Tag: ataxia

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I cycled to work

A man on a bike, wearing jeans and a dark grey sweater. cycling over a bridge over a river. Trees along the riverbank are in full leaf, and the scene is sunny.
Me, on a bike, crossing a new bridge over the River Clyde in Glasgow

I did something amazing today.

I cycled to the office. And back home again.

I know, billions of people ride a bike every day. I used to, too.

But more than 25 years ago, I slipped a disc and was told to stop cycling, because of the load on my lower spine. Since then, I’ve been diagnosed with #ataxia, which affects my balance and co-ordination.

Those are both pretty indispensable when riding a bike.

So I thought my cycling days were pretty much over, much like my mountaineering, football and running days.

But I recently inherited an #ebike that’s been sitting in a shed or garage for several years.

So I thought, why not?

I’ve been building up to this trip. It’s about 3.5 miles/5km to the office from where I live. Not far – I used to regularly walk to and from it when the weather was clement, until I couldn’t.

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