After 10 years I’ve taken up cycling again. It’s changed my life!
It all started with a quick trip to Bremen, where Oliver and I decided to hang out car-less to be free from parking spaces and drinking restraints. He decided to hire me a bike for the day (only €9.99 for 24hrs at 1-2-3 Radverleih). After the first 10 minutes of doubting myself, I got back into it as if time had not passed.
I have to admit though that I used to cycle a lot when I lived in Hamburg, a very flat fairly green city. My ride to work was 18km (11 miles) and I did this 2-3 times a week. It helped me survive my 9-5 existence, mentally more than anything. It was one of the very few things I took pleasure in… and I forgot all about that!
When I moved to London I never had the space to leave a bike, plus the concrete jungle full of Big Smoke isn’t really an exciting invitation to cycle at first sight. I never even thought about taking it up again, until that very day in Bremen. Thanks, Oliver!
So I invested a fistful of cash into a very jolly super pink Saracen Pylon with 8 gear internal hub and fluid disc brakes (nice!). It’s featuring 2.5” wide impenetrable Schwalbe Big Apple tyres, and in just over 4 weeks since I bought it, my board computer reveals the following incredible statistics:
- Total Riding Time: 25hrs
- Total Distance: 372km (that’s 232 miles)
Last week I’ve done 116km alone, that’s two round trips to Camden and one to Chiswick. I’m absolutely loving it and can’t understand how I lived without it for so long. I’ll see how long I can keep it up without getting bored (or the weather getting too cold).
I already had a puncture, so much for “impenetrable”, but I guess it’s all part of the adventure.