I have owned my current bike for about 10 years but it's gotten most of its use in the past three, with an exponential increase in 2019. I began to realize how empowering it felt to not have to be tied to a car on a couple occasions last summer, and used my bike to get to most routine locations over the summer this year.
I love the feeling of using my own body for relatively fast transportation, and getting fresh air and exercise while in transit. I feel like I'm maximizing the efficiency of travel because I'm getting from A to B while also improving my physical and mental health AND increasing my energy levels. I have grown to dislike driving a lot in recent years; to me it is a high risk/low reward activity that also totally drains me of energy.
I won't go on a rant about the lack of good cycling infrastructure in Saskatoon because that's not what this post is about. I've been able in most cases to find routes that stick to lower-traffic streets without sacrificing more than a minute or two of the commute. It's still a learning process for me to take up space on the road and figure out how to maneuvre some confusing infrastructure situations but overall, I don't feel particularly unsafe biking on the road with cars. That said, I'm not ready to become a winter cyclist, and likely will never be. I will enthusiastically walk in -40 (post forthcoming) but my saskatude has its limits.
What was the secret to cycling more? As I've previously mentioned in another post, once I stopped making excuses about why I couldn't ride my bike around the city I just... started doing it, and realized it was awesome. Here's hoping for another few weeks of roads free from slush and snow.
(I have no pictures of me on a bike as an adult, so here is a picture of my dad helping me learn to use my first tricycle.)
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