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Blue Mountains City Council Mayor, Mark Greenhill, has recently taken up cycling after a health scare.

Blue Mountains City Council Mayor, Mark Greenhill, takes up cycling.

Here at Bicycle NSW we know all about the benefits of riding, but we wanted to touch base with Mark for his perspective. 

“At the end of the black summer fires, I noticed I was getting a bit breathless and noticed my previous svelte form was no longer there,” Mark told us. 

Doctor's Advice

“About 18 months back, I was running across the road one day and was feeling incredibly breathless, so I went to my doctor. He referred me to a cardiologist for some tests where it was discovered I had two partially blocked arteries in my heart. He said nothing needs to be done now but we’ll need to keep an eye on it, but my friend you could do with losing a few kilos.”  

“I ignored that advice and then about 5 months ago a friend of mine was discussing the virtues of her bike. I will admit I said to my friend ‘I used to ride bicycles until I became cool.’ Meaning that when I was in my late teens I ceased riding bicycles and started driving cars. It’s a comment I know I regret and recant in the strongest terms.”

After thinking things through Mark headed down to his local bike shop in Blaxland in the Blue Mountains. 

“I bought the bike, wheeled it out of the shop, wheeled it across the road and then thought, ‘I can either walk it all the way home or can actually try and ride it’. So for the first time since the age of 16, at the age of 54, I got on this mountain bike and rode it,” Mark explained. 

Avid Rider

Mark has now become an avid rider. In the last few months, he’s ridden about 500km and he rides most days. 

“The wonderful thing about it was the weight just started to drop off me. I lost over 10kg in a few months and the only change was riding the bike.” 

It’s great to see more people enjoying the benefits of bike riding! If you’d like to follow Mark’s journey check out his social media here

If you’d like some tips and tricks to get started on riding visit our resources page here

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