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| Changing Habits: Becoming a “Jock” at 57 (photo by LivligaHome) |
My husband and I have been enjoying cycling around our new
town. I have bicycled most of my life but never for any great distance. Just
for quick jaunts for meeting up with people, quick errands, for family fun
around the neighborhood when the kids were little and for easy Sunday morning
rides with my husband as a lovely way to start the day together.
Honestly, longer rides were never enjoyable to me. Being
obese, my bottom would get sore not too long into the ride. Then there was my
stamina; I wasn’t good for more than a few miles. It all seemed like too much
work. Then a couple of years ago, as I
started losing more and more weight, eating healthy, and working out 5 days
a week at the YMCA, I discovered I had a lot more endurance and interest in
cycling longer distances. It became a fun, purposeful challenge. I will never
forget the day I did my first
20 mile ride. It was quite an achievement. I was happy and exhausted by the
end.
Most of the rides my husband and I do now are between 10 –
20 miles. We have even enjoyed renting bikes in other cities and cycling around
to get to know the city through the lens of a bicycle. We did this recently in
Minneapolis. What a beautiful city with great architecture, bridges, trails, trains,
lakes, museums, the Guthrie Theater, Farmer’s Markets and restaurants. I have
never seen more or had more fun! Who would imagine I would be becoming a jock
at age 57?!?
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| Cycling Around Minneapolis (photo by LivligaHome) |
As the summer continues we are spending more and more
evenings, and weekend mornings cycling around the new city we live in. My
husband plots out our routes. His favorite app for doing this is http://www.mapmytracks.com. It is easy to
use and you can customize your routes, save them and share them.
The new goal is to ride at least 10 miles each day for a
whole week before the summer’s end. I will keep you posted. Can’t wait to share
this next progress with you!
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