I’ve mentioned before on my blog that I sometimes chase bikes. To be honest, I’ve never really had the chance to examine a bike up close. That is, until Clare came to stay.

She took her bike with her thinking that she might go out on it occasionally, in between running and walking me. Hilary let her store it in the back room off the kitchen, and it sat there quite happily for the first week of her stay, doing absolutely nothing! Anyway, that aside, I was very interested in the bike and took the chance to go and look at it and smell it whenever I could.

Bruce offered to take the bike home last weekend when he was here as Clare hadn’t had the time or energy to go out on it (and finds it a struggle getting it into her Fiesta) so it’s now gone.

I think it’s been good therapy for me though as I was a bit scared of bikes before. In the last few days on my walks we’ve met quite a few bike riders, usually when I’m ambling along quite happily off my lead. Yesterday one came up behind us and had to ring his bell to get Clare to shift as she hadn’t heard him, and today I was in the middle of the path when another came along. I was very good on both occasions and merely glanced at them as they went past, making no attempt to chase them at all.

I think the bike must have been good for me. Psychologists use a technique of graded exposure therapy where you confront your fears a little bit at a time. That’s what I’ve done with the bike. Am I not a very clever dog indeed!