Yesterday I rode my bike to work for the first time, ever. In the past I had always been too scared of inconsiderate drivers, but I had a plan.

I’ve been reading a book about a lady who loves bike riding and has completed some epic international races including a race across Alaska, that’s right Alaska! Her training included riding to work through snow and ice each day in freezing temperatures, and it got me thinking maybe I could ride to work too.

Being unable to run last year got me into cross trining, and for Christmas I managed to score the best present ever, my own mountain bike. I had not ridden for years and it brought back happy memories of when I was a kid and my brother and I would ride around the streets together. My father used to take us out on longer bike rides too and I remember enjoying that time together as my father was a pretty quiet man (aside from the Dad jokes).

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve become more confident again on the bike abut I’ve only take it on wide fire trails, nothing too narrow or technical. I struggled to keep up with why friends lightweight Cyclocross bike but I was determined to not let that stop me.

I sat ands thought about the best route to take for my journey to work and mapped it out in my head, I guessed it would be a little more than 10km. Sydney drivers are not very ‘cycle-friendly’ so I was feeling a bit nervous and scared. I decided to ride on the footpath as much as possible but there was one section on the Highway where I could not avoid the road, so my plan was to wear a hi-vis vest to make ensure I could be seen at all times.

Thursday morning came around and I got up, had my usual smoothie breakfast and headed out the door. All I could think about where the horrible bike crashes that I’d seen on the news and heard about through friends. I kept telling myself to “Stay positive” and be on the look out for car in driveways and turning cars, so my pace was constant but cautious. After the first 2km I relaxed a little and started to feel really good, my legs felt strong and the weather was still cool. I even managed to overtake a tractor as it slowly rolled along President Avenue.

I got to work in just over 35 minutes for 13km. I thought that was pretty good. When I looked at my Strava information for the ride I realised that most of the journey had been downhill, no wonder it felt easy!! That also meant my ride home would be mostly uphill and not so easy….

After work I donned the helmet, gloves, backpack and vest then headed out into the heat. The sun was blazing down on my face and arms and I wished I had packed some sunscreen. The first section was pretty flat and then it was not. On the hills I alternated between low gears with a high leg turnover, to low gears and standing up to pedal and keep my momentum going. The weight of the bike would stop me in my tracks as soon as it sensed a hill was close-by and the worst of the hills was yet to come.

I made it home in just over 55 minutes. I was sweating like a pig but I felt great. I had survived and had a deep feeling of accomplishment for getting myself to and from work under my own steam. This was definitely going to become a regular habit. Maybe I should sign up for a bike race…..

Happy riding 🙂

BOOK MENTIONED: Becoming Frozen – Jill Homer