Why an E-Bike worked for me

Posted: Fri, 3 Dec 2021 20:01 by Amelia Morris-Payne

I set myself #AmeliaCan goals in 2020 and one of my 50+ goals was to ride a bike. I tried a few times to ride a normal bike over the summer of 2020 and did a lot of getting off and walking and not achieving what "I" wanted to achieve and feeling very deflated about the whole experience.

In October 2020, whilst on holiday in Cornwall, this all changed when my in-laws suggested I try riding one of their e-bikes. This turned out to be a revelation as I found I was for the first time able to make it up hills (some of which are pretty steep in Cornwall) and for the first time in years left me feeling that I'd achieved something. I was over the moon!

Not long after, an e-bike was given to me as a Christmas present and I started recording my cycling journey on 1^stJan 2021 with the goal of getting out of our village, which has large hills in every direction, without having to get off to walk. Every time I ride my bike I get the same feeling of excitement, exhilaration and a huge sense of achievement as I climb the hill out of our lane and getting to the top without getting off. The feeling of how much I am achieving makes me so happy.

My cycling goals changed as I got fitter and stronger, starting with a 5 mile ride, then 10 miles. I remember the first time I did 20 miles and being over the moon, then a big goal was set to ride a total of 3000 miles in 2021, never did I think I would be doing this but nearly 12 months later what I have achieved even amazes me!

Almost everyone is very supportive but on my journey I have had a few friends and total strangers comment, "oh an e-bike, that's cheating", but I disagree with this because:

I still have to pedal the whole time, it just helps me when it gets hilly but it is still hard work. Over time I have become less reliant on the electric motor support as I've got fitter, I now often have it switched off on the flat.
I am doing it and exercising
I've got so much fitter
I have lost 5 stone in weight
I have dropped 4 sizes in clothes
I'm so much happier
I'm doing it with my husband and children

To top it off here is a few of the big hills I've climbed this year!