On Sunday, I opened up the shed and was greeted to the overpowering smell of week-old cut grass and gasoline. After letting it air out for a minute I went back in and wheeled out the old Huffy Canyon 18-speed mountain bike.
Yes, it's old. No, I don't care. I rarely rode the thing to begin with. But I've started to ride it again in the evenings to give Ann a break from the kid--and from me.
I've got one of those kid buggies attached to the end of the bike so I can bring Anthony along with me on my Adventures through Long Beach. When we first tried it months ago he wasn't too happy about wearing the helmet or being strapped in. But he's a little older now and he absolutely loves riding in it. In fact, on Sunday we ended up riding nearly 4 miles. Not too bad.
And that's what motivated me. It didn't seem like I rode that much, and considering I lugged around an almost 30-lb. baby in a 15-lb. cart, I'd say I did alright. So now I'm keeping track of how many miles I'm riding. Thank Jesus/Allah/Buddha for my Garmin eTrex Legend GPS unit which I can now easily strap to the handlebars with the handlebar mount I found on clearance at Target for $7.48. From Sunday through today, I've gone 7.48 miles, average speed of 7.1mph, average top speed of 13.2mph.
I'm trying to ride at least 2 miles a day, which is really nothing. Maybe later I'll be daring and go for 5 miles. I've ridden more but without the added weight...it was also years ago when my knees could handle it.
After doing this for a few days, I forgot how much fun it is to get out there and ride a bike. Well, that small-as-hell seat that really hurts my ass doesn't help matters, but it's still great exercise. You begin to see your neighborhood in greater detail. You say hi to joggers and fellow cyclists out for their nightly jaunt. You just get out and have a good time.
And it lulls Anthony to sleep, which is probably the best reward I can think of.
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