A comment to yesterday’s post (Bet you won’t!) got me thinking about what makes people ride regularly. It’s developing the habit because it’s convenient and enjoyable. Every ride becomes another drop in the bucket that confirms your love of riding.
Like shoes that wear in to become your favourites, riding becomes comfortable your preferred mode of transport when you do it regularly. Like regular exercise, you’re constantly building on your foundation fitness and healthy lifestyle.
Sure it’s initially a challenge: you have to psyche up, you have to pack the night before, you have to concentrate on remembering the way and dealing with traffic. But in a short time it all becomes normal, with negligible effort.
You develop a sense of how long it takes to ride to places. You take it for granted that you’ll be able to park the bike right out the front. You learn what you like to wear and what you need to carry. You internalise your web of regular trips from a bike rider’s perspective and traversing it layers experience that builds confidence and intuition. Riding becomes second nature and the pleasure of exercising yourself while you travel comes to the fore.
It’s a gift when your trip to work can make you feel like you’re flying and that’s what riding regularly does.
Tip – Use hook turns for turning right
This post was for day three of Ride On‘s June riding challenge