Very Cross Training

Halfway into my six week exile from running, I'm not doing too badly on keeping active, aiming to have bundles of new found strength when I finally get to lace up those running shoes again.

One of the most convenient rediscoveries has been the bike, a neat zippy hybrid that I'm embarrassed to admit has been abandoned under a sheet of tarpaulin for most of the past year. As well as improving your running, there's a strong belief that cycling can preserve some running fitness during a period of enforced inactivity. So the new regime has forced me into cycling my commute to a workplace that has the previously ignored luxury of secure indoor bike storage and showers. Having no confidence in my bike-fitness, I aimed for just one attempt a week for starters.

The commute is just over 13 miles, much of it through the centre of London and on my first couple of attempts I managed it in 1:13, not bad considering the leaden legs and numerous traffic light stops. On Monday this week I felt I was flying, knocking 7 minutes off my "PB" and enthusing me to go for a bonus commute on Friday. This time I thought I'd try a different route, tapping into what's left of the 2012 legacy by riding down the River Lea. Just as I passed the eerie silence of the Olympic Park, the ride became unnaturally bumpy - the back tyre was showing signs of distress. After pumping it up, it quickly gave up the ghost yet again and as I pumped it up again I could hear and then actually see the air escaping through a very obvious hole in the rubber.

Five miles from home, seven miles from my destination with the most basic of puncture repair kits I was stranded in a desolate bit of London I now know to be called Fish Island, desperately considering my options:

1. Chain my bike up outside Hackney Wick station and collect it after dark. Suddenly feel particularly helpless and clueless, I phoned a friend who reminded me that Hackney had a bit of a reputation when it came to bike thefts. This advice along with the lightweight bike lock I was carrying (which I noticed someone had already tried to saw through) put paid to this option.

2. Wheel the bike to the nearest bike store. This was the sensible option although would pretty much write-off my morning's work plans.I'm fairly confident London Fields Cycles was the nearest possibility so after some Google-mapping I started to wheel the bike in the right general direction. However the tyre was so flat it wouldn't rotate properly so I had to carry the bike for 1.5 miles over my shoulder, cursing and sweating.

2.5 hours after enthusiastically setting out, I arrived at work, helmet and high-viz jacket still on, bike 8 miles away. My right shoulder strengthened (glass half full conclusion) or with a newly acquired rotator cuff injury (glass half empty). I do now have a brand new rock hard rear tyre fitted and am not too dejected to have cancelled my future bike commutes. However, for a few hours on Friday, the grief caused by bike mishaps seemed a whole lot worse than the personal malfunction that's kept me off running for weeks on end.