Cycling with purpose

 Unlike many on the Fit is a Feminist Issue blog, I don’t cycle for fun. I spent much of my youth living in Europe, where many people used their bicycles to commute. I could get into that, and for many years I have cycled to work in all but snowy or rainy weather. I didn’t love it, but I preferred my bicycle to walking or using public transit. I did enjoy riding in a dress or other work clothes, and occasionally passing someone kitted out in full cycling gear. 

Back when my son was an infant, I recall talking to a work colleague about how I could ride my bicycle to a certain grocery store. I never actually did. My son is now well into adulthood.

I didn’t ride much last year as I broke my arm in July, and didn’t get the medical clearance to get back on my bike until right at the end of the cycling season. Then COVID hit just before the spring cycling started, so I have only gotten out a couple of times.

But today I rode all the way to the grocery store! It turned out to be exactly the same distance as my commute to the office - just shy of 3 km each way, so nothing at all. The improved cycling infrastructure in Ottawa helps too; virtually all the route was on pathways with a few marked bike lanes. I had to resist buying all the veggies, but now I know it is something I can do easily, I am already  planning a second trip.