Heather Fell, Olympic modern pentathlete silver medalist, writes about her life 'on and off' the track.

I am conscious of this quickly becoming a cycling column but I cannot ignore yesterday's ride as I am most certainly still suffering and in a way I haven't suffered before.

I headed out on another group ride, this time in Bath with a smaller, slightly less experienced bunch of riders. After the midway coffee break we hit a relatively straight and flat road, which I thought would be the ideal opportunity to test out the 'drafting factor' that a more experienced rider had been explaining to me.

The front pack started to breakaway so this was my chance, I got in close and tested the effects of being in the slip stream. I can assure you it is true, suddenly you need half the amount of effort to keep up. The key is being within half a bike wheel away from the one in front, this I soon discovered requires a fair amount of concentration when travelling at a speed of 25mph. I was flying along and loving it until - only momentarily - I was on the back wheel of the bike in front; I was then sent sliding horizontally across the gravelly verge. Fortunately because of these wintery temperatures I was wearing several layers of clothes which added considerable protection. After years of riding horses and of course falling off them I have had one theory strongly ingrained in me — 'always get straight back on after a fall.' This ethos came in handy when miles away from home, luckily with no time to stop and think about the discomfort I made my way back safely. I know my pride and wounds will heal, although I am most upset about the scars on my once sparkly beautiful new bicycle.

I will end my sympathy seeking as this is nothing compared to what jump jockeys face on a regular basis. After seeing the Grand National those jockeys are incredibly tough both physically and mentally.