How buying a bike might have just changed my life for the better.

Bettie @ The Quayside

Have you ever bought something and thought this is going to change my life. Well let's say I didn't think that when I bought my bike, I knew it would make my life a little bit easier but I didn't think it was going to change my life this much. I bought my bike (which I've called Bettie) around about 2 months ago from Halfords in Team Valley and I went with a Carrera Subway 1 Women Hybrid Bike and with my British Cycling Membership card I got an extra 10% of the price. I'm super happy with it and I'm starting to fall more and more in love with cycling. 

I've listed 6 ways that buying a bike has changed my life and some of these are things I wouldn't have expected to happen. Some of these reasons are practical and some of them are more personal but all positive. 

1. INCREASING MY FITNESS

Before I bought my bike around 2 months ago, I would say that I wasn't at my fittest at all. I had lost interest in the gym and wasn't running because my knee couldn't handle the impact. When I got my new job I started cycling and I'm sure I hated most of it and was telling myself I hated it and that it wasn't helping my knee at all. That changed after I eventually bought my bike, after about a month I started to really see a difference in my fitness and in my knee. I wasn't just using my bike for my led bike rides but I was using it to commute to and from work and to meeting. I actually started to notice a different in my knee and my cardio fitness has improved massively, I went from doing less than 3 mile runs to do up to 50 miles on my bike.

2. SPENDING TIME OUTSIDE AND SEEING THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY

Everyone told me seeing the world on your bike was one of the best way to see the world and I have to say that seeing Newcastle on my bike has made me fall in love with Newcastle more. I've always been a lover of my home city but going to places like Tyneside Country Park and Wylam on my bike has made me fall in love even more. 

The best part of owning my bike is that I get to see more of Newcastle. I set a challenge on my personal Instagram (here) to take a picture of my bike in a different location every month but I really got into taking picture of my bike in different locations that I started an Instagram just for my bike. If you fancy checking it out and given it a follow I would be extremely grateful (https://www.instagram.com/melissasbikejourney/)

Bettie Down Ouseburn near The Tyne Bar

3. SAVING THE PENNIES

When I bought my bike I knew I wanted to try and save some money and I knew I could do this through commuting to work on my bike instead of on the bus. For the first couple of weeks I really struggled, I'm not the best morning person and being organised in the morning remembering everything for my bike wasn't working but I'm starting to be more organised the night before and commuting atlas 3 days out of 5. 

Since the beginning of August I've most likely saved around £48 in around 3 week which for me is great as I'm shocking at saving so I'm hoping this is will help me save more.

4. MEETING NEW PEOPLE + CONNECTING WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE

Leading around 4 bike rides it kind of guarantees that I'm going to meet new people but I didn't think I would meet so many great people. I work with people of all ages and abilities and I love seeing them achieve the distance we do on the ride and even progressing from our absolute beginners rides to our social rides. 

Bettie @ The Cycle Hub

5. GIVING MYSELF SOME ME TIME

What I've learnt the most from having a bike is that, when you ride a bike you do a lot of thinking on your own. My favourite time on my bike is when I commute, its the time I'm all alone with my headphones in and its the 20 or 40 minute ride home or to work where the world just passes by and I am alone in my own world (but obviously watching the traffic). On the way to work it's time for me to plan what I need to do when I get in the office and on the way home its time for me to just relax and pace myself. 

6. GIVING ME SOME GOALS TO HIT + IMPRESSING MYSELF EVERY TIME

I stopped setting goals for myself while I was running because I was failing a lot but when I started cycling I didn't set specific goals but I was using the app Strava to track my milage. When I first started cycling on my own bike I would do on average around 25 miles a week but now I'm can cycle anywhere between 55 miles to 90 miles a week. I don't specific goals but I might set a goal of commute more then 3 days a week or reach 60 miles over the week or even I want to reach over 200 miles in 1 month. 

I never used Strava til I got my bike so had no idea how it worked but I think what I've loved the most is the trophy section and finishing a route and seeing if I've got a new personal record or maybe I've moved up a leader board. At the moment I'm number 1 for females this year on the leaderboard for the section 'Scotswood Road Track - Westward'. I've learnt that its more about impressing myself with what I do rather then setting goals and failing all the time. 


As you can see there many things that I'm extremely thankful for when it comes to my bike. I've started to enjoy exercising again and I've fallen back in love with Instagram again. I'm going to be putting a review of my bike up on my blog soon so keep you eyes open for that. 

Do you have anywhere you think I should head in the North East with my bike? If you have any advice for a new cyclist please leave a comment below as I love hearing from you guys. 

Goal Setting, is it a good thing?

Today I have a guest post from the lovely Clare from the blog Exercise and Mental Health. I got in touch with Clare and asked if she would like to do a  blog post about creating goals and how mental health can effect creating goals. 

