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Cycle Your Heart out – Interview with Sarah Bayaidah
/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/main-150×150.jpg” alt=”” width=”150″ height=”150″ />Emdad Rahman: The big breeze bike ride was on 23-24 June and is the UK’s first ever event to get thousands of women riding a bike at the same time!
Bike Week is an annual nationwide cycling opportunity to promote cycling across the UK, and show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life by encouraging‘everyday cycling for everyone’. Demonstrating the social, health and environmental benefits of cycling, the week aims to get people to give cycling a go all over the UK, whether this is for fun, as a means of getting around to the local shops, school, the library, or just to visit friends.
British Cycling’s women only Breeze Network is taking the opportunity to highlight cycling for women through its women only Big Breeze Bike Ride, taking place on 23 & 24 June. Hundreds of women are encouraged to get on their bikes and experience the fun of cycling with female friends, family members, colleagues, neighbours and tell the Breeze Network about it.
To get a better idea of this great initiative I interviewed 27 year old Sarah Bayaidah, a Charity sector employee & founder of cycling initiative ‘Cycle Your Heart Out’. (www.cycleyourheartout.com)
Through her huge love and passion for cycling Sarah set up Cycle Your Heart Out last year to inspire & motivate people around the world to cycle a heart shaped route for a cause they love. As a Breeze champion she decided to celebrate the Big Breeze Bike ride on Sunday with a Heart Shaped route along the canal past the Olympic stadium. Sarah thought it would be a fun way to get more women riding, and also celebrate the start of the Olympics with a big heart!”
1. What are the benefits of cycling and what made you take it up?
I took up cycling again when I was travelling Australia as I had not rode a bike since I was 8 years old. I instantly fell back in love with it and haven’t looked back since! Benefits associated with cycling include an instant happiness fix, whizzing down hill with the wind in your hair is probably one of the best feelings in the world!
2. Why is it important for women to cycle?
It does wonders for your physical and mental well-being and tones your whole body. You can do it on school runs, to and from work. It lets you feel free, independent and it’s the best way to explore an area.
3. What can be done to further raise cycling awareness amongst women?
Being a Breeze champion has been a really enjoyable way to help motivate women to get back on their bikes. All ladies need to go is visit the Breeze website, pop in their postcode to find a free ride in their local areas. It is such a fun way to build your confidence, make new friends, and enjoy the cake stops! If you love motivating other women you can also train to become a Breeze champion!
4. Do you think safety is a factor that turns off potential cyclists?
Cycling on the road can put some cyclists off. I recently competed my Bikability course with British cycling to help teach people how to ride safely on the road and think it is such a great way to help build people confidence, and get them riding again
What should be done to promote cyclist awareness and safety?
I follow the http://lcc.org.uk/ and really love the feature that lets your search for routes around london off-road.
5. What made you take up cycling and who is your cycling role model?
I am really inspired by people who travelled the world by bike as it has always been my dream. All the women I have met on my Breeze rides have also been a huge inspiration to me
Elias….I agree…I really like those two quotes as well!
Good post. In my opinion and experience of being a swimmer in college, I can say the best way to make up motivated and the only thing you need in my opinion is to go to bed motivated. It’s never good to go to bed with the mindset of not wanting to wake up. We should never want to sleep because there is so much to do. My freshman year I hated setting my alarm clock for 5:30am to go swim, especially in the winter. As a consequence, I woke up tired and without a smile. The day follows the morning. My last three years in college were different because I couldn’t wait to get in the pool at 6am! My life changed.