On your bike for Cycle to Work Day 2020

Thursday is Cycle to Work Day. To mark the occasion, our very own reporter Lee Wild gets back in the cycling saddle to pedal to work while taking in a few tips at the Tameside Cycling Centre. Here, he tells us how he got on...

I’ve never been a fantastic sportsperson...

As a child, I enjoyed plenty of sports, but never excelled in any. I still don’t really, just ask the fellow lads who have to suffer through my turgid performances at five-a-side each Wednesday night - a natural talent I am not.

Back before the coronavirus hit, when the world was still ‘normal’, I was quite happy with my routine, public transport to work and home again. But then the pandemic arrived and our usual way of life went out of the window.

Working from home ensued and, like many others, stuck in the confines of my own home (with unlimited access to the fridge 24 hours a day) I naturally began to gain a few pounds here and there.

As a return to work beckoned it became clear that public transport still may not be the safest way to commute.

Enter, the dusty bike in the back of the garage. Bought by a family member in a fit of exercising optimism too long ago, it had sat neglected for years.

“I live close enough to work, I could ride that,” I thought to myself. “How hard can it be?”

Hard, is the answer, I thought to myself, as I arrived at our Ashton office covered in sweat, mud and who knows what else on that first day.

Now, I’m blessed to live in a beautiful part of our borough and can cycle along a well maintained canal path all the way from home to work. However, after overnight torrential rains and grim weather, the 30 minute cycle seems less appealing than ever.

Despite spending the best part of this column complaining and whinging, do you know what? I absolutely love it.

For the first few mornings there were some aches and pains - but now I feel better than ever. Mornings are far easier to wake up than they used to be and I feel more energetic and focussed throughout the day.

As today (Thursday) marks National Cycle to Work Day, I headed down to one of our area’s best kept secrets. Tameside Cycle Circuit is a fully paved, safe environment where you can get back on a bike at your own pace.

Originally opened in 2010, it’s now under the management of Active Tameside and is perfect to test out your cycling proficiency, free from outside distractions.

Gary Keefe runs the track during the day and says that it’s gone from strength to strength over the past year. 

He said: “We had funding last year to keep a full-time member of staff here which was really successful, especially during school holidays and community sessions. British Cycling still has an involvement here. In the evening there’s a race league and some independent coaching sessions as well.”

The location of the facility means it’s perfect for children taking their first steps on the path to cycling. 

Gary said: “The feedback we get from all the parents is that they’ve taken their children on the local estates but they’re a little bit nervous because of the traffic. Once they come down here and see the facility and, more importantly because it’s enclosed, they love it.”

As well as the obvious physical benefits that cycling brings, it also benefits you mentally, as Gary explained: “I’ve been cycling for over 25 years now and we all go through challenges in life, we have our ups and downs, I think cycling, certainly for mental health, just that moment of getting outside in the fresh air, you get those feel good endorphins going through you. From the physical side it’s perfect. When people come down we try to make it fun and engaging.”

If you’ve been inspired to try cycling to work, Gary has some advice for those getting back in the saddle.

“I’d say don’t go out with any expectations of being a Tour de France rider straight from the off. Go out with the right mindset of enjoying the journey.

“Don’t worry about the speed and don’t worry about the clothing, the most important thing is to get out on your bike and turning the pedal is the first step of getting back into cycling again.”

It’s been a great experience getting back into cycling and back into regular exercise after the lockdown, and I’m encouraged for the future by some of the measures recently announced by the government.

Greater Manchester has already announced they’re investing millions in upgrading cycle infrastructure for the ‘post-Covid’ world, while the government has recently released vouchers for bike repairs in an attempt to get more people on two wheels.

Hopefully I’ll see more and more of you out on the trails over the coming months.