I don't do races - unless they are action movie-class pursuits - like the one today!

It started like any other shopping mission. I had some free time on Friday's bank holiday, so I visited Mr K of Chiswick, who is always very fond of the young people from GoodGym and, recently, Helping Hands, who come to support him. If Mr K was slightly disappointed I was not JP, whom he'd been expecting (although a post-it note on his corkboard had my name down), he didn't show it at all.

Mr K handed me a grocery list with only 5 items, cash, a shopping bag and, of course, his Nectar card.

Sainsbury's was pretty busy on Good Friday, but there was no queue at the checkout. It was at the supermarket's exit where I met my rival: Mr Scooter. Ready, steady, go! We set off with our Sainsbury's branded bags towards the crossing by the Gunnersbury station, not even knowing we'd be racing each other. Wheels against legs, electric motor versus a mighty engine powered by organic compounds.

The competition was about tactics: navigating narrow shop exits, traffic lights and bulging tree roots distorting the pavement. Mr Scooter had the advantage of speed since I was walking, not running, but I could take shortcuts Mr Scooter could not use, which was not good news for the accessibility in the area. Before the pavement got really rough, we went head-to-head, taking different routes to avoid obstacles. At some point, I took the lead and lost Mr Scooter from sight. That made me feel grateful for being able-bodied and, at the same time, bad about the challenges people on mobility scooters go through. Then, suddenly, Mr Scooter appeared on the other side of the road, cruising on the even pavement like a swan on the surface of a lake. He was going for the gold medal! He reached the crossing at the Gunnersbury station and turned toward Chiswick Park. Well done, Mr Scooter. Well done, Chiswick.

Mr K got his groceries soon after and thought I was pretty fast. Well done, silver medallist Kash.