I began cycling as a means of recovery following an injury. During early January 2023 I sustained a severe ankle sprain on my left foot due to which my leg ended up in a cast and I was unable to engage in my regular physical activities. This left me feeling frustrated and unproductive, activity is a huge part of my life, especially sports such as frisbee and basketball. Once I started recovering my mobility, I had released that my legs were weaking than before. Moreover, I had to train for an upcoming frisbee tournament, but I could not put much stress on my ankle. So, I decided to start cycling as a way to work out my legs and heart to get ready for the tournament.

Learning Objective 1 & 2:

when I started cycling, I found it easy for shorter distances to begin with as I had been cycling since I was 10 years old, however over a few days I observed how much weakened my muscles were due to my previous inactivity. The cardio was a big challenge, since I had not moved at a higher level of activity for at least a month, my stamina had decreased, and I was not able to easily cover long distances. I would often find myself kilometers aways from home, very fatigued not having the strength to make my way back. But for my own good I pushed myself. my legs muscles however stay up to the challenge during my cycling sessions.

Learning Objective 3 & 4:

Planning was a good part of this experience as I went in the morning during weekends or days off school. I had to plan my days accordingly so that I could sleep on time to wake up early for cycling, this was a challenge especially due to my busy study schedule. Moreover, my legs would often hurt the next day after cycling, this coupled with time management issues acted as deterrents to cycle in the morning, but with my end goal in mind I persisted, nevertheless. I only missed 1-2 days in a 2-month period. I even tracked my progress using a fitness app and my smart watch. Looking at my daily distance and progress motivated to keep going. Every time I would at least cycle 10km, often doing 25-35 km per session.

Learning Objective 5

I would frequently go to cycle with my dad who was also doing it for fitness purposes or my friend, who coincidently was recovering from a knee injury at the time. Going in groups really helped me out as we held each other accountable to show up every weekend. It also acted as a motivation to keep peddling even if I was tired. The spirit of competition also helped with the same.