Fit in my 40s: ‘You pedal as long as you’re able, then kick the motor in’
14 April 2018 06:00
The threshold for ‘but I have to’ gets lower until I’m scarcely prepared to use my legsI reviewed an electric bike once in the 90s, before anyone discovered intuitive software. Working out how to turn it on and off was way beyond anything I’d picked up from a basic humanities education and it was like a high-intensity, unwanted brain workout accompanied by a real fear of death. Everything has changed. The Raleigh Mustang Comp controls are very obvious, the weight is greater than a regular racer yet it’s hardly a moped, but most of all, it’s no longer an energy boost for the tired commuter; it’s a training aid. You pedal for as long as you’re able, and kick the motor in only when you have to. It doesn’t go madly fast — about 22km/h unless you’re determined – but it feels like flying.As the week goes on, the threshold for “but I have to” gets lower and lower until I’m scarcely prepared to use my own legs. But on the other hand, I was cycling everywhere. “I must be getting fitter,” I’d think, sashaying up to Crystal Palace in south London just for the hell of checking out its one-way system, “because I’m so incredibly cold”. I became so attached to it as a mode of transport that I actually Googled the fitness benefits of not being warm enough, but there are none. Related: Fit in my 40s: ‘I hadn’t realised that fermentation is so vital to the gut’ | Zoe Williams Continue readingread full article
