Ann Beauchamp has lost 25kg since starting a new healthy lifestyle.
By Melissa Meehan
DOVETON resident Ann Beauchamp is looking forward to joining more than 60,000 Australians this year for the annual National Ride to Work Day held on 17 October.
As celebrations for her 50th birthday neared, Mrs Beauchamp started to ride her bike to work earlier this year.
“I decided I wanted to be 50, fabulous and fit, not 50, fabulous and fat,” Mrs Beauchamp said.
Since her decision to get fit, Mrs Beauchamp has lost 25 kilograms by riding to work, going to the gym and changing her lifestyle.
“I hadn’t ridden a bike for 45 years but I don’t regret starting to ride again. I just love riding. For me it’s a fun way to keep fit,” she said.
Mrs Beauchamp said that living in the City of Casey has made her choice to start riding again much easier than she thought it would be in other areas of Victoria.
“The City of Casey is great for bike riders like me, I can ride from home in Doveton to work in Berwick along bike paths, I don’t even have to ride on busy roads – it’s fantastic,” Mrs Beauchamp said.
It seems that her decision to start riding again is part of an Australia-wide shift towards riding bikes to work rather than driving cars.
Bicycle Victoria reports that bicycle counts from around Australia show a 10-30 per cent increase on major commuter routes in the past year and journey-to-work census data due to be released in October is expected to reflect that.
It also reports that bikes have outsold cars for the fifth year in a row in Australia, reaching a record 1.3 million in 2006, while motor vehicle sales declined.
Cycling just 10km each way to work instead of driving saves 1.3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Anyone who would like to be part of Ride to Work Day can visit www.ride2work.com.au.
