Cycling
Sometimes it takes me a very long time to convince myself to try something new, for me to come round to an idea, if I have some anxieties surrounding it. I think I'd been considering commuting to work by bike for over a year; ever since I first moved to Moseley. I live in one suburb of Birmingham, just out from the city centre, and I work in another, also just out from the city centre, but on the other side of the city.
By bus, my commute is rather disjointed. It involves a 10 min walk to the bus stop, then wait for bus to turn up (which is supposed to be every 10 mins - but can be longer!), 10 mins journey into the city centre, then crossing the Colmore Row area (less than five mins) I can either walk the rest of the way to work (around 10-15 mins of fairly steep hills) or if there happens to be a bus due at a particular stop then I jump on that bus for a short five minute bus journey. From when I leave the house it's maybe 45 mins if I'm lucky with buses, traffic etc.
Nowadays, because we've got the car, I sometimes get a lift into work, but if we don't leave the house early enough we get caught in the morning rush and can be sat chugging away in heavy traffic and wasting diesel. For that reason, if I get a lift then we try leave the house at almost the same time as if I'm getting the bus; the journey is much, much shorter than by public transport but I just arrive at work extremely early.
I've always used my bike as a method of transport but I've not been on the roads in years and Birmingham is not my home city. I found the whole idea quite intimidating. I invested a lot of time in researching possible routes. There didn't seem to be a way to get to where I needed to be without travelling along big arterial routes with heavy traffic, in rush hour. "Just go on the pavement" people said, but cycling on pavements isn't an easy option - it's difficult and dangerous as pedestrians don't know you're there and you have to constantly make judgements as to how to get around them, not to mention navigating kerbs etc.
Then the other aspect which inspired a great deal of anxiety in me was the practicalities of wearing active-wear clothing for cycling, then still being able to transform myself into something vaguely professional-looking when I arrived at the office. Oh god, if there's one thing I get anxious about, like most women, it's my appearance. How would my hair end up looking? What shoes would I wear? Would I be all sweaty? How could I possibly get everything all prepared in the morning? What about days I did kickboxing - would I be able to carry my extra clothes etc?
I kept toying with the idea though, I could never quite talk myself into it or discount it completely. There are obvious benefits both physically and financially. David was very supportive of the idea, to the extent his enthusiasm almost put me off as it made me want to rebel. I completely over-thought and fretted over the practicalities of it all. I was terrified of the roads and traffic.
One day a couple of months ago David and I were both out on our bikes and realised we could reach the city centre quite easily by cycling along the pavement of one of the aforementioned busy trunk roads. The pavements were extremely wide, flat and at points had bike symbols painted on to indicate it was ok to cycle there. Once in the city I'd have to do a little navigation and detour on the pavements to get round to Jewellery Quarter, but suddenly it was starting to look possible. Finally I began to seriously consider commuting by bike. David found me a fluorescent reflective waistcoat and I bought new lights. We attempted (but failed) to install a rack on the back of my bike so I could attach bags.
Then, just as I was slowly, slowly warming to the idea, my bike got nicked.
I am actually more angry and gutted about this, in retrospect, than I was at the time. Suddenly, the option had been taken away from me. I couldn't have cycled to work even if I wanted to! For several days following I lamented my lack of personal transportation. I gazed longingly at other cyclists. I properly envisaged cycling to work - if only I were able..!
Unexpectedly, last weekend my parents provided me with an alternative bike. That settled it for me, I was going to begin cycling to work on Monday morning. I had no plans to go to kickboxing that evening so no worries about transporting my kit, and the weather was dry and mild. The change of clocks (which admittedly I just complained about) meant the mornings were light again. I packed some mary jane wedges, opaque black tights and rolled up a dress into a rucksack. My handbag has a cross body strap and I hoped would sit on my backside held in place by the rucksack (it didn't, I've since learned to pack it inside the rusksack). I packed deodorant and a proper hair brush. I am fortunate that my hair is short and generally speaking, if it's been blow-dried into shape after I wash it, it will stay looking ok. I was all set.
So with much trepidation, on Monday morning I tried it for the first time. I was nervous navigating traffic and felt particularly awkward when I had to go on the pavement and there were pedestrians around, but I made it, with a good 10 minute break before work for me to cool down. Success!
Since then, I've had ups and downs. On the return journey, almost when I was home and puffing up the big hill we live on, I clunked it into an easier gear and the chain fell off and fell down a gap behind the cogs. I couldn't get it out, it was wedged. I was annoyed, but glad I wasn't far from home. Once I was back home David managed to retrieve the chain and advised me not to use the biggest cog on that side.
