Cycling is a big topic with me, it’s become one of my hobbies, an special interest I think about constantly, it’s changed the way I view the world, the way I live.

I have some vague memories of learning to ride when I was about 4 or 5, in a small bike with little wheels. I remember riding it around the garage. it was a bike that had been used by all my siblings before. that’s how it goes when you’re the youngest.

Later I would graduate to a slightly bigger bike,also a hand-me-down.

and I very clearly remember christmas when I was, I wanna say 10, and my parents walking in a brand new bike for me. it was black, mountain bike, absolutely gorgeous. I remember a few days before, being in a store and admiring the bikes. my parents let me go out and try it though it was late and dark, so only like a little loop on our street. I was very excited.

but something happened later.

I loved playing outside, and I loved riding my bike, and exploring, and really, all the things I still do now, but there was a time, I dont know when it started I was maybe 16? when I stopped.

I stopped riding my bike, either for fun for transport, and playing outside, and walking, exploring,playing, all that. it diminished greatly, and I think my quality of life suffered because of it. generally speaking, those weren’t great years for me.

I wouldn’t really come back to it for a long time.

once I started going to uni, I started walking more, and I started wandering again.

but I didn’t remember my bike till years later, when I had classes late and public transport options weren’t great, uber wasn’t a thing yet, and I didn’t want to drive. so I decided to get a bike. plus, my shrink told me to get more exercise, and I figured this way it was a two for one deal. I’d tried running a few times, but at the time, I was so out of shape I would run a block and get tired and discouraged.

I didn’t get my old bike from storage, I bought a new one. and by new, I mean old,actually. it was a wonderful mini cic. I had it overhauled, painted in ravenclaw colours, and I started riding it to school. this was around september, 2009. it had been several years since I had been on a bike.

I hadn’t forgotten how to ride, but I had forgotten how it felt.

how much fun it was.

So, spring started, I had a new bike, and a new hobby. I soon started taking longer routes just for fun, and then riding for the hell of it. , I rode my bike to vote. it’s only a few kilometers, but I remember coming home sweaty and sore as hell. I was not used to such long rides then. I spent all spring and summer riding around the city in my new bike. I had to ride around the city cause it couldn’t really handle anything else. and I soon found it could barely handle what I was doing. I was being far too hard on it.

so I remember digging around in the garage until I found my old bike, dusty as hell, needing complete work, but still good

.

once Autumn started,I thought I’d put the bike away until spring, but a week hadn’t passed by before it was out again. I’d missed it. so I got some rain gear, and I kept riding.

that christmas, I once again got a new bike. and that one I took everywhere. now I could wander into the forest, the hills, the roads leading out of town, and the bike could handle it all.

since I got back on my bike , I haven’t really gotten off.

the most I’ve been away is in 2017, when I had an accident and couldn’t ride for about 5 weeks. it sucked. and in lockdown I didn’t use it a lot either. just deliveries and supply runs.

There’s something about riding a bike that is just…wonderful.

I’ve done fast urban cycling in heavy traffic, I’ve done downhill in the woods, and road cycling where it is just you,the bike, and a long road ahead. I’ve done group rides and solo rides. for fun, for training,racing, exploration. in the scorching heat of the summer and the mud,rain, and cold of the winter. I’ve used spinning and static bikes. there’s nothing like being outside.

what I like is that you can really get to know a place. on foot,you get tired easily and in a car you don’t really appreciate it. in a bike you can see everything, go in all the small streets and just wander endlessly and no one looks at you like what are you doing here. you’re out for a ride, it’s fine. you can stop anywhere you like cause you occupy very little space. and you can make as much or as little effort as you like.

a bicycle provides freedom in a way no other form of transport does.

I love how you’re moving by your own power, I love riding until I can’t breathe,or my legs feel like jelly, and just coasting through empty roads late at night or early in the morning.

I love riding my bike, and I always feel better after a ride.

if I’m angry,or sad, or anxious, happy or excited, they’re all good moods to ride in. if I’ve got a headache the oxygen helps.

it helps me think, I can figure out stuff much better in motion. this is true with any kind of activity really, but i like the bike.

it’s become a sort of default activity. I’m bored, or I don’t feel like watching tv or reading or doing this or that, let’s go for a ride. sort it out.

it helps me sleep better. I’ve always had trouble sleeping, and physical activity really helps.

my mind quiets down, I can think,I can sleep. my body functions better.

I soon noticed I was in better shape, so I started running again, with the help of zombies,run!, which I had been using on my bike, I would go out with it and finding I could run, I wasn’t getting tired so easily and that after a while, it was even fun.

I started meeting new people, making new friends. going to cyclists meets and group rides. going to the monthly ‘critical mass’ meet up. I’m kinda awkward around new people, but having something in common helps.

I got a sports cam and started recording my rides, for safety but also I found I could make cool videos, showing the local landscapes.

I found riding my bike to school in the morning was a great way to wake up, and I enjoyed how empty the streets were at night on the way back. I would often take long detours just to enjoy it.

it also saved me time and money. where it took me up 30 minutes to get to school by bus, I could get to school on my bike in about 5 minutes going fast.

and it means I actually get to enjoy my commute. not to mention that it can be so much fun to zip by a traffic jam.

plus, it’s enviromentally conscious, which I always try to be.

it improves your reflexes and spatial awareness.

and, frankly, I’m good at it.

I’m clumsy. really clumsy. I’ve got dyspraxia, amongst other neurological conditions.

In general I have terrible coordination. I can hardly remember more than two steps in a choreography,I have terrible fine motor skills, and I often have trouble telling right from left.

I tried juggling and all I ever got was sore thighs from bending over so much to pick up dropped balls.

when running, I trip over my own feet all the time. so much, I’ve developed a chronic instability in one ankle.

but cycling’s my thing. I can do it, and well.

(funnily enough, a lot of dyspraxic people can’t ride a bike)

There’s a lot of reasons to ride a bike, but to me it narrows down to:

it’s fun, it makes me feel good, and I’m good at it.