12 Months Back in the Saddle
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
My bike in front of the Diglis Weir. Seen without my usual set of pannier bags.
Hi,
I'm James and I wanted to write a personal piece about getting back into cycling over these last 12 months. It is exactly 12 months since I rode home on my new Gazelle e-bike on this day. I want to be as honest as possible about everything, warts and all, because maybe someone will relate and it might encourage someone to give cycling a try.
A little bit about me…
I wasn't particularly athletic or coordinated as a kid. I hated P.E., but I did enjoy my trampoline and cycling with friends. At some point along the way of life, I lost touch with cycling for 10+ years (until now). I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it might have been a mix of living in a somewhat hilly area and having lost touch with some people when I moved onto high school which was further away so there were less opportunities to run into someone from school and go cycling.
In May 2023, I finally clicked on a video by Not Just Bikes that YouTube had been recommending to me for months (maybe even years) and the arguments for increased cycling and cycling infrastructure made a lot of sense. I've always been anxious about climate change and pollution, we know cycling is practical way of reducing both, so it seemed like a good fit for me to get involved. I was already a regular bus user for years at that point, why not use a bicycle as an alternative instead of driving when the bus isn’t running. After all, practical climate action beats climate anxiety any day. 😀
The thing is… I live out in the sticks. If you want a return bus ticket, the latest outward journey you can take to Worcester and expect to return on the bus is around 2 pm. There's a big gap between scheduled departures too and no bus service on Sundays. Not to mention we don't have a permanent bus service to Malvern any more. I strongly support public transport and I believe it can be better, but I wanted more freedom to go places when the bus wasn't running.
How I came across Bike Worcester
After I was convinced by the Not Just Bikes video, I felt that this sort of change needed to happen in Worcestershire. I came across the Bike Worcester website after searching something like "social cycle rides in Worcester". I was looking for a way to meet like minded people and Critical Mass seemed like a way to do that. I didn't have a bike at this point though and it was taking a while for me to make a decision on one, so I mostly just checked the website every now and then and read a few blogposts.
One of the Beryl BTN Bikes that I ended up renting.
In April 2024, I took a train to go to a MIKA concert at the Brighton Centre. It was fun, but I wasn't familiar with the area so I looked up things to do before and after the concert. I came across Brighton Bicycle Tours, though my plans fell through. However, Brighton have the Beryl Bike scheme, so I decided to rent a Beryl and cycle along the beach and towards the cliffs instead. That was my first cycle ride in 10+ years and I really enjoyed it.
Possibly the first Beryl Bike ride by a member of the public in Worcester? Whoops… (Ignore my poor attempt to secure my coat inside out on the front rack).
But more importantly, after I returned from that trip, I randomly opened the Beryl app again and noticed that there were 2 bike bays available in Worcester. One of them was behind the Guildhall, which seemed odd but for all I know, they may have been soft launching it and perhaps they hadn’t agreed on a place to put them yet. So I had a look and sure enough, they were there. I decided to rent one because the app let me and rode it around the Diglis Loop. Then, it occurred to me, I don't have to wait to decide on a bike in order to join Critical Mass if I can just rent one. So that's what I did. Turns out the scheme hadn't launched yet... So naturally lots of people had questions. (I didn’t get in trouble over this, but my apologies to Beryl and the council for that. I did pay for the ride in the app so I assumed all was good. 😬)
A photo from my first Critical Mass. A tuba mounted on a bicycle is, of course, one of the best introductions to Sam you can get.
The challenges I faced
Road anxiety
My main concern was whether I could get to where I'd want to go on a bike safely. Having only gone via Bransford on the A4103 into Worcester on the bus or to Malvern via car pooling, it seemed pretty intimidating. Thankfully, I eventually stumbled upon an app called Cyclers. I have no idea if it's the best app out there for this sort of thing, but it claimed to be able to find safer routes so I gave it a go. And sure enough, it showed me a detour for both routes into Worcester via Station Road (avoiding most of the A4103) and Malvern via Suckley Road (avoiding it altogether) that looked much safer with less traffic and fewer lorries.
Being able to get into Worcester and Malvern whenever I needed was already pretty compelling. But what if I wanted to cycle around Worcester too. It probably wouldn't happen as much because I mostly take the bus to get to the City Centre and most things are within walking distance. But even so, I could just take a bus from the bus station when I get there on bike but still...
I found this a bit more intimidating. Some of Worcester's roads are busy and, at the time, the only somewhat segregated infrastructure I could think of is the New Road Cycle lane. Turns out there is more infrastructure than that, but there's still plenty of progress to be made.
