In cycling terms, January 2014 has been a challenge to say the very least. Not only has the ice been a real issue at the mere hint of a frost due to the saturated ground (see last week’s post about the first two ice-induced crashes – there was another one on Monday of this week!) but now my handlebars have fractured. I was cycling over a mini roundabout this morning when suddenly the right hand side of the bars fell away. It was still supported slightly by the bar bag fixing otherwise the incident could have been much worse than it was. I suspect that the bars may well have been damaged in one (or perhaps all three) of the recent ice incidents. They do tend to be the first thing that hits the ground. For some strange reason, in the few seconds of the crash, I assumed that the brakes had failed so didn’t apply them bracing myself instead for a moderate speed crash into the kerb and a tumble onto the grass which is exactly what happened. Ouch! I picked myself up, dusted myself down and… well I couldn’t really start all over again as I had no rideable bike. Instead I hopped on the spot for a few minutes trying to imagine away the pain in my right lower leg which had bashed itself against something during the fall. The good news is that I am fine. I’ve deposited Reggie back at AW Cycles in Caversham but I am sorely (literally) tempted to forget cycling again until January has been and gone. It’s only another 9 days…