Tuesday morning was awful. The traffic scared me, I did not feel confident. I almost zoomed out in front of a car as I crossed a side road the car was turning into. I wobbled a lot. In the end, as I slowly moved off a kerb and across a road (because I was too scared to be part of the traffic when I got to a roundabout) my shoelace got caught in my pedals. I panicked and ended up falling flat on my arse with the bike clattering down next to me. Thankfully there was only one car driving slowly towards me so I wasn't in danger. I quickly hobbled out the road. I was shaken up but I wasn't far from work so pulled myself together and went to set off, only to find the chain had fallen off and into the gap again. I couldn't get it out, it was completely wedged. Now I was REALLY wound up and rang David for some ranting/moral support. I realised as I went to call him that it was 8.30 and I was supposed to be at my desk which only stressed me out more.
I pushed my bike up a hill and in a couple of streets I was at work where I got myself ready and was a few minutes late. I was so annoyed that, having finally overcome my fears to actually make the journey, I had experienced a fairly traumatic journey on only my second day.
With some considerable effort I managed to get the chain back on at lunch time and after work I cycled to kickboxing. I had already decided my heels could live at work since I never wear them at home so this freed up enough bag space for my kit (my gloves etc live at the club, it's just clothing really). I'm normally in a mad rush, dodging the chuggers on New Street as I dash from the Jewellery Quarter to Digbeth and I'm almost always late for my 5.30 class. On Tuesday I took my time getting ready and strolled in exactly on time. That was nice!
It was afterwards I hit a low point though. I jumped on my bike for my final journey home. By this point I was the same side of the city centre as where I lived so it seemed like it would be a nice quick journey and I was looking forward to getting back. As I set off I thought, "Wow something in this area smells bad".
A couple of minutes and several meters down the road I realised the smell was still there and was still very strong. The smell was travelling with me. It was the bike maybe. Horrifically, before I could think of any other reason, my brain jumped to the nasty conclusion someone must have pissed on my bike as it was locked to a lamp post outside my kickboxing club (for some context: very close to where this photo would have been taken).
I could have been wrong, and thankfully by the time I'd reached home and locked it to the staircase inside the building where I live, I could no longer detect the smell, but I was disgusted with how utterly vile some people could be. Another bad experience on only my second day of commuting by bike.
Well, that didn't put me off as such but I never intended for it to be a daily method of transport. I gave it a rest on Wednesday and it's not viable on Thursdays anyway because I go drinking after work. Today I got back on though and this morning things went well. I navigated roads more confidently. I'm learning my route better and making better decisions in traffic and on pavements. I arrived at work with 15 minutes to spare.
Despite my difficulties I'm actually feeling rather encouraged and I hope I'll keep it up when the weather turns colder, as I realise it's been fortunately mild this week. We've just had a sudden bout of heavy rain so I'm anticipating a wet bum on the way home but it's either that, or stand waiting anxiously for a bus that feels like it's never going to come to then sit chugging along in slow moving traffic, so I don't feel much worse off.
By bus, my commute is rather disjointed. It involves a 10 min walk to the bus stop, then wait for bus to turn up (which is supposed to be every 10 mins - but can be longer!), 10 mins journey into the city centre, then crossing the Colmore Row area (less than five mins) I can either walk the rest of the way to work (around 10-15 mins of fairly steep hills) or if there happens to be a bus due at a particular stop then I jump on that bus for a short five minute bus journey. From when I leave the house it's maybe 45 mins if I'm lucky with buses, traffic etc.
Nowadays, because we've got the car, I sometimes get a lift into work, but if we don't leave the house early enough we get caught in the morning rush and can be sat chugging away in heavy traffic and wasting diesel. For that reason, if I get a lift then we try leave the house at almost the same time as if I'm getting the bus; the journey is much, much shorter than by public transport but I just arrive at work extremely early.
I've always used my bike as a method of transport but I've not been on the roads in years and Birmingham is not my home city. I found the whole idea quite intimidating. I invested a lot of time in researching possible routes. There didn't seem to be a way to get to where I needed to be without travelling along big arterial routes with heavy traffic, in rush hour. "Just go on the pavement" people said, but cycling on pavements isn't an easy option - it's difficult and dangerous as pedestrians don't know you're there and you have to constantly make judgements as to how to get around them, not to mention navigating kerbs etc.
Then the other aspect which inspired a great deal of anxiety in me was the practicalities of wearing active-wear clothing for cycling, then still being able to transform myself into something vaguely professional-looking when I arrived at the office. Oh god, if there's one thing I get anxious about, like most women, it's my appearance. How would my hair end up looking? What shoes would I wear? Would I be all sweaty? How could I possibly get everything all prepared in the morning? What about days I did kickboxing - would I be able to carry my extra clothes etc?
I kept toying with the idea though, I could never quite talk myself into it or discount it completely. There are obvious benefits both physically and financially. David was very supportive of the idea, to the extent his enthusiasm almost put me off as it made me want to rebel. I completely over-thought and fretted over the practicalities of it all. I was terrified of the roads and traffic.