Source

Most people set goals to some degree in everyday life whether it be to get a certain job, travel to a particular country or buy a house but when it comes to fitness should you do it too? My opinion is yes absolutely! Having a goal gives you something to aim for and keeps you on track. When you have down days, can’t be bothered or a ‘better offer’ than going to the gym comes along it can keep you focused. Thinking of how good you’ll feel when you hit that target weight or get into that special outfit is usually enough motivation for most people. 

But if you suffer from a mental health illness such as depression or anxiety can it still be as beneficial? Well now I think it becomes a little bit more cloudy, yes totally still set goals but generally be more aware that it may take you a little longer to reach them and the effect that can have. If you already experience anxiety and stress then setting a goal you may feel under more pressure and this can cause anxiety and stress if you already experience these, or even if you don’t. Everybody is different and there is by no way a one sizes fits all approach to anything and it all depends on the extent of your illness, the goal you set and the way you handle things. If you do set yourself a goal and then for whatever reason you don’t achieve it will that be detrimental and put back your recovery? You need to be aware of your illness and how you cope with different situations and if you have your illness under control, have a good support network around you and are confident you can make your goal then yes absolutely, go for it as the feeling of achieving it can be amazing, it can make you feel so good. Support is crucial, tell your friends and family your goals and plans and get them involved, take them to the gym or to a class, it will make it more fun and if it’s more fun you’re more likely to stick at it and succeed.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion but it does come from my own experience. I was diagnosed with depression four and half years ago although looking back I had struggled for a long time before that. It felt good and still does to actually have an answer for how I am and that I’m not alone and that in itself has given me a lot of strength and be able to look in the right places for help. I’m pretty lucky now to mostly have it under control, as anybody in a similar situation knows I feel I’m probably never going to be totally free of it but understanding it goes a very long way to helping. Along with that, I put most of my change of outlook down to the fact that I started to exercise, I’ve lost a lot of weight which increased my confidence. I have set a lot of goals along the way, some I’ve achieved some I haven’t. For the ones I haven’t yes it did knock me down and make me feel bad but as with almost everything those feelings are temporary and once I accepted that my mind can re-focus and set a new goal and make a plan on how to achieve it. That is also an important part, making a plan, you might say you have a goal to visit Australia for example but if you don’t plan to work hard, save ‘x’ amount of money etc you have no plan as to how you’re going to make it happen and therefore more likely to not reach your goal so the same can be said for fitness goals. As part of my training as a gym instructor and personal trainer, I’ve learned that you need to and need to encourage clients to set 

S.M.A.R.T goals.

S = specific goal, so instead of saying ‘I want to lose weight’ say ‘I want to lose 10lbs’

M = measurable, so for losing weight it’s measurable by checking your weight on a set of scales

A = achievable, so don’t say something like ‘I want to lose three stone by this time next week’, it’s very unlikely to happen therefore not achievable

R = relevant, something relevant to you, not your partner or your best mate.

T = time bound, set yourself a time limit to achieve your goal, again a realistic time limit, not too short but also not so long that you don’t really have the motivation to get to work on it.

So an example of an S.M.A.R.T goal would be ‘I’m going to run at least half the distance of this year’s Lincoln 10k’ that ticks all of the boxes.

I’ve set myself some goals, some probably without even realising it. The first one was to actually get moving and attend my first exercise class which was Zumba, I was scared, I took four friends with me and I loved it, gradually they stopped going and I made friends with other people that were there and everything started from there. Then I joined a gym but for a long time I didn’t really do anything then three years ago I set myself the goal of taking on a program called the ’12 week challenge’ it was three months of personal training and group sessions with a gym instructor. I was really doubtful I could do it, I knew the other people taking it on and they were all fitter than me. But from chats with some of them and my class instructor, I soon realised they felt the same and we all just needed to work together and focus on our own goals. Through that program, I lost 20lbs and my confidence skyrocketed and I the began to train as an instructor to help people the same way it and my instructor had helped me.

Last year I set myself the goal to take part in Cancer Research’s Pretty Muddy, not only did that involve running but climbing over obstacles and for someone that has always had trouble trusting her own body that was scary. In comparison to other obstacle courses, it’s small but it was huge to me. I did it and not only that I loved it and I can’t wait to take my friend round it this year. I’m setting myself a goal of getting round an obstacle course that’s bigger and harder.

We all need goals in in all aspects of life no matter how big or small and it might be something as simple as trying to leave the house and that in turn gives you the motivation to get out of bed each day. Or it might be that you want to run a marathon and that gives you the motivation to go out running in all weathers, turning down social events so you can train.

So go set yourself some goals, smash them and feel great about it and yourself, you deserve it.

If you have loved reading Clare's post then please go over and check out all her social media links which are below. I hope this post was some help and you get something out of reading the post. 

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