Countdown

Making your way towards a target can be a really good motivational tool.

When first starting out on a new pursuit there is usually lots of excitement and encouragement as you start to see progress. This initial excitement keeps you going and it can seem easy to find motivation. Cycle commuting is a bit like this sometimes, as long as your legs don’t protest too much!

However, after a while the tiredness can creep up on you or the weather can grind you down. It’s good therefore to keep a goal in mind and work towards it, ticking off each small step along the way. When cycle commuting you might reward yourself with a day or a week off the bike, or treat yourself to some new kit or equipment (think of all that money you are saving after all!). Pencil it into your diary and each day that passes will build up the anticipation to that day.

In my case the target I have had in mind is my Easter holiday, which is from the 11th of April. I will be parking the bike in the garage, putting my cycling gear in it’s drawer and taking a well earned rest for 10 days. Since I went back after Christmas I have had 74 working days, commuting them all by bike. Check out the How Much? cost tracker page to see how much this has saved me.

Recovery

It’s a well known fact that the body needs time off to recover and build up it’s muscles again. Sleep and relaxation is one of the best ways to recover. It is during sleep that your body produces growth hormone which is largely responsible for tissue growth and repair. I probably don’t get enough sleep most of the time so I am definitely intending to do as much of this as possible over the next week!

As well as sleep, they say that active recovery is beneficial. Keeping things ticking over, but maybe with a reduced workload, means that it’s not such a big shock when you get back to the daily routine again. With this in mind I won’t be idle for the whole time, but I will be engaged in different activities. My body will be stressing different muscle groups to the usual cycling ones. Hopefully this will be of benefit to me when I get back to the commute on the 22nd.

I will certainly miss the bike, but coming back to it with a relaxed body and mind should drive me on for the next few months. Also, the promise of better weather to come is very enticing! Mind you, the weather we have enjoyed this week has not been too bad at all, has it? Check out the snaps below from some of my commute this week.