I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike

The 20-year-old fall was very dramatic, the stuff of legends, you might say. Freewheeling downhill towards the park where I met my friends every night after school, I squeezed the brakes lightly only for the back wheel to stop way before the front wheel pinging me over the handlebars.

I don't know how long I was out cold for (it was at least five minutes, I'd guess) but when I woke up I couldn't remember what day it was.

These days I can rarely remember what day it is but that's more to do with my age than as the result of any accident.

This latest fall however, wasn't dramatic or particularly graceful. I wasn't flying down the canal towpath at break-neck speed or tackling a tricky cycle-course. Instead, the fall came – rather unceremoniously – in the dismount. The bike and I kind of collapsed together in a sad heap as I pushed it up a particularly steep incline. I ended up slamming my knee onto a blue brick path. Ouch!

But you know what I did?

I didn't cry, I composed myself and got straight back on my two-wheeler. I am a brave soldier indeed (the fact that I was 10-miles from home was merely incidental).

Because after a two decade hiatus I have fallen back in love with cycling again.

The other half and I have recently bought shiny bikes as our new house is near a very cycle-friendly park. If I am honest, when I accepted delivery of my black and yellow mean machine (nicknamed Bumblebee, in a nod to Transformers), I didn't know how much I'd use it.

But like Shia LaBeuf's character and Bumblebee the wonder-car, you just can't prise us apart.

Naturally, the other half got kitted-out with all the cycling essentials during a visit to a specialist shop.

As a novice he asked what were 'eseentials' to which the assistant recommended a helmet (safety first, people) and some padded shorts.

He then whipped a couple of pairs of shorts for Mr Emily to try on, along with an all-in-one type suit. This was the cream of the crop, said the assistant. Ideal if you want to avoid 'saggy bum'. I thought the whole point of cycling was so that you don't get a saggy bum, like ever? Anyway, I digress.

First he tried on the padded shorts. All good. A bit baboon-like in the nether regions, but I guess now is the time for comfort not vanity.

And then the onesie, which could only be described as a cross between a Mexican wrestler's suit and Borat's mankini.

In fits of laughter, he decided against it (maybe something to consider if I become a 'serious' cyclist, he said. Or Borat impersonator) and cycled off into the sunset with shorts, a helmet, a water bottle and some other bits that only boys need.

Me, on the hand, am less precious about hi-tech threads. I am happy to sling on my shorts and trainers hit the park.

Which is probably why I am now displaying an almighty black bruise on my right knee. Maybe some knee pads would be good after all.

But if there's one thing I am always wearing when I am on my bike it's a big cheesy smile. The sense of freedom has made me feel like I am five again or, like Phoebe off Friends when she takes up running.

So next time you see Bumblebee and I out in the park, give us a wave!

By Emily Bridgewater