Cycling is something that most of the people in this world have done, from childhood till old age. But for some cycling has become a habit or any ritual of sorts every day to certain workplaces, gardens, or on weekends just for fun. I have been fascinated with cycling since childhood, which was also the reason that got me into the world of dirt biking and mountain biking. Cycling can be more than just a half an hour’s ride around the house or in society. Cycling utilizes the entire lower body and legs. Cycling if done correctly in certain patterns and intervals can help to grow stronger legs, increase stamina, and improve overall health. I have been cycling around every weekend when possible for the past 1 year, this round can vary from 12 km to around 40 km around the west side of the city surat.
LO 1- Identify your own strengths and develop areas for growth.
In the initial stage of my cycling habit, I required a lot of effort and time to complete rounds longer than 15 km. However, those times helped me to Identify my areas of growth such as breathing techniques, paddling style and position, braking style, and much more. Those times also helped me to gain more knowledge about the type of equipment I ride with, tire width, tire pressure depending on the terrain, etc. However, one strength that I held was the habit of stretching and proper routine for physically intensive rounds. Due to my early background in playing frisbee, I was easily able to cool down and stretch important muscle groups for better improvement and recovery. For instance, once we had a group of friends go for an early morning cycling session. We were approximately 10 to 12 km away from home and one of my friend’s ‘Rear Derailleur’ broke, such that the whole derailleur system jammed, and the upper pully wheel was cracked. There were no nearby repair shops open for approximately another hour and place to safely leave the bike. Thankfully due to my certain amount of knowledge of the rear gearbox and derailleur, I was able to fix the derailleur to at least work on a single gear. This helps us to reach home safely without causing any problems for us and tension among our parents.
LO 2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills.
As mentioned I had to learn a lot of things regarding such cycling sessions, for example, different breathing patterns, and body postures for different power requirements; for example, long-slow rides require different body postures, breathing patterns, and paddling positions compared to medium-length high-speed portions. However it’s not that I have learned everything, there are more skills that I am and will be learning for a better, more effective, and long round. Learning and developing your own style is a part of cycling, this helps to target certain requirements of muscle growth, or any personal goal of duration, length, etc.
LO 3- Initiate and plan a CAS experience.
One of the most important parts of a long cycling session is planning ahead, as it is important to be prepared ahead of time as there can be unexpected happening or mishaps. I usually plan 15 days ahead, so that none of my other plans or occasions clash with my cycling session or even the follow-up day. Preparing ahead of time with essentials is also important, such as extra CO2 cartridges flat tires, a repair kit for a puncture, and in general a multitool for general repair work on the go. As mentioned above having such tools on hand can be very handy and sometimes life-saving. Apart from this planning ahead can help to stay away from unexpected problems that completely kill the thrill and mood of the early morning ride. For instance, once I had a flat tire which I came to know about when I went for a check-up the night before, that routine checkup helped me to get squared away with the problem and most importantly saved me from the big disappointment in the early morning.
LO 4- Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience.
This session meant waking early around 5 and 6 A.M., waking this early knowing an exhausting cycling round ahead required immense courage and determination to continue with. However, knowing the beautiful empty city, rising sun, cold air, and many other benefits of the session, sometimes helps to get the initial push from the sleepiness. Apart from the start, the end of the session is the most demanding of all. A person has to be very committed to the completion of the round and show perseverance towards the goals. The paining muscle makes the shortcut or the early finish the most desirable thing, However, the feeling of completion after the session is much more. To add the cherry on the cake, I generally complete the round on a bridge to a lovely mesmerizing early morning overlook.
(The duration given in the below images does not account for breaks in between rides)
