We take two to three walks a day around the neighborhood. One in the morning, as a break from work, without the dog. Then one or two more, depending on the weather, with the dog. If we walk completely around our neighborhood, it is just a little over a mile. The walks definitely help with getting our steps in for the day, and helps keep the dog healthy and curious.
I think I had mentioned my son had gotten our two bikes up and running a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad he did as I had been looking for a place to get them cleaned up and in working order (I can cook and bake, but anything mechanical is Greek to me). Our neighborhood, and the surrounding ones, are just right for biking. There are very small inclines, a path through our neighborhood, hardly any traffic, and goes on like this for miles.
The other day I took a longer bike ride. As I was riding I started to feel, well, just happy. Growing up, before I got my license, I would ride my bike everywhere around where I lived. My friends and I would hop on the bikes and just ride. Ride to one of the three reservoirs close by (I grew up in a rural area where there was coal mining many years ago—my grandfather worked in one of them). Ride to one another’s’ houses. Ride to the store. Even ride to work.
I once worked on a milk farm. It was probably about 10 or so miles from my home. Not too bad of a bike ride one might say, except…except there was a massive hill to get over on the way there. It was a very steep climb on one side, and a long, long more gradual climb on the other. The great thing was once I got to the top of this blind hill, I could fly down the other side.
A friend of mine and I both worked on the farm and rode to work together. We could get up to over 50mph going down the other side. All without a helmet, and at times, hands free. Just coasting along with the wind blowing across our faces and, at that time, no helmets.
This has always been a fond memory of a happy period in my life. I have no idea how we never got hurt going that fast. What I know is how gratifying it felt to get over that hill, then to be able to coast at such a speed. If I tried that today, I’d probably have a heart attack, but the young have no fear.
While riding the bike today, just gliding through the neighborhoods, that memory was running through my mind. A bike will get you where you want to go, but at a more leisurely pace. The ride is the journey.
Enjoy the journey.
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 