No Ride Today, but it Irked the Corner Store Guy

7/6/14 252lbs, 56 pounds lost since 8/30/11
No Ride Today

This morning it was announced at Church that we would not be having music practice tomorrow (Monday) night, so it opened up Monday evening for a bicycle ride.

That means that I am able to take today off, and let my poor 61 year old body recover from the rides this past week - get a day of rest - and attack the ride tomorrow and get a head start on next week. That's pretty cool.

But I did need to put some gas in my little 1997 GMC Jimmy, which we lovingly refer to as "Apa's Little Red Truck". So, I drove it over to the local Corner Store to put a few bucks in it and pick up a pair of soft drinks for me and the lovely Missus. When I walked inside the store, the clerk looked at me with surprise and shock in his eyes - "Where's your bike today??!?" I told him that I was taking the day off from cycling today, and would he kindly ring up my items and my gasoline purchase. "Wow, man, I never thought I'd see you driving a car. What was it, the weather?"

After I finally convinced him that the world wasn't going to end because I didn't ride today, I left with the sodas and the push-o-line.

Neighborhood people are getting used to seeing me on the Black Knight bike tooling around here and there. It's a dynamic I hadn't really thought of, but is quite large. I guess we're all on a stage to a certain

level, being watched by others. But if your activity is a bit unusual, like cycling, then it is true even more so. And I have a double effect. Not only am I "some guy on a bicycle", but I'm an "old guy on a bicycle". That really is a blessing. We learn, many times, by watching others and following their example. My neighborhood is full of elderly people, and I wonder if seeing me (an elderly person myself) might encourage a few of them to start becoming active? It's pretty well established scientifically that exercise, just being active, probably adds years (by increasing mitochondria, which is very important to the aging process; in addition to aerobic improvements) and increases the quality of those years. I'm wondering if an old fart like myself may be helping others in the neighborhood lean towards a more active lifestyle?

It's something to think about, and gives me even greater motivation to keep riding.