But also, whether it is negativity bias or whatever, I've always felt that Worcester had a bit of a reputation for anti-cyclist sentiment. That is a problem to some extent anywhere, unfortunately. But again, I think that was a perception I got from reading comments on the internet. In real life, people seem to be much nicer in general. In fact, I’ve had plenty of pleasant exchanges with complete strangers. I do get close passed on the odd occasion, but personally it doesn’t feel like it’s often enough to negate all the positives I’ve experienced.
So, long story short, it wasn’t quite as scary as I anticipated but I would need to get more confident on the roads in general to be fully comfortable.
Thankfully, I gained some confidence as a side benefit of joining Critical Mass. In fact, after going on a few Critical Mass rides, I became confident enough to cycle from Foregate Street Station to OnBike (opposite RGS) for a quick check-up. Usually I would’ve pushed it on the pavement. But I just went for it and cycled on the road. And it was fine... This is a short distance, sure. But it’s a much busier road than I’m used to. Up until this point, I had only ever ridden solo on quiet roads that were mostly countryside lanes or shared use paths. There’s much less sensory overload when you’ve got less traffic and signage to pay attention to. This wouldn't have happened when it did if it weren't for the practice that I got while joining in on Critical Mass.
After that point, I felt like my confidence was growing. But I wanted to do things the proper way and get some training, so I got in touch with Martin Staines who does Adult Cycle Confidence sessions on behalf of Bike Worcester. This was a very valuable experience as well. It gave me more confidence to take up a reasonable amount of space on the road, rather than (pretty much) ride in the ditch like I was before. Thanks Martin!
This is not me in this picture, but you get the idea… I look vaguely like a ghost while wearing it, but what matters most is that I’m seen.
A year later, there are still some roads I find too intimidating, but I think it’s much more manageable now. If all else fails and I can’t find a route I’m comfortable with, I just hop off and push on the pavement until I’m in a quieter place but this is rarely necessary outside of some parts of the City Centre. I even regularly cycle at night now, which seemed way too risky before. I have one of those 100% reflective cycling jackets and a helmet with lights on the back. Both help make me a little more visible, which makes this feel safer than it did before.
Bike thefts
I was also a bit nervous about bike thefts. Like many, I’ve seen videos of people with angle grinders and all that. Long story short, it hasn’t been much of an issue so far for me. I use a good quality, angle grinder resistant u-lock and I’m rarely far away from my bike. Whenever I ride into Worcester, I park in the Frairy Walk (formerly Crowngate) Bike Storage unit, which has CCTV and the security team regularly stop by to check on it. Special thanks to those people who made/make that bike storage happen, it is very useful.
At the end of the day, if someone wants to try and loudly angle grind my lock off in a shopping centre within walking distance of a police station and in front of multiple onlookers and shopping centre security, then good for them for having that confidence. But I don’t see it going particularly well for them…
The benefits
Weight loss
It’s difficult to pinpoint exact dates, but roughly around the time I stopped cycling all those years ago, I started to gradually gain weight due to a combination of eating a bit more and exercising less. I don’t entirely blame myself for that (nor should anyone), but it wasn’t entirely out of my control either. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of stigma around this sort of thing and most of it is not particularly helpful. Whether it’s an irrational fear or not, many people feel self conscious when exercising as a result of all this stigma and I have felt that way at times.
Over the last few years though, I have been on a weight loss journey. I started by doing more walking, stationary cycling on an exercise bike, and some hiking. It was effective for months, but I was running into some problems. Firstly, the exercise bike that I was using would cause me knee pain. Probably because it's poorly sized for someone like me. Secondly, having a full time job and no form of transport after 2 pm made it hard to introduce variety into my exercises during the week. I was getting bored of going through the same motions in the same places for most of the week. There’s only so many times you can walk the same path, or walk on the same treadmill, or sit on the same stationary bike staring at the same wall before it gets boring...
Thankfully, attending my first Critical Mass and meeting some of the people from Bike Worcester motivated me to stop overthinking about which bike to get. It came at the right time too... I had already lost around 60 lbs at this point, but I was burnt out and ready to give up on my exercise goals. But, when I collected my new bike for the first time, I couldn't get off the thing. I would practically invent reasons to go to Morrisons and when I couldn't think of anything, I would ask my family if they needed anything. Often as soon as I finished work that day I’d be gone. It took me 2 or 3 months just to write a review for the bike shop I got it from because I was so busy with it. The display on it says I’ve done ~1,500 miles so far.
Personally, I find it so much easier being able to work exercise into my schedule like this. Gyms are great, but it was a challenge getting to one during the week in my situation. I like that my bike is always ready to go (when I remember to charge it, but that hasn’t stopped me so far 😅) and the pedal assist allows me to strike an adjustable balance between burning a decent chunk of calories without tiring myself out too much. Now if I want a gym membership, I can dedicate my time in the gym to other goals like strength or coordination. And, if I ever have to cancel, I can still ride my bicycle and get some cardio in.
