Half the hassle on two wheels
Ditching my car to cycle five miles in to the Ayrshire Post office got my day off to a great start but it was not all freewheeling.
Luckily most of my route along the busy A70 followed a new cycle path.
Without that path the journey would have been been a bit hairy, with huge lorries rushing past and cars whizzing by at 60 mph.
On reaching the Holmston Roundabout, though, I bottled it and decided to walk my bike across the A77 carriageway to an island in the middle.
With vehicles flying from the Whitletts direction and no lights to pause traffic, I relied on a couple of kind souls to flash me a lifeline and let me dash across to safety. Of course a more experienced cyclist would have just navigated the roundabout but I just wanted to arrive safely.
Back on the saddle again, I meandered along the Holmston Road. Cars passed me at the gentler pace of 30mph, which was a lot more civilised.
The road is blessed with a cycle path on both sides, which was a relief. It ends well before the Market Inn roundabout, however.
Soon I was pedalling down the pedestrian High Street and reached the office in Nile Court before I knew it.
To be honest the clean journey did not take much longer than the drive.
A huge advantage is not having to worry about where to park and the exercise gives you a boost.
One drawback was I had bundled my clothes for the day into a backpack so my shirt and skirt were a tad bit wrinkled. More organised women would have left their clothes in the office the day before.
Will I cycle to work again? Definitely.
But it does not take a genius to work out that more needs to be done to encourage people to hop on a bike.
I used to work in Oxford in my 20s and never drove. Cycling, walking and getting the bus was the norm.
But now I lazily rely on my car too much and my hefty carbon footprint reflects that.
Taking at least one day a week to travel by public transport or bike should be on my schedule. The Ayrshire Post Clean Commute campaign aims to encourage more people to reduce their carbon footprint and help tackle climate change. This week Ayrshire local democracy reporter Sarah Hilley swaps four wheels for two on her journey to work.