No ride is too short
This year my bike riding has been confined mainly to shorter distances, often local errands. I felt like I was missing out on longer rides – until I read the words of a bike industry icon.
Except for a family ride along the Downs Link and a ride with G along the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal, I haven’t been far on my bike over the last 12 months. Does this mean I’m not a proper cyclist? You know, someone who regularly posts three-figure rides on Strava, enters days-long ultra events, or tours far-flung places.
It felt a bit like that, even though I still rode a bike most days. I’d hop on my gravel bike to go the couple of kilometres each way to our local swimming pool. I’d ride the cargo bike to Aldi to do the big shop, or down to G's cricket training. Other errands, like searching hardware stores and builders' merchants for supplies I needed, quickly added up to 10km or more. On my rigid mountain bike with loaded panniers, my legs felt the effort.
But it’s not the same as a long ride, is it? I didn’t make sandwiches or fine-tune my bike before I set out. Jackets weren’t packed, and water bottles weren’t carried. Padded shorts were unnecessary, and the GPS was redundant. I just hopped on a bike in jeans and a t-shirt and rode to where I needed to go.