultegra set-up mean you are soon much further on than you thought you were.

Averaging 2km/h faster than normal I am going to have to rethink my rides.

APRIL 1

PICKING up the new bike today, fingers crossed.

I’ve been cycling now for just shy of two years and this will be my fourth.

The first was an impulse buy – it smacked of the naivety of a man who hadn’t been cycling for several decades.

It was the wrong size and about five years out of date.

Time and tide hadn’t waited for me in the intervening years and I didn’t have a clue when it came to cycling today. Christ, we weren’t even wearing helmets the last time I sat astride a frame.

That one lasted a couple of months. I bought the second with a little more expertise. Not much mind. At least it had shifters in the right place.

Again though it was the wrong size. After a few hours of riding my shoulders were burning up. What was that about acting in haste and repenting at leisure?

The outgoing ride, a Cube Peloton Race, was bought following a proper fitting. The difference between that and the previous one was huge. I can ride mile after mile with little or no pain – what I do get is purely down to the residual effects of an argument with a lamppost which resulted in a severe shoulder fracture last year.

The latest one is a step up again. I’ve been seduced by carbon and the promise of better shifting. The Giant Defy should be mine by the end of the day.

It's costing me an arm, a leg and potentially one kidney so I want the difference to be measurable.

However, a bike is only as good as its rider and I’m average at best.

If you see me out, give me a cheery wave and some words of encouragement and one other request, don't overtake me, at least not tonight.

• IF you have a cycling story for me from the North-East or North Yorkshire please email matt.westcott@nne.co.uk or message me on Twitter @mattwecho