Just what I needed to escape from corona laziness!

I expect I am not alone in having experienced problems keeping fit during these months of corona lock-down. Stuck in the house, working from home in front of my computer, eating too many cakes, drinking too much beer – and not doing any exercise - my waistline has expanded steadily.

I normally keep fit by cycling. But all roads leading to my house are steep uphill ascents. If I want to cycle any distance at all, I am guaranteed some very steep climbs to get home. As I fell deeper and deeper into unfitness with corona laziness, the motivation needed to get out on the bike grew and grew until I reached the stage where the thought of cycling made me very creative in finding excuses for why – just today – I could skip it.  But “today” soon became every day.

Then I had an idea: get an electric bike - that will make tame those hills! I struggled a bit with the notion that this was somehow “cheating”. But I chose to ignore those doubts, and soon had my bike ordered, and was waiting excitedly for it to arrive.

So how has it worked out?  Well, I use the bike to go much the same trips that I used to go on my regular bike: round trips from my house and back. A typical ride would be about 12 kilometres, with a total elevation gain of about 270 metres. But there are three differences compared to before.

First: it takes less time. Trips that before took maybe about an hour now take about 40 minutes.

Second: while the steeper  hills are still tough enough to get my pulse up and by breathing deep, there is no longer the “agony” of the killer climbs. The trips are just easier, I can admire the changing scenery as I pedal along. What used to be a toil has now become a pleasure.

Third and most important: I go bike trips MUCH more often, pretty much every day.

So I have concluded that while some may call it “cheating” I call it more exercise, more fun, more often.

Best Regards

Joe G.

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