No riding today, nossir!
Anyone who really knows me is aware that bicycling has been and continues to be a very important part of my life. There are times, however, when it has become more important than family or friends, and for that I am sorry. I discussed that pretty thoroughly in these blogs a couple of days ago, and haven't experienced this since the early 1990s. Or that I know of lol . . .
The reasons Bicycling has been so important to me are numerous. They have also changed.
At first, I used bicycling for basic transportation because in the 1970s my "Hippie" lifestyle meant I could not (and did not want to) afford a car. So at that time, it was a necessity.
After cycling for a few years, I grew to enjoy it very much. So even when I became an employed individual and a valid contributor to society, and owned a car, I continued to ride. It just was a lot of fun. As I rode, and as I became more proficient, my enjoyment grew, and I also learned to appreciate higher-end equipment.
As I became an older single guy during the 1980s, as I was progressing through my late 20s and early 30s, I again gave up driving cars and used cycling as my primary transportation. At this time I considered myself "green" and was intent on saving the planet. Or, at least saving it from the tiny amount of emissions one car would have produced. I rode immense distances "recreationally", too, and rode enough that it was challenging to maintain friendships. It was at this time that I bought very high-quality bikes.
When I got married in 1988, I continued to ride as much as possible. I did so at the expense of my family relationships, and did so until about 1995. During these years I rode more miles per year than at any time previously. Recently, I spent a little time thinking about those days and have spoken with my wife and children, apologizing for how absent I was during that time. My kids, all three of them, ended up being wonderful adults, and so I see the Grace of God in that.
In 1998 I began to ride for a different purpose: I was 45 and theorized that I needed to stay disciplined and continue riding for health, especially as I aged. So during that period of time (1998 to 2003) I rode even more than in the early 90s, but with the specific purpose of maintaining health. I called it the "Healing Project".
In late 2003 Ken Kifer, a bicycle hero of mine, was killed by a drunk driver. This scared me and I basically stopped riding. I took up aerobic walking, but I began to gain a lot of weight and it was clear to me that walking was not providing the level of exercise I needed. Then in 2007, as I was sitting in a hotel lobby in Memphis, I wrote a document which is re-printed in the very first blog (scroll down to June 5th). As I was writing the document, at the age of 54 years old, some strong realities came to me, and slapped me around.
Those realities were that every member of my immediate family (my parents and siblings) was fighting chronic disease and was under doctor care/medication. Now (in 2014) to update: My father had a massive heart attack at the age of 55, and then contracted and died from lung cancer in 2004. My mom has insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes and has been fighting skin cancer. Also, she is on oxygen tanks and is severely enfeebled. My younger sister died from Breast Cancer in 2001 and was fighting obesity and many other physical issues. As I was sitting in Memphis in 2007, I was amazed to think that for some reason I have been the picture of health, even though my family has been shredded by chronic disease. The only difference, and I mean only difference, was my bicycling lifestyle. We ate the same food and we shared the same genes. After careful thought, the only other difference was that my Dad and Sister both smoked. So, how can I have pristine health now at 61 years of age as opposed to my family? I bicycled. Yes, I also did not smoke, but my sister's cancer was not lung and my Dad's cancer was over 20 years after he stopped smoking and may not be associated with it. That's the difference: I was out riding my bike while they were on the couch watching TV.
But still, even though I came to these realizations in 2007, I did not start serious bicycling again until the summer of 2011, when I weighed 308 and was medically obese. However, in the three years since, I have been back into the bicycling lifestyle and feel great. I am a recreational cyclist now, not trying to change the world or train to win the Tour de France. I ride for fun and health.
To summarize my reasons for riding through the years:
1. In the 1970s, necessity. I could not afford a car.
2. Then in the late 70s and early 80s, I did it primarily because of enjoyment
3. Through the mid 80s to about 1995, I was "green" and wanted to save the world, in addition to enjoyment
4. From 1998 to 2003, I rode for health
5. And now, starting in 2011, health and enjoyment.
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