the purchase itself was amazingly non-spectacular: i saw an advertisement in the local newspaper of a “bike sale”, went there and came home with a hard-tail mountain bike, a pair of padded cycling shorts and a helmet. i was not sure if wearing a helmet when riding a bike was mandatory back then (i think it is now) but i figured it is a good idea to wear one, especially considering the fact that i just got myself a mountain bike which is made for rough terrain.

the first few rides “on the road” (it was mostly gravel paths) went surprisingly smooth and were a hell lot more fun than riding on a stationary bike! incidentally, 2000 was also the year Lance Armstrong’s autobiography “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life” was published. a guy beating cancer and then winning the hardest bicycle race on earth, the Tour de France? oh my. i started riding and watching the Tour de France. anyway, call me hooked on cycling!

i started to become more and more serious about my new hobby. it was only a matter of time until i persuaded myself to get clipless pedals and cycling shoes with a very stiff sole. here is a word of advice: when you are not used to being firmly attached to the pedals and trying to learn how to ride with clipless pedals… you are going to crash. until twisting your heel to get out of the pedal fast becomes a natural reflex ride very carefully and – above all things – wear a helmet! well, i crashed pretty hard on an asphalt road when i suddenly had to brake to avoid running into a group of pensioners who literally jumped into my path. fell over like a stone and the next thing i remember was me being in hospital with a heavy concussion and a torn ligament between two cervical vertebrae. after i was discharged i found my helm in two pieces but i guess it did its job and protected me from serious injury.

the crash was a minor setback for sure, but nothing kept me from riding my bike…

the key to improving your cardiovascular fitness is to start slowly. how do you know what is “slow” for you? the answer i found quite fast when flicking through that “easy running” book of my friend: a heart rate monitor. you would not drive a car without a speedometer, so why would you run/bike/walk/whatever without any means to measure how “hard” you are working, how “fast” are you going in terms of your heart rate? that is why i bought a beginners heart rate monitor from Polar to make sure i was riding in the heart rate zone that improves cardiovascular fitness.

the first couple of rides on the stationary bike were not fun at all. i rode 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes listening to Green Day and watching my heart rate. i do not recall how fast i rode in terms of speed or km/h, but i do remember that i never went faster than 120 beats per minute. i increased the riding time by 5 minutes each week and eventually managed to ride 40 minutes without being totally wasted. i figured that is good enough to hit the roads and my next goal was to buy a real bike…

<to be continued>

anyway, so back in 1999 i was introduced to the friends of my (ex-)boyfriend and one day we were invited to visit one of his friends and his wife at their home. they lived on the second floor and since their house did not have an elevator we had to climb the stairs. by the time we arrived at their doorstep i was breathless and exhausted. this was my wake-up call. when you are 20 you should have no issues whatsoever getting to the second floor on foot. but here i was, breathing hard with my heart pounding heavily in my chest.

when the friend opened the door he was greeted by my panting. he was in his early 30s and just recently started running himself to get in shape. i should try it myself, he reckoned, pointing at a book on their kitchen table that was about “easy running”. remembering the times we had to run back in school did not bring back some fond memories of doing something fun but of struggling and side stitches. i knew i had to do something, change my life, get active… but running?

thinking of which physical activity i used to enjoy in my teens only riding a bicycle came to my mind. i figured with my busy schedule at university a stationary bicycle would be best to get into the habit of riding a bike regularly. i could hop on the stationary trainer and ride for a bit while listening to music or browsing the internet. additionally, i would not be at the mercy of the weather forecasts which in turn would mean less procrastinating, more riding. (no excuses like “oh bad weather outside, i can’t ride today”.) hence i bought a rather cheap stationary bicycle and this is were it all began…

<to be continued>