Bicycling: Healthy for Body, Mind and Soul

June 6, 2011 at 10:30 am
by Gay Edelman

Exercise doesn't have to be work. It doesn't even have to be that hard.

I’m in love! I have a new toy! This weekend I jumped on the new Schwinn bicycle I’ve been given to test ride and rediscovered my inner 8-year-old. As I roamed the neighborhood, my body remembered skills grown rusty from years of under-use—and my spirit absolutely soared. I’ve always loved riding, but life demands pulled me in other directions. I’ve kept reasonably fit with walking and resistance training. But cycling was harder, in part because I live in an area where there’s a lot of traffic (not a lot of fun). I’ve been talking for at least a couple years about going back to cycling, but kept procrastinating. As they say, talk is cheap. And the only way to do something is to do it. I’m so glad it finally happened!

 

But (full disclosure alert) it did also occur to me as I rode that I am not the 27-year-old who took long, meandering bike trips before the kids came. (The best was a 500 mile, two-week tour through Vermont and New Hampshire with my husband, the summer after we were married.) So I didn’t push too hard.

The bottom line, though is this: When I finally parked the bike, I felt so healthy, alert and alive—clear, satisfied, filled up—that I knew my procrastinating days were over. (It helps that there’s a marvelous new trail that opened up nearby; in weeks to come I’ll be trying it out, along with other ones.)

So I ask: What FUN ways could you be nurturing your body, mind and soul? What would help you get started if you’re stuck? I’ll be checking back, letting you know how it goes. And please let me know how you’re doing.

Photo by Andrew Edelman

Related Articles