Occasionally I meet another cyclist on the valley road. Sometimes it is an opportune moment at a junction. Other times I actually manage to catch a rider ahead. This happens tonight. As I crest the slight rise out of Bickleigh and the road levels out before dropping again to the valley floor I spy the tell-tale fluorescent yellow of another cyclist ahead. On the slight descent and the following flat I’m aware that I’m catching him only gradually, but as soon as we turn onto the first part of the Jenny’s Portion rise I’m on his wheel in a moment. The number 55 bus has been patiently waiting behind me for some time so I resist the temptation to ride alongside and swap pleasantries. Instead I drop a gear and spin a little more gently on the incline, hoping the chap might grab my wheel and ride in my slipstream for a bit. Eventually the bus and the inevitable line of cars trailing behind it find the safe opportunity to pass. I give the bus driver a cheery wave of thanks, though I am sure he will not see it, and glance over my shoulder to see if my companion is anywhere close. Sadly he is quite a distance behind already and I’m enjoying the trailing draught from the traffic too much to ease up. I press on, with every pedal stroke feeling guilty at not having waited for a chat.
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