A Reunion

Many moons ago, when Take That were topping the charts the first time around, Britpop was cool and having a bike built to your specification was the way forward, and carbon bikes were something that hadn't been thought about, two girls called Heather Roberts and Cath Cockram met at the North West Centre of Excellence, at Kirkby Sports Centre.

We had competed against each other at Kirkby Track League and the ACT Track League at Manchester Velodrome and at various 'Juvenile' (do you remember those days?) events across the North West. 

We became good friends, taking part in various competitions, including the annual 'Children in Need' event at Manchester Velodrome, where we would put on fancy dress outfits and race, all in the name of charity.

I went to live in Italy and France in 1999/2000 as part of my university course and after that, I drifted out of cycling and lost contact with Cath.

However, many years later, we got back in contact through Twitter.  A lot had happened during those years apart - I had married Fred Bamforth and Cath had married Bradley Wiggins.  We had both struggled with various health issues and Cath is now a mum to two beautiful children but we both shared a common bond - we had used cycling to get back to somewhere where we wanted to be.

So, when I heard on Twitter that Cath was organising some crits at Salt Ayre (which used to be called 'Scale Hall' when we were younger), I knew straightaway that I would support her event and couldn't wait to get there.  Admittedly, Fred and I possibly turned up slightly early, but it was great to see Cath again - straightaway it was as if we hadn't lost contact and we started chatting about how cycling had changed since we first got involved.

I really enjoyed Saturday's race, especially since Cath and I are now back in contact. 

And so it begins

Tomorrow, I will be riding at Salt Ayre, where I used to race as a young girl.  It was called 'Scale Hall' back then, not 'Salt Ayre' and I don't think the sports centre was there either.  I'm looking forward to riding, as it will be the first time ever in my cycling career that I get to wear a long-sleeved skinsuit (yes, I am that materialistic)!

I have had a really bad couple of weeks, so it isn't the best preparation, but it is something different nonetheless.

Come back tomorrow to find out how I get on!