What would make you ditch the car to cycle to work?

Well for me, it was work itself, or rather someone's bright idea at work that as HEART's Reporter, I should bike to work to see if cycling is a real alternative to driving. There's 2 problems with that; I live 8 miles away from work and I didn't want to spend the day looking like a sweaty mess.

The big day arrives...

I woke up to the sound of rain and sure enough days of sunshine had turned into a grey, horrible, miserable day - the sort of day you don't want to be cycling 8 miles in.. But not one to turn down a challenge, I donned my cycling gear (jeans and a jumper), grabbed my rucksack and drove out the gate, past my car and straight into rush hour traffic!

A not so happy Helen about to set off

The first half an hour...

Admittedly I was very nervous about cycling on the road. I drive past cyclists every day on this route and think how can they do it; risking life and death next to huge lorries, breathing in horrible car fumes? So to start with I stuck to the pavement, and once I felt braver, joined the road. There were a couple of points where I felt really uneasy being so close to cars. Now as a driver myself, I know how hard it can be to slow down and pass cyclists, so I appreciate I was getting in the way, but some motorists had absolutely no appreciation of me being there. The first black mark against cycling.

Cycle Paths....

When they're there it's great to use them, but I felt the cycle paths stopped and started and there was a lot of crossing the road to re-join the path, only to find it stopped rather abruptly. Most cyclists I noticed just stuck to the road and ignored the paths.

Off road....

I'd been advised to come off the main road and join the canal towpath in Beeston. Obviously relieved to be off the main road, I started to relax and enjoy it....

This view sure beats looking at traffic.. 

I would normally be driving on that road...

After cycling another half an hour on the towpath, I arrived on London Road, near to Nottingham Train Station and 5 minutes from the HEART studios.

The Verdict....

My usual journey time in the morning was doubled by cycling but I did enjoy the fresh air once I'd got off the road. To encourage more cycling, I'd like to see more cycle paths next to busy main roads, and for businesses to provide showers so workers can freshen up. I would definitely do it again, but not every day as it's just not practical for work or if I want to meet friends afterwards.