My husband is more of a cyclist than I am and I’ve been slow to embrace this mode of travel as I really do prefer my own two feet. He’s been keen to use our bikes more so we went on a two week holiday cycling around the Netherlands. I surprised myself by cycling further than I thought I could and coping better than I thought I would.

One morning we cycled head on into the wind for several hours which was very hard going – even with an e-bike! I hadn’t realised that cycling against the wind is like cycling uphill. But I felt good after doing it. My bum didn’t hurt too much and my dodgy knee held up fine. I was surprised at how capable I was.

I prepared for the trip by going on a “bikeability” course beforehand. It really built up my confidence. I learned some good tips and it helped me feel that I’m actually not as bad a cyclist as I thought I was.

The experience taught me lots about myself and my resilience and I wanted to share some thoughts with you in case it resonates and helps you with life in general.

6 Life lessons from my cycling holiday

1. Stretching yourself is important – but only so far
Pushing past your comfort zone is where growth happens, but there’s a difference between a stretch and a strain. We didn’t try to cover too much distance in a day and we planned in some days with no cycling.

2. Preparation builds confidence
Doing the bikeability course beforehand made a real difference. It reminded me that a bit of groundwork before something daunting can make you move from thinking “I can’t do this” to “actually, maybe I can.”

3. You don’t have to do it like someone else
My husband has longer legs than me and has been cycling all his life. I’m short, learned to ride as an adult and lacked confidence on a bike. Finding your own version of something, rather than trying to match someone else’s, is the way to go.

4. Be kinder to yourself
I went into this thinking I was a bad cyclist. I came back realising I’d been underestimating myself. How often do we write ourselves off before we’ve even given ourselves a fair chance?

5. Things won’t always go to plan and that’s okay
When something doesn’t go as expected, the thing that gets you through isn’t the plan. It’s your mindset. Flexibility, patience and a big dose of self-compassion go a long way.

6. Conquering challenges feels good
There’s something genuinely satisfying about doing something difficult – even when it doesn’t go perfectly. The effort itself is rewarding, whether or not you nail it. I felt really proud of myself when I got home.

Overall what I took from those two weeks is that the things that test us are often the things that teach us the most about ourselves. Setting some challenges helps us grow as long as we do them without over-stretching ourselves.

I had a great holiday and learned some ife lessons at the same time. I found that I can do more physically than I thought I was capable of, I don’t need to compare myself to others and stretching myself a bit beyond my comfort zone gave me a mental boost.

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