Did you miss me? I took a break last week from blogging; sometimes it's difficult when you're writing about the same basic topic every week to not just regurgitate the same things over and over...and let's face it, unless you're a young bird being fed by your mother regurgitation is never a particularly pleasant thing!

So what has been happening in my world of cycling?

I have carried out the long overdue task of giving my main commuter bike a bit of TLC and much needed maintenance. I had forgotten just how quiet a fixed gear bike can be when all the drivetrain is shiny, new and well adjusted.

I also now have a pair of matching tyres which some of my friends will be very pleased about as they never stopped moaning about the one pink and one black combo that it's been sporting since last summer!

My regular commutes along the seafront are getting busier, as the weather warms up - and probably as the fuel prices continue to rise - there are more and more people choosing to cycle to work and this is a good thing.

Not only does it reduce congestion and pollution but it increases the fitness of those cycling and so also helps to reduce load on the NHS.

The only real downside, discounting the regular hazards of cycling on road, is the constant battle against prejudice. I've not been surprised to see the letters starting to appear complaining about cycling on the seafront and in some cases calling for a ban.

Over the last few years a lot of work has been done to improve the situation in this area and things have generally been improving. There will always be idiots who ride too fast or during the restricted times; but there are also people who allow their dogs to run around without being on a lead and foul the beach, as well as plenty other examples of anti-social behaviour; it's not restricted to those people on bikes!

I noticed another change that I think may be related to the warmer weather whilst on the mountain bike at the weekend - the amount of dog mess seems to be increasing at an alarming rate!

Throughout the winter most paths seemed to be fairly clear but now that the days are longer and the sun is shining people seem to be much keener to take their dogs out for a walk in the countryside.

It's just a real shame that some of these people can't be bothered to clear up after their pets! I never realised how bad this problem was until I noticed that my five year old daughter now regularly checks the soles of her shoes before going in the house.

At that age I can't really expect her to watch where she's running all the time, but even she realises that she doesn't want to walk the mess into the house.

There are quite a few cycling related events and activities to look forward to over the next few months: the new cycle track at Slades Farm is due to open next month; there is the Big Green Fortnight (http://www.bournemouth2026.org.uk/bgf/) taking place at the end of May; Bikeweek (http://www.bikeweek.org.uk/index.php) is running from June 18th - 26th and there are lots of events including a cycling celebration on Poole Quay on the evening on Thursday June 23rd.

This is all in addition to the regular sponsored rides all around the local area that raise money for charities like Macmillan, British Heart Foundation etc.

The sun is out, the weather is warm and I am looking forward to a summer of cycling!

Based on information supplied by David Brown.