1st July 2015

Today I went shopping.  Nothing unusual in that. Sometimes I drive, sometimes I walk, today I chose to cycle.  And by doing so I brought home so much more than the groceries.

It was a bright day so cycling gave me a chance to get out in the sunshine and fresh air for an hour or so.  My route there and back was about 6.5km (four miles). Using the UK’s DVLA website I was able to calculate that by not using my small car I’d saved about 750g of carbon.

Like many people I don’t get enough exercise. No fan of gyms or swimming pools and seldom finding time to do exercise for its own sake, building exercise into my regular daily routine is about my only option for keeping fit.

On the way I noticed a few things that I’d have missed by driving: my doctor’s new surgery building is nearly complete; a new independent sandwich shop is opening on the high street; another new organic and whole food shop opens next week.

I live in a city where parking is a nightmare.  I was able to run a couple of errands on the way without having to waste time looking for a parking space nearby, find change for the meter or to drive to the free car park a 10 minute walk away from the shops I wanted to visit. So the whole trip took less time than if I’d driven. And our independent greengrocer got a sale of local asparagus as I was passing.

I saved money too: I bought less, and only what I needed because there’s only so much you can carry on a bike.

Most importantly, I feel better for having cycled. I felt the sun on my skin, the wind on my face, fresh air in my lungs - and I felt more alive and ready to get back to work when I got home.

And finally, inspiration for this blog came to me as I was pedalling, so it was half written in my head before I even put the key in the door.

Note to self: read this blog next time you can’t be bothered to get the bike out.

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By Liz Sutton. Photo courtesy of Tejvan Pettinger, Cycling Oxford under Creative Commons Licence.