What I learned biking to work for a month
I’ve lived right around the corner from work for over a decade.
It’s a seven-minute drive if anyone’s counting. It’s been convenient, to say the least, and now that I work from home, that commute is less than half a minute! I just roll out of bed and walk over to the office. Yep, thank you Covid. You did that.
If you come to my neighborhood, you’ll notice the hilly terrain right away. As I’m typing now, I’m looking out at Peavine Mountain. My neighborhood is nestled in some good hills and it’s fertile ground for your resident athlete — high altitude + hilly terrain = optimal training for running and biking. We see our fare share of both — runners and cyclists.
Well, bike to work week has been a thing since I started 11 years ago. The first year the company had a bike-to-work week, I was all in. How hard could it be? Sure we were nestled in hills, but I ran and biked all over. It’s in the bag! I got this!
Yes, I gave the obligatory head nod to the fact that I’d be biking hills. “I got this,” I thought. There were plenty of cyclists training on these hills to prove it could be done.
In those early days, I was determined to ride or die.
That first early crisp morning, not going to lie. It was epic. I loved it. I thought, in typical Jen fashion, “Imma do this EVERYDAY! I mean EVERYDAY!!”
Before completing a full day, I was all in. I was at work in18 minutes. Some hills, but mostly downhill. Easy peasy.
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Then the day’s work ended and I clocked out, hopping back on my bike for the ride home. Right away I was met with the very first incline. It was much warmer than the crisp cool morning air earlier. It was tougher to ascend than descend. I was grinding and this was just the first hill back to the house.
And you want to know what I thought? I hate riding this stupid bike uphill. I absolutely detest it. And, in typical Jen fashion, I said to myself “I will never do this again.”
I tried to reason that maybe it was good for me. For years, each year, I’d commit to a few DAYS during the bike-to-work week. I’d do it but absolutely hate every second of it. Even the perceived accomplishment of having ridden into work — wasn’t worth it. Prizes and even getting paid extra.
Nope. Not for me. I would be so flustered by the fourth hill, cussing and angry, hot and tired that I just knew this couldn’t be good.
As I look back and consider my rides, I can remember one occasion, as I rounded the top of my fourth hill home, when I was greeted by a co-worker. Now, this co-worker is stellar! He cheered me and his daughter and others on to complete a half marathon a few years before this. He had biked to work almost daily for 25 years. An enthusiastic rider, he came alongside and said “Jen, great to see you out here. How’s it going?”
I wasn’t really in the mood to talk. I think he could read that on my face. I had just scaled my fourth hill and was about to give one more push before landing on my couch angry and exhausted.
That’s what I learned. I hate riding bikes uphill.
I feined enjoyment or atleast that I was enduring it. Our conversations were short but it got me thinking about his life and the 25 years of riding into work almost EVERY DAY. He loved the hills and all things biking. I did not.
And while this would help me exercise, save on gas and keep emissions out of the air, even the incentive of getting paid for a cycling commute, I just couldn’t do it.
I learned I just really really really HATE riding a bike uphill. Give me the flatlands. It’s boring, but it’s mine.
