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“Where did you learn to ride like that?” he asked, eyes wide.
“I was a bit of a tear-away as a kid. Mum wasn’t often around, and when she was, she was usually pissed. We didn’t have the money for a TV license or computer games, so I spent most of my free time on my bike. She got me an old BMX for my tenth birthday and I got pretty good at tricks and stuff.”
“This feels a bit like teaching Granny to suck eggs,” said Bob, looking deflated.
“Not at all. I never knew about this place. I love it, thanks so much for bringing me here.” Kate reached across and squeezed Bob’s shoulder. He flushed and jumped off the bench to pick up his bike.
“Want to try one of the harder trails?”
“Sure, lead the way,” said Kate. She’d made her point. There was no need to go speeding off again. Bob pedalled deeper into the woods until they reached a clearing with signposts pointing in all directions.
“You pick which route you fancy. There’s a map there that shows them all.”
Kate free-wheeled over to the map and picked the blue route. Not too easy, not too difficult. “Let’s have a go at this one,” she said.
“I thought you’d go for red. You’re not going easy on me, are you?” Bob asked, frowning.
“No, it’s for my sake, not yours. It’s been years since I rode on tracks, or hills for that matter. I’m done in after the skills section. I can feel muscles in my legs I’d forgotten existed.”
“I believe you, thousands wouldn’t,” said Bob, wiping his brow with a hanky and getting back on his bike.
As they were setting off, Kate’s mobile rang. “Hold on a sec,” she called to Bob. “I’ll just answer this.”
He gave her a thumbs up as she retrieved her phone from the bottom of her bag. Alex’s face was lighting up the screen.
“Hi, Alex. Sorry, I can’t really talk right now. Can I call you back in a couple of hours?”
“What are you doing?”
Kate was tempted to answernone of your businessbut remembered it was she who called him on Friday, so she didn’t have the right to be rude. “I’m out on a bike ride, actually. A friend brought me to some bike trails nearby. They’re really…”
“Who’s the friend?”
Kate had forgotten his habit of interrupting her half way through a sentence. Why hadn’t it ever bothered her before? “I’m with my mate Bob. You know, the solicitor I told you about?”
“Oh, him. Haven’t you met anyone else yet?”
“I’ve spent a bit of time with my guests and this lady Joy who…”
“You called me, remember? I thought you wanted to speak to me, but if you can’t be bothered, don’t worry about it.”
“No, no, I did want to speak to you. I mean, I do. It’s just I’m in the middle of a wood, covered in mud with bad signal. Can I call you back in a couple of hours? We can catch up properly then.”
“I’m busy later, I’ll call you another time.”
Alex hung up and Kate stared at her phone, wondering what exactly she’d done wrong this time. She looked over at Bob, who was studying his own phone screen, a murderous look on his face. She free-wheeled over to him.
“Everything alright?”
Bob jumped, startled, and put the phone back in his pocket. “Yes, everything’s fine, why?”
“Oh, nothing. No reason. Shall we get going?”
“Catch me if you can,” said Bob, setting off with a skid down a dirt track.
Kate kept Bob in her sights, making sure to stay a little way behind, even though she knew she had it in her to catch him if she wanted. Something was up with him, and she got the feeling he could do with a boost to his pride.
Kate wished she’d been looking at the track rather than Bob’s back. If she was, she would have seen the stick in the middle of the path. The stick caught between the spokes of her wheels and sent her flying over the handlebars. She felt skin tearing from her leg as she landed, her hands burning as they planted palm down into a patch of nettles. Like a wounded animal, Kate crawled further into the undergrowth, pulling her bike out of the path of oncoming cyclists.
