Zipping down the road for the first time, the only thing I could think of was that I hated this. No one would ever describe me as athletic. I’ve never played a sport and will take the elevator any chance I get. So for me, someone who has ridden a bike perhaps only twice in her life, biking down the road was out of my comfort zone, to say the very least.

But when my boss said we were going to the satellite office and showed me the yellow bike I’d be using to get there, I knew my fate was sealed. Despite being an unathletic person, I had to exercise. Watching the rest of my team get on their bikes, I was so scared. Scared that I’d get hurt, scared that I’d fall behind, scared of everything. The office was on the other side of the city and I knew that getting separated was not an option; there was no way I could have made it back alone. So I listened to those directions harder than I’d ever listened before.

When it was time to actually “saddle up” on the bike, I was so thankful for my weird puritanical upbringing, which always caused me to put on little shorts and some kind of shoulder covering with whatever dress I was wearing. Due to my severe under-packing, I had bought a bunch of cheap summer dresses that I kept in rotation in my work wardrobe, always paired with my signature cardigan. That day I had been wearing a particularly short dress that was not suitable for biking, so I had to tuck the skirt in under me when I got on the bike. My outfit was not complete without an oversized red helmet. Even though my coworkers teased me about it and told me I’d be fine, as a total hypochondriac and an American without universal health insurance, I strapped it on.

I situated myself at the back of the pack, figuring that if anything happened to the people in front, I’d have time to react and get out of harm’s way. We started off slow, easing into the busy streets. But once we got into the flow of things, it started getting scary. We were weaving in and out of traffic, car horns blaring on the busy streets. My hands were so sweaty that the handle bars became slippery, and my knuckles turned white from gripping them so hard. I could see my team leader saying something, but I couldn’t understand him from the blaring traffic, so I just tried to follow along and stay with the group. Once we got past the huge hoards of people bustling in and out of the city, I started to calm down and could focus more on the actual ride. The sensation of the wind whipping through my hair and drowning out all the noise was something I’d never really experienced before. I loved that feeling of freedom and the fact that something I was doing was making it happen. By the time we got to the other office, I was drenched with sweat and shaking. The ride was completely exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. My legs felt like jelly for the rest of the day due to all of that peddling, and I couldn’t even eat lunch due to the adrenaline that was still coursing through my veins. My coworker later commented that he couldn’t believe that I’d actually done it.

I rode my bike back home that day and many more times over the course of the summer. By the end of my stay, I was so comfortable riding a bike that I even prefered it to taking an Uber. That feeling of weightlessness and adrenaline is something that I still look for even today. It was something outside of my comfort zone, but I’m so glad that I did it. I matured immensely that summer and did much more than I ever thought I’d do. That experience made me want to try new things that I normally wouldn’t even dare try, things that I am since glad that I’ve done. Even though I’m back in the United States now, you can still find me on a bike, skirt tucked under my seat with my sweater flapping in the wind.

Marleni Chavana is a sophomore studying Computer Science and Government. She has spent time in both Europe and South America and is looking forward to traveling more in the future.

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