Chutzpah
Über Member
- Location
- Somerset, UK
Hi everyone,
Looks like the done thing to do first on this forum is to say hello. So hello!
I've been lurking on some of the boards, looking every couple of days but never getting around to registering. Now seems as good a time as any.
I bought my bike (nothing special, from Halfords) in 2007 and enjoyed riding it around. I then moved for work reasons to Basingstoke, where unfortunately it languished doing nowt (I didn't find the town all that bike friendly). Two house moves later, now a father and an ever increasing belly I decided to get the bike out of the shed in early July. I pedalled about five miles and returned home with a smile on my face. I remembered why I enjoyed riding a bike.
I started off with cycling every couple of days, gradually going further. I would set myself mini-challenges (and still do), mainly along the lines of "I wonder if I could reach place X?"
I also started doing Sky Ride local rides around my way, I've found it great to be in a group and picking up some riding tips.
I've now progressed to doing part of my commute by bike. Technically I could cycle the whole route if I wanted (10 miles each way), but it's pretty hilly where I live and we have no showers at work. So I started by driving to the edge of town and cycling the last 2.5 miles. It's downhill in the morning and uphill (sweaty) on the way home - perfect! I'm now cycling the last 5.5 miles, I just park in a quiet village, go through the country lanes and then out onto the main road, passing all the queuing cars. Lovely.
I've been enjoying that so much that Wednesday (heavy rain and recovering from an illness) was the first time I drove all the way to work in about a month. That felt weird. I got used to knowing exactly how long the cycling part of the commute would take, and suddenly was getting stuck in traffic in random places again.
One thing I have discovered though is the never ending money drain for cycling. Come on you lot, I was led to believe cycling was good for the wallet, and doing part of the commute would save me money. But let's try to think what I've spent money on....
....and of course, now my thoughts are turning to winter cycling kit. Oh, and I managed to buy a set of panniers today, and need to get a rack for them tomorrow....
On the plus side, it makes me happier than pumping money into a car. And the health benefits truly are awesome - the weight is dropping off and I pretty much dozed my way through a 28 mile charity ride last Sunday, when I know for a fact in July it would have knackered me out (the wife wasn't impressed when I said I wanted to go around again.......) A billion times better than the gym
So that's my mini life story, looking forward to chatting with you all
Looks like the done thing to do first on this forum is to say hello. So hello!
I've been lurking on some of the boards, looking every couple of days but never getting around to registering. Now seems as good a time as any.
I bought my bike (nothing special, from Halfords) in 2007 and enjoyed riding it around. I then moved for work reasons to Basingstoke, where unfortunately it languished doing nowt (I didn't find the town all that bike friendly). Two house moves later, now a father and an ever increasing belly I decided to get the bike out of the shed in early July. I pedalled about five miles and returned home with a smile on my face. I remembered why I enjoyed riding a bike.
I started off with cycling every couple of days, gradually going further. I would set myself mini-challenges (and still do), mainly along the lines of "I wonder if I could reach place X?"
I also started doing Sky Ride local rides around my way, I've found it great to be in a group and picking up some riding tips.
I've now progressed to doing part of my commute by bike. Technically I could cycle the whole route if I wanted (10 miles each way), but it's pretty hilly where I live and we have no showers at work. So I started by driving to the edge of town and cycling the last 2.5 miles. It's downhill in the morning and uphill (sweaty) on the way home - perfect! I'm now cycling the last 5.5 miles, I just park in a quiet village, go through the country lanes and then out onto the main road, passing all the queuing cars. Lovely.
I've been enjoying that so much that Wednesday (heavy rain and recovering from an illness) was the first time I drove all the way to work in about a month. That felt weird. I got used to knowing exactly how long the cycling part of the commute would take, and suddenly was getting stuck in traffic in random places again.
One thing I have discovered though is the never ending money drain for cycling. Come on you lot, I was led to believe cycling was good for the wallet, and doing part of the commute would save me money. But let's try to think what I've spent money on....
- Rain jacket
- Baggy cycle shorts
- Gloves
- Mud guards
- New shoes (so I could leave a pair in work and avoid carrying them in each day)
- Extra lights
- Roof bars and cycle carrier
- Smoother tyres for my mountain bike
- Service
- Saddle bag
- Pump
- Child trailer for the toddler
- Probably more stuff, but my memory fails me
....and of course, now my thoughts are turning to winter cycling kit. Oh, and I managed to buy a set of panniers today, and need to get a rack for them tomorrow....
On the plus side, it makes me happier than pumping money into a car. And the health benefits truly are awesome - the weight is dropping off and I pretty much dozed my way through a 28 mile charity ride last Sunday, when I know for a fact in July it would have knackered me out (the wife wasn't impressed when I said I wanted to go around again.......) A billion times better than the gym
So that's my mini life story, looking forward to chatting with you all
