Shout-out to our Top Self-Propellers category for the Clean Commuter & Wellness Challenge!
Danielle Berman is commuting from her home in Squamish to her work in Whistler — that’s a whopping 120-kilometre round trip with roughly 1,100 metres of elevation to climb on her way to work, and a strong headwind to compete with on her way home!
We wanted to find out more.
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Q. Where do you work? And what’s your role?
“I work in Whistler at the Mental Health Clinic as a concurrent disorders clinician.”
Q. Tell us about your commute.
“I biked to work three times last week. The total distance round trip is 120 kilometres. The way there is challenging as I have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. and it is roughly 1,100 metres of elevation to climb. On the way home, it is challenging because of the strong headwind, though less than half the amount of elevation to climb. Despite the challenges, I have really enjoyed the experience. I love long challenging days on my bicycle.”
Q. Have you been biking for a while or are you trying this for the first time?
“I am fairly new to cycling long distance. I began training in September 2013 for a long-distance ride from British Columbia to Ontario for mental health awareness and suicide prevention that I completed last summer. Before that, the longest ride I had done was a 70-kilometre ride, and I had only done it once.”
Q. Do you have any advice for someone trying this for the first time?
“Advice I would give to someone who is keen to try long distance biking? Ensure you are fuelling yourself enough before, during and after a long ride. As well, you want to make sure you are not rushing and burning yourself out at the beginning of the ride. I tend to bike slower uphill and just enjoy the beautiful sights.”
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Thanks Danielle, this is a very inspiring story; we wish you lots of luck, and we look forward to hearing more!
