I have for some time now (read some years now) been mulling over the possibilities of getting myself on two wheels for the sole purpose of cheaper, faster travel. I walk most places (one of my favourite things about Manchester!) but know I could save money on trains to work if I cycled. An abject fear of roads has been the main thing stopping me up until now but recently I have decided to stop mulling and start pedalling. I think it's been a combination of increased confidence through more outdoor running and the better weather that has finally given the decision a push but the main catalyst has been the Run2Work days; after all if I can run to work in a hour (for free!) then surely I can cycle there and back in less time than that? Having made space in my flat to comfortably store one, I had one less excuse and I have been lucky that a friend has lent me her old bike to trial and be totally sure I am comfortable with using before taking the plunge. Yesterday I took my first test cycle on my run to work route, mostly along the Ashton Canal, and back. Success! Funnily enough, it wasn't a whole lot quicker than running but certainly less tiring and I had no issues cycling back again. |
Now here's a stroke of luck; at the race on Thursday, as I was getting ready to warm up, I managed to accidentally hit a random setting on the Garmin that offered me an option to 'ride'. I didn't have time to investigate that any further at the time but before setting out on Friday, I did a bit of research and discovered that Garmin have recently released an update for my model (FR620) meaning I can use it to track cycling too! Talk about serendipity! Aside from this, my main discoveries have been that whilst I dislike running on cobbles, I really hate cycling on them, however it is more convenient in that I can easily carry a bag. You really notice the hills and any uneven ground far more though. I am not currently on first name terms with my posterior. Having said that, I had such a good time that when the possibility to go for a gentle evening run with a friend popped up the same day, I decided to cycle to her house. The long way... and back! I'm so glad I've finally done this and I really think it's going to open up a lot of possibilities! Days off in the hills, cycling to nicer running routes, getting about more cheaply and of course faster in some cases too. I'm away again next week but I'm very much looking forward to getting my own and really getting some practice in. I think I've already started getting my head round traffic a bit more and I'm certainly learning when to stand up in the saddle! *bump_wince*
It seemed fateful then that yesterday evening, the suggestion was made to attend Heaton ParkRun. I have only ever been to South Manchester before as it's a bit closer so I can run there and back as a warm up and cool down. Heaton Park is about 5 miles away though so it's fine if I fancy a half marathon distance run by the time I've gone there and back with the 3.1 mile (5k) run tacked on. I had tested the route some time back during Juneathon but never actually made it along on a Saturday morning. Well; no need to worry about distance under feet if I have the option to ride there, so I hopped on the bike and off I went! I allowed an hour as I was vaguely aware it would be uphill but it only took me 30 minutes. It's amazing how much quicker roads are than canal tow paths! The cycling clearly did my running performance no harm anyway; I didn't PB, in fact I didn;t even manage sub 20 but I did place Third Female (32nd overall) so I can't have done too badly! I then spent most of the cycle home singing Queen (no prizes for guessing which song!) at the top of my voice and no doubt confusing the hell out of most passers by! I certainly feel like it's been a productive couple of days; a whole new horizon for my transport options and 2 top 3 gender position finishes for Salford Harriers! |