Wheels of Change week 2

So week 2 of the trialling the SCOTT E-Sub Tour courtesy of Velo Times has been going well, but not as well as I would have liked.

Due to the Bank Holiday weekend and my wife and mine’s 1st Anniversary, I’ve had less time to use the electric bike. The irony is though, it always featured in my mind when I wasn’t on it.

To celebrate our first year of marriage, my wife and I went to Morecambe to visit the The Midland Hotel where it all happened 12 months previously and after this, we took a short journey to Ambleside in The Lakes. During the trip I saw pathways and routes which would have been amazing to explore on two wheels. The promenade in Morecambe, dirt paths through forests and cycle paths near lakes.

Upon our return though, I was keen to get a couple of journeys to work in to finish the week off in a healthier manner than I started it.

I managed to do that, with my favourite day being Thursday morning. I set off at 7.15am and it was a beautiful morning; the sun was out and the air was fresh. I took a wrong turn en route to work and Google Maps rerouted me through an off-road route. I was only 5 minutes from my work and couldn’t believe that this path existed! It felt great to be cycling and enjoying the weather and sights in this way! I’m lucky enough to have showers and lockers at my place of work (www.rmchcharity.org.uk) called the “the Cycle Hub”; so even though I probably didn’t need to, it was great to be able to freshen up, securely lock up my bicycle before heading into the office; it may sound like a cliché, but I was happier and more relaxed when I got to my desk.

I was also lucky enough to have a couple of local meetings to my offices and decided to hop on the bicycle instead of taking the bus into the city centre.

I found the journey so much more relaxing than having to wait for a taxi (with fear that they may not turn up). Even if i would take the bus i would still have to walk another 10 minutes due to the locality of the bus stops. I arrived promptly, without a bead of sweat or discomfort and found that there were plenty of places to lock my bike up.

My client would never have known that I arrived on bicycle had it not been for the pannier bag.

This sparked a funny conversation about me moving into his offices! It transpired that my contact at this company was interested in buying an electric car but did not know that an electric bicycle could be a feasible alternative transport. We found out that we lived around the corner from each other which convinced him that he needed to look into it! Bring on week 3!