{"id":4189,"date":"2020-02-08T04:54:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T04:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/?p=4189"},"modified":"2020-02-08T04:54:48","modified_gmt":"2020-02-08T04:54:48","slug":"i-cycled-24-kms-around-wellington-and-i-didnt-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/08\/i-cycled-24-kms-around-wellington-and-i-didnt-die\/","title":{"rendered":"I cycled 24 kms around Wellington and I didn\u2019t die"},"content":{"rendered":"

…but it was a close run thing…headwind\u00a0all the way<\/em>…how is that even possible?? Also my bum is in agony.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Having farewelled the girls on their flight back to uni early this morning, I contemplated my new found freedom, and decided to go back to bed. Eventually, however, I decided I\u2019d better do something a bit more active, especially as my husband was in the middle of a cleaning frenzy and might ask me to help if I stuck around. So I decided to go for a bike ride, to keep my bike challenge stats up. Also, I wanted to give my flash new mail order ebike another try out.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Did I show you my new bike? 750 watts on that bad boy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

100 metres: turned right out of our cul de sac onto the middle of the 16th steepest street in Wellington, and it\u2019s a breeze on my new bike. I\u2019m only on a low level of assist, and I\u2019m flying up in third gear.<\/p>\n

200 metres: battery is down to 3 bars out of five, is that bad?<\/p>\n

1 km: Ooh look, I\u2019m passing my favourite jewellery shop, might as well pop in and buy that necklace I\u2019ve had my eye on. Still working my way through that insurance payout, building up a replacement jewellery collection. The jeweller is very kind, and says my tragedy can be turned into a positive thing by taking the opportunity to buy stuff I\u2019ve always really wanted. Every cloud has a silver lining, in fact, although perhaps 18 carat gold in this case. I seem to be making her happy, anyway.<\/p>\n

5 km: a tiny blue car passes me so closely as I near Island Bay that I exclaim \u201creally??\u201d There\u2019s an L plate on the back and it\u2019s being driven by someone with a perky blonde ponytail, but I glimpse an older man in the passenger seat. Was that his doing? \u201cBut what about the bicycle, dad?\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t worry Becky, you\u2019re never as close as you think you are, and actually these cyclists are tougher than they look and deserve everything they get, considering how bad they are at sharing the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

10 km: cycling around the bays now, and there\u2019s a car close behind me that really wants to pass but sadly it\u2019s a terrible spot here, narrow and windy with poor visibility ahead. He\u2019s just going to have to wait.<\/p>\n

50 metres further on: the car overtakes with an ostentatious revving of the engine, only to get stuck behind a queue of cars 100 metres further on. It is the scenic route, after all.<\/p>\n

15 km: my bum is starting to get sore. I have been cursed with a congenitally tiny and bony bottom, which is not only hideously unfashionable but also very uncomfortable on long bike rides. I\u2019ve got a comfy padded seat\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>padded bike shorts, but it\u2019s not helping.<\/p>\n

20 km: there\u2019s a cruise ship in town, and it\u2019s one of those glorious sunny days that Wellington seems to have far too few of. The waterfront is packed with people. The vibe is terrific but it\u2019s not conducive to rapid progress. I take the back route. Sometimes you need the road less travelled.<\/p>\n

24.1 km: a last glide up the hill and home. Too easy. The final push brought me down to 1 bar of battery, so a beautifully gauged ride. Hubby is still cleaning so I\u2019ll just eat a fru ju in the garden to cool down, and contemplate the fact I learnt the other day that apparently 20% of people don\u2019t have an internal monologue. Incomprehensible. \u00a0Anyway, here\u2019s my Strava map just to prove it happened.
\n\"\"
\nI\u2019m a staunch defender of ebikes, but to be honest, this bike is just too powerful on those hills. I feel a bit of a fraud. Let\u2019s see how those muscles feel tomorrow. The sore bum is definitely real, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…but it was a close run thing…headwind\u00a0all the way…how is that even possible?? Also my bum is in agony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8Ukf-15z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9595,"url":"https:\/\/accordingtokirsty.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/24\/bike-trials\/","url_meta":{"origin":4189,"position":0},"title":"Bike trials","author":"Interloper11","date":"October 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been terrifically impressed by Wellington City Council\u2019s recent intestinal fortitude in pushing ahead with widespread cycle lanes around the city, in spite of vociferous objections from car-loving naysayers. 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