I have to admit, you get a certain sense of smugness when stationary cars have to watch you ride on past while their road rage creeps higher. I tried cycling and walking every day this week for my More More Tip #2.

I had trouble at the start of the week, as I underestimated how long it takes me to walk to uni, resulting in a fast walk and a stressed out 3 minute late arrival to my lecture. This day happened to be the day everyone decided to attend and getting a bad seat meant cricking your neck for 50 minutes. So lesson learnt on day one, give yourself 5 minutes more than you think you’ll need.

By day 2, I was looking forward to listening to a new album on the walk in and spent the rest of the day humming along.

Day 3 I got the bike out, a cheap model gifted for uni. After dusting off the cobwebs and checking the brakes, off I went. Another lesson learnt, know where your local bike racks are. After a quick search, I discovered my workplace actually has some behind the building which I was pleasantly surprised by. On the way home my feet were sore and I looking forward to dinner so I went whizzing past rush hour and got home in record time.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful, I walked everyday and started to enjoy blocking out the world with my music before starting the day. Less stress of the road, more thinking time about what I need to do my next essay on. My biggest challenge was timing to make sure I wasn’t late, but the great thing about walking/cycling is, I can go as fast or slow as I want. No more searching for parking spaces, I saved money on fuel and parking charges, and the biggest win was watching angry drivers beep their horns at each other while I passed on by.                                                 Helen Gardner Y3 Applied Art & Marketing.

Walk or cycle this week and see how small changes to your lifestyle can improve your health and wellbeing.