New Member!

Stephen Darling joined up last month:

"I moved down from Aberdeen a couple of years ago, but with one little one and one very little one, there was not much time for cycling. However, now they’re a bit bigger (3.5 & 1.5) it’s a bit easier to get out, so I thought I’d join up to see if I could get involved in a few club runs and other activities.

My cycling history started with mountain biking as a teenager – I even had a couple of races though I wasn’t that great – but then I didn’t do that much for a few years. I got back into it, mostly on the road this time, with an end-end in ’05, and started Audaxing, with an SR series in ’07, though that was the only one of those I’ve done so far, partly due to the time they take, partly due to the fact that I couldn’t walk for 2 weeks after one of the longer rides.

In 2008 I enjoyed a year in Deeside Thistle; took part in their club TT series and had a lot of fun. I also took part in the Scottish 12hr TT, coming last in the field! But I got a new job down here and so stopped being a member. That was about the time our littlest one was born, so last couple of years I have just been pootling along with commuting and the odd longer ride. This year though I’ve been getting more miles in again.

You’ll probably see me most often on the 2005 Ribble Audax bike that I bought for the end to end, but I’m afraid I’ve occasionally been a bit trigger-happy in EbayLand, so there’s a couple of others of a certain age in the garage including a Raleigh, proudly boasting that it is an ‘All-Steel Bicycle’ that weighs only slightly less than the Forth Bridge.

Looking forward to meeting everyone, Steve."