One day a couple of months ago David and I were both out on our bikes and realised we could reach the city centre quite easily by cycling along the pavement of one of the aforementioned busy trunk roads. The pavements were extremely wide, flat and at points had bike symbols painted on to indicate it was ok to cycle there. Once in the city I'd have to do a little navigation and detour on the pavements to get round to Jewellery Quarter, but suddenly it was starting to look possible. Finally I began to seriously consider commuting by bike. David found me a fluorescent reflective waistcoat and I bought new lights. We attempted (but failed) to install a rack on the back of my bike so I could attach bags.
Then, just as I was slowly, slowly warming to the idea, my bike got nicked.
I am actually more angry and gutted about this, in retrospect, than I was at the time. Suddenly, the option had been taken away from me. I couldn't have cycled to work even if I wanted to! For several days following I lamented my lack of personal transportation. I gazed longingly at other cyclists. I properly envisaged cycling to work - if only I were able..!
Unexpectedly, last weekend my parents provided me with an alternative bike. That settled it for me, I was going to begin cycling to work on Monday morning. I had no plans to go to kickboxing that evening so no worries about transporting my kit, and the weather was dry and mild. The change of clocks (which admittedly I just complained about) meant the mornings were light again. I packed some mary jane wedges, opaque black tights and rolled up a dress into a rucksack. My handbag has a cross body strap and I hoped would sit on my backside held in place by the rucksack (it didn't, I've since learned to pack it inside the rusksack). I packed deodorant and a proper hair brush. I am fortunate that my hair is short and generally speaking, if it's been blow-dried into shape after I wash it, it will stay looking ok. I was all set.
So with much trepidation, on Monday morning I tried it for the first time. I was nervous navigating traffic and felt particularly awkward when I had to go on the pavement and there were pedestrians around, but I made it, with a good 10 minute break before work for me to cool down. Success!
Since then, I've had ups and downs. On the return journey, almost when I was home and puffing up the big hill we live on, I clunked it into an easier gear and the chain fell off and fell down a gap behind the cogs. I couldn't get it out, it was wedged. I was annoyed, but glad I wasn't far from home. Once I was back home David managed to retrieve the chain and advised me not to use the biggest cog on that side.
Tuesday morning was awful. The traffic scared me, I did not feel confident. I almost zoomed out in front of a car as I crossed a side road the car was turning into. I wobbled a lot. In the end, as I slowly moved off a kerb and across a road (because I was too scared to be part of the traffic when I got to a roundabout) my shoelace got caught in my pedals. I panicked and ended up falling flat on my arse with the bike clattering down next to me. Thankfully there was only one car driving slowly towards me so I wasn't in danger. I quickly hobbled out the road. I was shaken up but I wasn't far from work so pulled myself together and went to set off, only to find the chain had fallen off and into the gap again. I couldn't get it out, it was completely wedged. Now I was REALLY wound up and rang David for some ranting/moral support. I realised as I went to call him that it was 8.30 and I was supposed to be at my desk which only stressed me out more.
I pushed my bike up a hill and in a couple of streets I was at work where I got myself ready and was a few minutes late. I was so annoyed that, having finally overcome my fears to actually make the journey, I had experienced a fairly traumatic journey on only my second day.
With some considerable effort I managed to get the chain back on at lunch time and after work I cycled to kickboxing. I had already decided my heels could live at work since I never wear them at home so this freed up enough bag space for my kit (my gloves etc live at the club, it's just clothing really). I'm normally in a mad rush, dodging the chuggers on New Street as I dash from the Jewellery Quarter to Digbeth and I'm almost always late for my 5.30 class. On Tuesday I took my time getting ready and strolled in exactly on time. That was nice!
It was afterwards I hit a low point though. I jumped on my bike for my final journey home. By this point I was the same side of the city centre as where I lived so it seemed like it would be a nice quick journey and I was looking forward to getting back. As I set off I thought, "Wow something in this area smells bad".
A couple of minutes and several meters down the road I realised the smell was still there and was still very strong. The smell was travelling with me. It was the bike maybe. Horrifically, before I could think of any other reason, my brain jumped to the nasty conclusion someone must have pissed on my bike as it was locked to a lamp post outside my kickboxing club (for some context: very close to where this photo would have been taken).
I could have been wrong, and thankfully by the time I'd reached home and locked it to the staircase inside the building where I live, I could no longer detect the smell, but I was disgusted with how utterly vile some people could be. Another bad experience on only my second day of commuting by bike.
Well, that didn't put me off as such but I never intended for it to be a daily method of transport. I gave it a rest on Wednesday and it's not viable on Thursdays anyway because I go drinking after work. Today I got back on though and this morning things went well. I navigated roads more confidently. I'm learning my route better and making better decisions in traffic and on pavements. I arrived at work with 15 minutes to spare.
Despite my difficulties I'm actually feeling rather encouraged and I hope I'll keep it up when the weather turns colder, as I realise it's been fortunately mild this week. We've just had a sudden bout of heavy rain so I'm anticipating a wet bum on the way home but it's either that, or stand waiting anxiously for a bus that feels like it's never going to come to then sit chugging along in slow moving traffic, so I don't feel much worse off.