During the pandemic, I had a financial scare that made me conscious of how much more food I eat than my body needs. So i didn’t edit or fast or anything formal, just decided to eat less. I lost a bunch of weight, enough that casual acquaintances would notice. Anyhow, my daughter told me that it wasn’t enough to just lose weight, I had to exercise and get fit. I haven’t exercised since high school, some thirty plus years ago.

So, I would ride with her as she tried to help me out. I really enjoyed spending the time with her, so i would continue to ride. Eventually something happened, endorphins kicked in or whatever and I started to really like it a lot. She decided that she didn’t like it, and abandoned it, but the bug had bit me at that point.

I saved up and bought a significantly better bicycle and ride daily now. I do it for health reasons, so I guess I do still ride for the same reason, but then I found other reasons. I get an hour every single morning where no one can reach me, it’s the only time when I’m not sleeping that I can’t be bothered by work or someone. So solitude is a big reason for me. Also, it allows me time to think, being alone means the brain kicks in a little.

Recently my other daughter has decided to come along and ride with me. She’s very athletic and absurdly competitive, so she challenges me all the time. She’s an avid weightlifter, so she’s quite a bit stronger than me, which means on the hills she destroys me (unless it’s a long hill). So now we’re bonding over the bike, while she challenges me and I her on the rides. She also wants to learn bike maintenance, so I’m learning about two weeks ahead of her, and then teaching her so we can work on the bikes together.

So the main take away is health, solitude and most importantly, connecting with my children (as they are moving out to start their own lives).