Bicycling To Wellness

About Me

Based on my lifestyle at age 63, most people would assume that I’ve been a lifelong, avid cyclist. I own a mobile bicycle repair business. I graduated from the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Ore. I officiate at bicycle races. My wife and I pedal about 10,000 miles per year. The miles are compiled on a unicycle, mountain, road, fold-up, cyclocross and tandem bicycles. Our vacations are bicycle tours. We’re in a cycling club.

Flash back to 1966, when I ditched my bicycle and got my first driver’s license. I would brag about being able to eat a Yankee Doodle Dandy, a monstrous banana split that consisted of three bananas, 13 scoops of ice cream and calorie overload. Even in my mid-30s, as I hovered near 200 pounds, my idea of a “balanced breakfast” was an apple fritter in each hand!

I was a typical American – buying exercise equipment but then donating it to garage sales. I like to have fun. Working out did not qualify. The average American starts losing approximately two percent of their muscle strength at about age 35 due to lack of exercise. By age 38, I started having serious back pain.

Fortunately, we had two young children who enjoyed riding in a Cannondale cart that I towed behind my only bike, a 1976 Schwinn Traveler III. As a deputy sheriff and former reporter, I was able to put clues together. I noticed that my back pain lessened as our pedaling distance grew over time. Taking the kids on a bike ride to town for an ice cream cone (one scoop, not 13) was fun. I was getting exercise but it seemed like play.

Could I change my physical fate and improve my health? Yes. I read an article that said people who exercise lose less than two-tenths of a percent of their muscle strength per year instead of two percent. I also read that swimming, cross country skiing and bicycling are the best exercises that don’t create negative impact on the joints. I would have to drive to a swimming pool and it’s hard to snow ski in the summer. I could bike from home – all year.

Along with increasing my fitness, the relationship with my wife and kids improved as we got involved in cycling. More hours spent riding bikes meant we had fewer hours to watch television. It’s unfortunate that the No. 1 “family” activity for a majority of Americans is to watch television. Most people don’t talk while focused on the tube. Our adult children can look back on a childhood of thousands of hours pedaling and talking with us during weeklong bike tours, shorter trips for lunch or dinner, charity rides and races. It is not surprising that our son and daughter have their own collection of bikes.

Our bike stable grew as well. At age 47, I entered my first mountain bike race. I would crash but I finished. I was happy with my prize – a healthier set of lungs . . . . . and a bicycle upgrade. Three years later we purchased competitive road bikes. Acquiring a tandem opened up new vistas. In five years, we’ve pedaled 20,000 miles on the tandem – or about 1,500 hours of being less than two feet apart. Bike Fridays have allowed us to fly to distant venues with convenience.

Two things that have decreased – my waistline and scoops of ice cream!