Now, I'm sure you've all heard about the benefits of cycling being the environmental and personal fitness, but for me, one of them is that I appreciate the place where I live where hitherto, I was indifferent at best.
This is one of the things I've noticed since getting back into cycling, and especially during my morning rides, covered in my last post. I've learnt to appreciate my neighbourhood. Prior to this, I, like many in the town, thought it was a dull concrete jungle - and, given the chance (money permitting) would move.
What changed my mind is that, on a bike, you can access areas closed to motor vehicles whilst covering distances which would be too far to walk. I've discovered parts that are really quite picturesque that challenged my perception of the town and places I had never been to before.
OK, OK, this isn't the whole story; the town (and much of the UK) has undergone extensive regeneration over the past few decades, the government have also built many cyclepaths, so it's much easier to get about by bike. When I see photographs of the town taken in the 1970s and 1980s, it was GRIM and fully deserving of its reputation. However, one of the parts that I cycle through regularly dates back to the 1880s through to the 1950s and the buildings have remained the same save for a lick of paint now and then. The town also has a reputation for poor nightlife (which hasn't changed) and the shopping is unremarkable (better than it was, but not as good as neighbouring towns) - but the latter two have little to do with cycling, well, unless you want to buy a town bike...
Would I still move? Well, yes; because I believe other locations have better amenities, as well as the same nice areas, trees and architecture, but my view of this town isn't half as bad as it used to be and this is because of cycling - learning to appreciate where I live.
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