I didn’t learn cycling as a child and that is something which always bothered me until now, this year I took it as my resolution to finally learn cycling so that I can become more independent and work towards my fitness goals.

L1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

After I first bought the cycle and tried to ride it a few times, I saw that my strength was my balance, I was able to slowly pedal at first and balance my body weight on the cycle. An area for growth which I observed is my reflexes, while driving on the road there can be some distractions so for my safety it was necessary that I learn to be more quick and adept in unfamiliar situations and maintain my balance and control.

L2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken developing new skills

One of the challenges was the social stigma surrounding learning cycling at the age of 16, many young kids used to go by and initially it felt embarassing. However, I stayed true to my purpose and with consistency learnt how to cycling properly in the matter of a few weeks. Another challenge was the fear of falling, this was my first time actually riding a two-wheeler and I was quite scared that I would fall flat on my face and hurt myself; but I kept on trying until I was able to cycle properly.

L4 – Show commitment to and perseverance

As a morning person I usually prefer to spend my mornings doing something to relax or studying, it was difficult to change my routine to go every morning but what I learnt is that consistency is key. Through regularity I was actually able to improve. Therefore perseverance was very important in helping me complete this experience, even after I learnt cycling I continued to go in the morning with friends and use the morning hours to do something good for my health and fitness in the long term.