Life According to Snazzy Nazzy: I heart cycling

Where did my cycling interest start?

Well, I am one of those people that only started to learn to ride when I was 17 years old. Well, one afternoon’s “lessons” and one hectic fall, made me put it to rest until when I was married.

This was for me the real first time I rode and owned a bicycle; I was about 24 years old. By then, I was already married for almost 5 years and had 2 young children. My husband and I bought us bikes at Dion / Game and 2 child carrier seats as well. We would spend a lot of time on weekends running our normal errands on our bikes until one day when a Hiace taxi almost rode me off the road, and I ended up brushing more than just my behind. My ego was crushed and I stayed off my bike for almost 2 decades.

When the cycling bug bit my husband again and he decided to enter the Argus Cycle Tour in 2009 (the very windy one); I knew that I better get my act together and get with it; or get left behind. I didn’t want to sit at home and he rides his heart out, or wouldn’t be able to understand his cycling conversation which was always spoken or written in enthusiastic font. Yes, I might have been suffering from what I now know as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), but also know that having done so many things together with my husband, that not cycling, will have a negative impact on our relationship. My biggest motivator was though, when I looked at female cyclists, how they looked. I had quite a bit of kilos that I needed to lose.

[These had packed on, after 2 major hip –graft operations that was required, and I had to stop all impact sports I was doing. As these were the only sports I did, the kilos obviously crept on.]

I have always been very active and although I am a practising Muslim woman, wearing full Hijab, managed to participate and try out sports that interested me. So cycling was going to be approached with same enthusiasm. I needed to be fully covered, so under my helmet, I wear a bandana, wear long pants over my cycling shorts (long cycling pants wont work, as it is form fitting), and if the cycling shirt is short sleeve, I wear the arm covers as well.

So here I was, bought myself a 2^nd hand hybrid, a true ladies bicycle and on our way to Oak Valley. Told my husband, that I first want to ride off road, to get used to cycling and will then venture on the road. Back on the road, I would not allow anybody close to me, and would when required to stop at the robots, get off, and walk my bike across. I started entering races and my biggest goal was to finish.

I quickly progressed from the hybrid to a MTB, and eventually to a road bike. One that my husband is very jealous of, as it is full carbon. This is my 5^th bike, and I still haven’t made myself broke. Like all my previous bikes, it is also 2^nd hand. My husband and I started riding with a club where I learned such lot. We sometimes had a guy from Cycle Lab coming to give us some helpful tips. Last year, I was nudged to get cleats, as I entered the Argus and it would be very beneficial. I noticed the difference as soon as I started riding with it.

Now, I am still the slowest rider in the club or of anybody that I know, but I enjoy cycling so much and know what value it added to my life. In any case, even if I am last to finish, I still get same medal as the other riders. I have done my first Argus and have loads of medals of other races I never thought would be possible. I see my city for its true splendour. As a cyclist, you see nature as it truly is, and not just drive swiftly past it. The best benefit, besides meeting all the wonderful fellow cyclists, is probably that although I haven’t lost all the kilos I picked up, I have shrunk a lot in size and am proud and confident of my body. I am more toned and fitter than I was 15 years ago.

I am so proud of my new found sport and would do it for as long as I can. I am so passionate about cycling, that it features in my blog, on Pinterest and I document all my rides when I go on weekend getaways that I arrange specifically around cycling, every 3 months or so. I can also speak Cyclanese, and pronounce many of the Tour de France riders names. Selene Yaeger is my mentor, and I already bought 2 books of hers online.

I have also been contacted by a lot of other ladies who want to start cycling, so watch this space as I am shortly going to organise a beginners workshop.

Here’s me when I started out…