staying home for almost 12 months as a result of the global pandemic was a totally new experience for me. This pandemic not only brought deadly virus to us but also caused many people including me to gain weight and lose the ability to exercise. Before the pandemic i was really fit but in the pandemic without the access for going out and playing sports i gained so much weight and got very inflexible. I only had 2 options to which I could utilize to get back in shape which were swimming and cycling. I was not able to go swimming as all the pools in Surat were closed due to safety measures, however I had access to cycling. Cycling allowed me to do cardio outside of the house without contacting or coming in close proximity to anything else except my friends. But we also took care of covid guidelines and maintained a few distance within each other. My main goal in this activity was to ride over 150 km in just one month.
L1–Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
After cycling consistently for a few weeks I started going on the main road and did long distance cycling. By this i got to figure out my strengths and weaknesses which was lack of stamina. I was not able to ride more than 5 km after I started cycling and earlier I used to cycle 15 kms. After knowing this I felt disappointed however it was good that I found my strength and weakness as I could work upon it and I did it, by ingesting more protein by drinking protein shake and eating protein-rich food/supplements. Moreover, overtaking this weakness would have benefited me in many areas as now I could go for a cross country marathon and not get exhausted fast. I would be physically very fit.
L2-Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Nevertheless it was not that easy. There were several challenges i faced and overcame it in order to execute this activity effectively, the biggest challenge for me was time management i had to decide at what time i have to go cycling at either at morning or at evening as i have my school from 9:00 to 4:30 I settled on to go in evening from 6:00 to 7:30 because most of the time i sleep late at night due to homework and assignments and i really find it hard to wake up in morning after sleeping late and in addition to this taking a bath and having your breakfast in time is very arduous. I overcame this challenge by improving my time management as I decided that on weekdays I will go cycling in the evening and on weekends I will go in the morning. This made me feel very relieved and joy because undertaking any new challenge makes you progress in life even more.in addition to this cycling every day also paid of as i developed a new skill in myself of good handling Besides gaining the skill of handling, I also gained a great deal of physical strength, speed, and endurance and was able to gain muscle and cycle faster at times with each passing season. cycling is both frustrating and joyful, but the most apparent feeling I get from cycling is one of power.
L4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
Mainly on weekends when I get early in the morning to go for a ride, i have to show commitment because as i said i am not a morning person instead i am very lazy on weekends and love to sleep till 10 to 11 am in the morning. In order to achieve my goal I had to show this commitment. For me personally I think showing commitment is a lot tougher than perseverance because once I get in the habit of waking up early in the morning I can then continue doing that for the rest of the month. There were even times where I woke up in the morning and went for long distance cycling and just got tired because of lack of stamina so I had to show perseverance and continue with my journey.
Final Take away
My perspective on cycling has changed completely since the time I started it because of cas. I got to know that cycling is extremely painstaking and someone should not choose this activity casually and if it is not significant to them. I took this because I loved cycling and I put my whole heart and dedication into it. If someone doesn’t put its heart on this sport it’s going to be a miserable experience for them. One has to put his/her full will power which i have in order to complete this activity and accomplish the goal.
At last this cas activity was the most exhausting and difficult experience to do but impacted me in a way that I gained physical abilities that I could never dream of having. I even developed the risk taker characteristic of a learner profile as I approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore. It is clear that my main highlight for this experience is accomplishing my goal. I can carry my friends from one place to another, as cycling for transport also has benefits for the environment like producing zero carbon emissions.
I achieved my goal of riding more than 150 km in just one month and I’m extremely proud of myself and grateful of my friends as they helped me achieve this goal.
