Probably not the kind of ‘first cycling memory’ prompt-inspired poem you were expecting to find here

Dad is off to work 
Not sure where he goes 
But he gets there by bike 
So it must be somewhere far 
And it can’t be very important 
Or else we’d have a car 
He puts these things on his ankles 
They sort of look like bangles 
Tucks the ends of his trousers inside 
Before setting off on his ride 
He calls them bicycle clips 
And says they stop his flares 
Getting caught up in the chain 
But my brothers and sisters 
Who are kind of insane
Say the real reason dad wears them 
Is in case he gets tummy trouble 
As they’d stop the diarrhoea falling out 
I believe dad’s explanation of course 
Without any doubt 
But it’s only fair to admit 
My siblings' explanation did give me 
A bit of a giggle fit 

The story behind the poem

This in one of three bike-themed poems published in Ride On, an anthology of creative writing about the cycling experiences of women from diverse backgrounds. The others are BBQ Bike and Tandem Fandom. This poem and Tandem Fandom were born in the writing workshop led by Sarah M Jasat as part of the Ride On project.