Car Light? Done.

In a blog I wrote on June 5, entitled "Starting Over . . ." (a link to it is to the right), I stated that I had decided to ride my bike only as a fitness tool and only for pleasure. I also added the caveat that I could change my mind if I wanted.

I did.

During the past couple of days, I was able to look through old bicycle logbooks of mine, and something began to occur to me. I'm starting to get old.

That shouldn't be that much of a revelation – after all, my Driver License claims that I am 61 years old now. The issue is that I have not felt old. A quick glance in the mirror says that I look old, but I don't feel that way. I have the same emotions, passions, likes and dislikes, that I have had my whole life. To my way of thinking, there is nothing different at all except the "number" 61.

But I'm wrong. Things are different. I'm discovering that my body is responding to exercise differently now than before. I'm slower. Weight increases more easily. Improvement in fitness is more difficult to achieve.

This is a crossroads in my life. I believe that if I just ride the bike as a leisure activity, as an "aerobic" exercise, or just to smell the roses, then I will continue to slide down the aging hill, and will eventually stop. So I need a different tactic – here at the crossroads – a tactic that is scary and may hurt, but will extend my healthy life and keep me as mobile and as independent as possible as I tackle the 60s and 70s and beyond.

And that tactic is to park the car, and go car light. I will begin tomorrow (Saturday the 14th of June) and commit to use bicycling for all of my transportation needs except when I am traveling together with someone, or carrying musical equipment. Do I need to get a few items at a local Walgreens? Bike. Grab lunch at a local diner? Bike. Grab a soda at the Circle K? Bike.

This includes commuting to work. My job is 8 miles from my home, and although I don't consider 8 miles that long (I ride that distance routinely) it is scaring me. But logically, it shouldn't. The route both directions is pretty safe, with wide shoulders most of the way on streets that are not too busy. I can accomplish the distance in probably 40 to 45 minutes.

I think what scares me is the change, or the adventure, of trying something new. Of not being comfortable. Of challenging my body. Leaving my "Comfort Zone".

I watched an NBA Finals game last night with my wife, and something got to me: A couple of commercials. I don't even remember what was being advertised; I only remember a couple of sayings that gave me encouragement to start this car-light and bike commuting lifestyle. They were:

"It's not what you do that kills you, it's what you don't do".

The second: "There is no greater danger than standing still".

Starting immediately, car-light. Starting Monday, Bike Commuter. No compromise. I will make myself do this.