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Writer's picturesophie sherwin

So, This Happened...


woman over 50 cyling to work
Before the storm!

....I joined ‘The Pack’, ‘The Club’, ‘The Gang’….I am not sure what you call it but I joined the Cycle to Work Club!!! Why?? Well, a couple of reasons, travel costs went up and I was a slave to the train timetable as I have just moved, so I made the decision to start cycling. As I am a huge commitmentphobe I could not go ‘all in’ so instead of buying a bike I signed up for a subscription. For twenty something pounds a month I get a fairly cheap bike but, if anything goes wrong they will fix it (or pay for it to be fixed), so you get to keep a bike full time but they pay for maintenance. The only snag is that you have to pay an excess if the bike is damaged or stolen, but it is no biggie and at least I can try out this new scheme of mine which at times I second guess as going form 0 miles to over 14 a day, it is no mean feat, so here we go cycling over 50.

After drumming my fingers by over-thinking, I took the plunge and signed up then sat and waited for delivery. It is rather restrictive in terms of the delivery as it is only during office hours so I had to have it delivered to my work but luckily it went very smoothly. Bike received, it was time to try. It was a Friday evening, sunny and warm. I get on my bike and I feel like I am suddenly part of a movement. Cycling alongside the London masses, I smile most of the way, have a few protein snack bites in the form of flies and when I stop at a red light I want to chat to my fellow riders but I read their body language and I must say they are all fairly unfriendly but then again, everyone just wants to get somewhere and not be bothered by this overexcited fifty something woman who looks like she has just discovered her clitoris.

So, I decide to meander slowly through the streets, now and again having to stop to check I was going the right way and on a few occasions turns out I wasn’t, so I had to turn around. By the time I got home it had taken longer than google had promised but I was happy.

Alas, one thing Google had failed to tell me was that my commute home was mostly uphill, which after a day’s work, my body was side-eyeing me but I was on cloud nine so I did not care.

The next few days came and went and the honeymoon period of the bike faded away and I became a bike demon. I was faster, sleeker and had a look in my eye that I had seen in all the other serious cyclists but I was still enjoying it. My body had started to rebel and I had aches and pains but I know that will all subside. This was my new normal now and just imagine all the perks I am getting — more money in the bank, my heartrate singing happily knowing I was getting fitter and I had a nod from the environment as I was being very friendly.

However, one day it all changed.


woman very wet on bike ride
During the storm

The morning of this day, I started out as usual, happily biking my way around parked cars, avoiding the moving ones, going through red lights and cycling along the river. My bingo wings were happily flapping like dogs chops in the wind, my muscles were zinging with adrenalin I got to work and all was fine. I had decided that morning I wanted to go to the gym after work to add to my new normal and build up some muscle, so just before I left work, I changed into my workout gear which happened to be a good call.

I took off as usual but, around 5 minutes or so, I could felt a few raindrops, no biggie, I have my raincoat on over my workout gear. But then the drops got bigger and more of them until our English ‘Short Sharp Shower’ I was promised was full throttle. A short sharp shower is usually manic but stops after 15 minutes but no, this rain pounded me all the way home. When looking at the sky, it was blue over one side but very dark grey the other, and of course that was the way I was going. I am sure there was a rain cloud following me. I was drenched. My glasses were all fuzzy and I was convinced I was going to get foot rot. At the beginning my raincoat managed to keep off a lot of the water but that even gave up after a while so I got soaked to the bone and I think the weight of the water slowed me down and so the pain of this soggy journey was elongated. My elation of being part of the bike gang dissipated quickly and turned to annoyance, I saw the pity looks of the other cyclists who were on electric bikes. I once quaffed at them for being ‘lazy’ but were now the smartest people I knew.

I managed to get home just as the sun came out as if to say ‘just testing’ and boy tested I was. Every pedal I took had got heavier and at one point I had to get off and walk. My thoughts ran wild with each rotation of the pedal, am I really going to be able to do this? Especially when it gets colder. The jury is out to be honest but I hope so.

When I tell people I am cycling now I instantly get ‘be careful, London is dangerous’ and yes, it is but there are so many reasons TO cycle it will be hard to give it up. I wish I could be hybrid and decide which days to do what, one day cycle and a day a week go on the train and be warm and read my book but the expense will rack up and I will not have gained as if I do this full time.

So, for now, I will keep at it and I will buy some more waterproofs, dig deep and embrace the English weather….

I look like a deranged demon below but this is just as I got home.


woman smiling at her looking dischevelled
I look like a deranged demon!

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