My Story and The Positive Powers of Pedalling

How did I become a five mile cyclist?  My introduction to cycling was via a road bike, several long rides with great people and now I can't imagine not travelling around London any other way. To the cinema, out with friends, to work, the dentist - anywhere.

 

It wasn't always like this.  16 years ago I was an overweight, exercise-phobic slob who no matter what I was actually doing, in the back of my mind I was always working out what I was going to eat for my next meal.

Snacking inbetween meals was fixed in my regime, I couldn't eat one round of sandwiches unless there was another one with it followed by a couple of bars of chocolate.  Food was the main focus of my day.

But it all changed one Saturday morning.  I was looking for a pair of trousers in my wardrobe that I could wear but I couldnt find any that fitted. I couldnt do them up.  I tried on every pair I knew.  Eventually I found a size 18 pair of stretchy jeans and after a 20 minute struggle lying on the floor using a hanger in the zip to do them up I managed to put them on.  But this had been traumatic.  Whilst wrestling with the zip I wondered what had happened. 

More importantly I started wondering what was going to happen? I then heard in my head the immortal words of an ex boyfriend who had said to me as he found me sobbing about my weight a few years earlier "there will come a time when no matter what you do, no matter how much you diet, your metabolism will change and you simply won't lose the weight". My mind was racing.  As I had outgrown a size 18 pair of jeans what happens next? Do I start buying size 20, then 22, then 24, 26 - when does it stop?  And at that moment I had a cold realisation that this stops right here, right now. And it did.

For two years I went on a calorie-controlled diet. Out went the snacking, sugar in tea and coffee and a lot of carbohydrates.  In came fresh fruit, vegetables, large plates of salads with fish or chicken and I learnt to assess whether I was thirsty rather than hungry.  I also learnt to balance my diet in terms of volume - if I went out to a restaurant and ate pizza then I would eat it and enjoy it but perhaps reduce the amount of food I ate the next day. Calories over a couple of days were counted together.

Two years later I bought and wore a size 8 pair of Gap jeans. Size 8. Non stretchy. I had gone from 13.5 stone to 8.12 stone. None of my wardrobe fitted as it fell off me.  I was told I was too thin and looked haggered so I gently went up to 9 stone 4.  

I met a new man who introduced me to Italian design as I no longer had to live in the elasticated-waistband department of M&S. We went to Italy in the summer and I bought an entire new wardrobe from a little boutique in Ventimiglia. I discovered that clothes were pieces of art.  I found items by Gianfranco Ferre, Versace, Moschino and Calvin Klein (yes I know but it's a fab jacket) that transformed how I looked. They were sculptured, detailed and flattering classsics.  Everything I bought I still have.  A month later I went to a party and people I hadn't seen for a couple of years simply didn't recognize me. They put their hand out to introduce themselves to me. It was amazing.

Several years later I joined a gym to improve my fitness.  After a winter, my weight had snuck up to 10.5 stone which is far too close to 11 stone so I took up the services of  a Personal Trainer to give me momentum and structure.  It worked.  My fitness improved and the re-introduction of calorie and carbohydrate control took me back to 9.5 stone which was fine.

At this point, a friend of mine suggested that cycling might be more fun than being at the gym. It was more social, it was better to be outside than inside and it was good exercise.  He introduced me to the most amazing group of people most of whom I am proud to say have become good friends.  And the numbers increase every day.

The rides were short and gentle to start, just a pootle around London in good conversation and fine, kind company.  That opened up opportunities to do longer rides and then even longer.  In my first year I cycled 2,300 miles.    

The next year I cycled from London to John O'Groats in eight days with 38 other marvellous people.  Never in a million years did I ever imagine I would do something like that.  To top the lot my photo appeared in a cycling magazine. Unbelievable.

I have taken to cycling like a duck to water. It has had such a great impact on me that I have changed my career from being office based to be bicycle based.  I have become a cycling instructor teaching all ages how to make the most of cycling.

When I ride my bike I am as happy as a pancake. I have been introduced to the wardrobe and equipment tricks of seriously strong cyclists so I have the most comfortable of bike rides.  Nothing hurts, rubs or is uncomfortable. 

At the same time I am always looking for new lines of clothing, for items that can be worn on a bicycle but that look good in an office, out with friends without looking like a Lycra laden tadpole. 

The 5 mile cyclist blog is not just about things that I learn about cycling but about finding and recommending clothes, brands and stockists that allow a bike ride to be part of the daily routine. No changes of clothes from the bike through to work, evenings out and home again.  

As we all move around the day and night, we all find different things that work for us on our bike.  A friend suggested a strap line of "I like what your wearing, where's it from?" in the hope that you would put up a comment or picture of what you are wearing and why it works for you.  A virtual wardrobe for all of us 5 mile cyclists to share.  Tagged as which item, this is an opportunity to show just how styling we can all be on our bicycles.