Mr R A

A critique of cycling to work in Durban

It’s hot. You get sweaty - very. Or wet - very. I’ve only been cycling for about am onth, and it is summer. There are hills, some steep, some not so, but If you ride uphill on the way to work, like I do, you get to ride downhill on the way back from work. You feel super good about yourself, you save petrol, you get to smell some amazing and some awful smells, you get to greet people good morning and good evening. You’re very aware of what the weather is doing. You help the environment, you get a sore butt, you get well toned legs and maybe even well toned other-muscles. You get to observe how well some people drive and how poorly other people drive. Beggars and car guards don’t ask you for money - that’s weird. Friends and family either think that you’re crazy or they admire you. Cycling is good for you - it’s a little bit of exercise everyday. It makes eating chocolate cake okay, and it makes you feel even better when you decline the chocolate cake. Cycling to work is a great conversation starter, and it makes you travel with only a bag full of goodies that you can fit on your back. It’s easy to decline traveling far during working hours. You can’t offer lifts, and you don’t have air conditioning unless you’re going really fast downhill, in which case there should be a nasty uphill on it’s way, in which case it acts like heating.

I cycle to work twice or three times a week. I try to cycle as much as I can. It rocks. You should try it. If you have a shower at work you’re very lucky, otherwise a spare shirt and a spray of deodorant will do on the other side. If it’s your first time tell people that you’re cycling. It takes longer than driving, especially if there are a lot of hills and even more especially if you live a far way away from your work. If you live in a tropical climate, like Durban, it’s a little hot or wet, but winter is coming, and if you live in a cooler climate then you’ve got less excuse for not cycling. Cycling is worth it.