#bike life

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First cycling challenge done and 75 miles completed. Bring on October’s challenge.

If any of you know me very well, you know that I love to go biking. Not like hardcore mountain biking, but just the casual, commute biking (with your occasional trail bike ride here and there) and wandering biker. Been doing it for quite some time now. A lot of times, I don’t make any plans. Just hop on my bike and ride wherever my heart takes me - my escape from home. Gives me the freedom to go off on my own and discover places. Riding also serves as a mode of transportation for me. But its also a faster way to scope out a neighbourhood and just to see the sights of everything without necessarily having to walk. And in turn, I build my endurance and save money from not having to take the Metro.

First started biking on the regular towards the end of my senior year of high school. If you are thinking of biking, I recommend you do it gradually. I lived a good 45 min (by bus/train) from school so like a good hour maybe even an hour and a half by bike (if you ride slow/take your time). To start off, I took the bus halfway to Gallery Place/Chinatown and rode the other way up that big ass hill on Georgia Ave up to Shaw/Howard area (I nearly died) and I just kept doing that. After a few days, I kept challenging myself more and more with riding all the way home (not too bad of a ride) and testing out my strength with some of the steepest hills in the city during those dreadful humid months (June-Aug).

But being in school makes it tough to bike. I leave my bike at home in DC for the weather is pretty bad for a fixie during those long winter months in PA. And during those long durations of being at school, I don’t work those muscles I use while biking, and I lost the strength over time. When I come back, I have to start over again. I almost never come home so my time with my bike is limited.

One thing to note, it’s also important that one must eat before going on a ride. Our bodies burn a lot of energy while riding so it’s important to fuel it with good, lean hearty but healthy food. I can recall too many instances where I was in a rush to leave and I start riding and realize that I forgot to eat. Eating is very important. Even if its just fruit, it comes a long way. One day, I ran out to grab something real quick, forgot to eat and I fell off my biking passing out on a bench in the middle of the park. Thank God tho for whatever reason, I had a squishy banana in my bag. Never felt so recharged in my life till I had my first bite. It was the best feeling..ever. I told myself never again after that occurrence. Also, during those hot months, stay hydrated esp on those long rides. It’s essential :).

Back in November, went on a ride literally across DC going from errand to errand and I easily rode 20 miles that day. My legs felt like straight up noodles at the end of it all and I gave myself 2 days to recover before I got back on that bike.  

The highlight of my biking experiences so far was in Shanghai. And the very big difference between DC and Shanghai was my timetable. I was there for almost a year so I needed to invest in a decent bike. For whatever reason, bikes are super cheap in China. The price of one can be as low as $15 (but let me tell you those bikes look like someone shitted all over it, ran over by a car, and left if in the corner to rust) but hey they work so why not? THINK AGAIN. I went ahead and got it but that bike got stolen just 2 weeks after using it. Hah. Can’t say you’ve experienced life in China till your bike gets stolen. 2nd time around, I ordered a cheap fixie from their infamous website Taobao. I went everywhere with this bike. I biked to class (5 min vs. 20 min walking), across the street to eat, around the neighbourhood and even downtown (an hour ride from 五角场站 to 南京西路站)! Shanghai as a city is super flat so biking around was a piece of cake once you overcome the fear of riding/crossing the roads of thousands of drivers driving however without putting on their signals, crossing over 3 lanes w/o an indication, and the disregard for pedestrians crossing the road.  I even rode the empty and quiet streets at 3am with a friend around the university. But man, never ride long distances if the pollution is bad. I learned that the hard way when I rode downtown for the first time.

When I am at home, I typically ride at least 5 days a week averaging around 15 miles a day. Doesn’t matter if its freezing cold or hot sweating balls, I am out there, ‍♀️.

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