I am back! It’s been so long, you cycle-column addicts may have forgotten that I used to write the column, along with James ‘Bond’ Styring, but if you do remember, you’ll need some sort of explanation as to where I’ve been for the past three months.

Well, in the style of an ex-Wheatley Parker trying to blag her lack of homework here goes… The night before my last column on July 1, I gave birth — pop! To a baby girl.

Let's not go into details, but we both survived the experience, although one of us was more traumatised than the other.

On the Friday morning, having given birth on Monday night, I was chomping at the bit to get back on my bike and so cycled my son with the 'tag-along' to nursery.

After having a few months of cycling very pregnant, I had learned to swallow my pride and use the crossings to get across safely — not a bad idea when you’ve an extra bit on the back of the bike and my son keeps the drivers sweet by waving as we go past (dat’s my boy).

So, how was my first cycle? As you can imagine, I hadn’t had much sleep in the past few nights and would I need a cushion or would I even have the strength to pull my son along?

Actually, funnily enough, it was, as they say ‘just like riding a bike’.

I guess keeping fit riding while I was pregnant helped me keep my nerve. I hadn’t been going very far but just doing a bit of cycling every day or every couple of days was enough.

My first post-baby cycle was a little bit slow but worth every moment; especially when I got to nursery and pulling up, was told by a friend: "Hey, haven’t you had that baby yet?", a classic moment, where I said as casually as I could "oh yeh, she’s asleep at home".

The look on her face was a picture. I felt like Liz McColgan when she ran her fastest marathon only a short time after giving birth.

But what about since then? How do I get about with a baby in tow? (more about this next time).

My son has a cunning invention where he wants a series of skateboards on ropes coming out of the back of the pram and he wants me to pull him and all his various mates along as we go — hmmm.

I really want to be able to get to places in reasonable time, as I used to. I can’t believe how frustrating it is to walk places with a pram. It's sooooo slow.

There are hardly any drop kerbs on the route I take and manoeuvring around parked cars is a nightmare (memo: must buy James Bond-type circular saw to fit to side of pram to cut way through badly parked cars).

But, if you’re anything like some of my old teachers, you’ve probably noticed my chatter hasn’t provided any excuses for my whereabouts for the past 13 weeks so I am sorry (’onest governor) and I’ll do my detention a week next Tuesday.