As of writing, I’m down around 115 lbs total. It hasn’t been easy, but I feel that the bike made it feel much more doable for me long term. Along the way I’ve found some enjoyment in activities I used to hate like hiking and even the occasional jog on the treadmill. I’ve included a few of my favourite trails above.
Strength and coordination
I think I’ve definitely noticed an increase in strength, coordination, and balance.
When I first got the bike, I had a bit of trouble getting on and off of it. It’s a big bike and I’ve never had the best balance. It got easier after a few months, but I was still wobbly while signalling a turn with my hands. Now, I’m pretty confident doing both. I haven’t had any major falls. I’ve only really lost balance once, but it was no big deal. No cuts or bruises. I was concerned that this was going to be a big problem for me, but it’s all just become muscle memory again.
Other than that though, I have noticed increased muscularity from cycling on my stationary bike at higher resistances. I didn’t seem to lose much of that when I switched to an e-bike and I can always turn down the assist level if I want to challenge my muscles more. Funnily enough, I think I even gained some muscularity in my biceps. I’m thinking because I lift my e-bike in and out of my house with each ride, but I’m not fully sure. At one point, I was doing it pretty much every day though and they are a bit heavy. Maybe I’m imagining it, who knows...
Mental health and confidence
Like many, my mental health took a hit during the *global event whose name we're all sick of hearing*. My social life became quite strained during lockdown. The idea of this being the “new normal” was pretty scary. Naturally, coming out of lockdown for the last time was a bumpy ride as well, I was quite socially anxious and self conscious. It didn’t help that I finished university around this time, not being around people physically made it really hard to meet new people and build on existing relationships.
I definitely still have some way to go, but I think Bike Worcester and cycling has been a major part of me getting my confidence back. I’ve met so many nice people through Bike Worcester that my social anxiety has reduced considerably and I think I’m much happier for it. Even the clothes I wear have changed, I went from wanting to mostly blend in (even when cycling) to wearing hi-vis most of the time and not caring what anyone thinks. That self consciousness I once felt is long gone now.
Wildflowers are nice, aren’t they?
I also think cycling has made me feel more connected to the world around me. I see all sorts of things on my commute now. Anything from a proud dog carrying a stick that it found, to colourful wildflowers, to someone playing Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much on acoustic guitar on the Riverside route. It’s quite grounding in that respect, we’re all just out living our lives.
The impact of all this became clear to me when I was riding back from Morrisons one day and saw my dad's van outside my aunt's house and decided to go in. We spoke a bit about the Running Out of Time rally which I joined in on with some people from Bike Worcester. My aunt remarked on how I seemed happier. It was totally out of the blue, but it was nice to hear it. It confirmed to me that I was doing something right in getting out there and meeting people...
Not to get too sappy, but when I think of Bike Worcester and cycling, I think about the friendly faces I've met along the way. I think about Dan listening to my more nervous and irrational side, Al for being the first person I met at that first Critical Mass, Leisa for inviting me to join them at Boston Tea Party, Rob and Katie for getting me involved in stewarding Kidical Mass, all the amazing people who work on Bike Buses which I would've loved as a kid, the Grease Monkeys (the team behind Bike Recycling and the Repair Cafe) for putting up with my lack of bike repair skills and helping me get involved, and all the other amazing, passionate people that make this thing work. There’s so many more I want to mention, but I’m not sure if they’re happy for me to name them here, so I won’t out of respect for their privacy. But if we’ve spoken before, this most likely includes you...
It may seem like things aren't going well for cyclists at times, but this group has impact. It certainly has had an impact on me. Thank you...
In conclusion
There’s no guarantee you’ll feel exactly the same way or see exactly the same benefits I have seen with cycling. But nothing about my experience is truly unique to me, many feel similar benefits from cycling. Some have a harder time, but it’s worth sticking with it if you can and enjoy it. Again, I just wanted to write something personal in the hopes that people could maybe relate to it.
If you're interested in cycling but haven’t come to a decision yet, I would say go for it. Cycling is great fun and I truly believe it has helped me for all of the reasons mentioned above. If you can’t afford a new bike, Bike Worcester’s Bike Recycling program has lots of pre-loved bikes at a reasonable price. I'd also recommend joining Critical Mass some time as well. I think you'll enjoy it. Look for a guy with a dark green Gazelle e-bike and say hi, it’ll be great to meet you. 😀
If you’ve recently started cycling again, I would love to hear your story too. Feel free to drop a comment. I’ll be sure to respond.
