Bath Rugby's David Trick: Why You Should Take Up Cycling

I enjoyed every one of my twelve seasons playing for Bath Rugby between 1979 and 1991 and have few, if any regrets. However, one possible downside is the pain I started to feel in my knees a few years ago whenever I went for a jog. The problem was easily rectified, by making the simple decision never to go jogging again!

 

Whilst the decision was good for my knees it was not good for my waistline, which started to expand exponentially. I needed to find some way of keeping fit without my body breaking down, so I contacted a team mate, the former Bath & England full back Jonathan Webb, who is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in 'knees.' He provided me with two options; surgery, or take up cycling to strengthen my 'quads.' The latter was the less frightening and definitely cheaper, even allowing for the fact I didn't own a bike at the time.

 

Since that meeting I have joined the ever increasing number of MAMILs (Middle Aged Men in Lycra). Although in the early stages of my relationship with the sport of cycling, things weren't easy. I have to be honest and say, cycling on your own is not a lot of fun. I was going out a couple of times a week for 10 - 15 mile rides and finding it a bit of a slog. I didn't feel as though I was getting any fitter or indeed improving as a cyclist, but on the plus side I had no pain in my knees.

 

Everything changed for me when I joined a group of like minded souls who'd chosen cycling as their preferred method of exercise. Suddenly it all made sense. One of the obvious advantages of cycling in a group is the ability to hide behind other riders when the going gets tough, shelter from the wind and effectively get towed along. Although this is frowned upon if you position yourself there for the entire ride. I had the perfect group, who always stopped for a coffee and a bacon roll, and often found time for a beer at the end of the ride - happy days.

 

 

Since these early days I've organised several cycling challenges for Bath Rugby Foundation including a weekend cycle to watch Gloucester v Bath (the trip to Gloucester was much easier than the return leg when we were all suffering from excessive celebrations following a great Bath victory!). However, the biggest challenge took place three summers ago when 35 of us cycled from John O'Groats to Land's End, covering 974 miles in nine days. Along the way there were some 'dark moments' when the wind and rain seemed relentless, and my body became fatigued, (no pain in my knees though) but this paled into insignificance when compared to the laughter experienced along the way.

 

One memory which will live with me for ever was a game of 'bike and seek' a group of us played on day 6. This involved a cyclist going ahead and hiding, the only two rules were, they had to be partially visible and they had to be clipped onto their pedals. We found riders in fields of wheat, lying upside down behind a garden wall, with just a glimpse of a tyres poking out the top, and another hiding in a skip. However no one came close to Lewis Moody!

 

We were taking a left hand bend in the Cheshire countryside when a voice called out, 'lads, lads!' We stopped and looked around and heard the voice one more time. Looking up, we found Lewis, 15 foot up a tree, sitting on his bike, which was resting precariously on a branch. Believe me, when you've been pedalling for days on end, this is funny. After taking a few photos, we all started to mount our bikes as Lewis asked if we could help him get down. Almostin unison, we said 'get lost, you're on your own,' and rode off, (those weren't quite the words we used, but the sentiment was the same!).

 

 

After the success of this challenge, we have arranged another taking place from the 12th-18th June this year. We'll be cycling just over 400 miles from Cork in the South of Ireland to The Giant's Causeway in the North. Currently we have 41 registered riders including Bath and England second row Dave Attwood, a few former players, and a host of supporters. I can't guarantee we'll find someone hiding in a tree, but I have no doubt it will be a wonderful experience for all involved.

 

If you'd like to join us or want more information on the event please contact me: [email protected]