Santa brought me a bike this past Christmas.Really, he did. I asked for one so I wasn't real surprised when I got it. The weird thing is, I didn't realize how many choices there are in bikes today. And they can be quite expensive.
I had borrowed a bike and gone riding with my friend, Roger. It's good for both of us. Riding alone is alright once in a while but it's so much more fun and safe with a friend. We started riding around the end of September.
I can't believe how much fun it is. Now I know why I stayed on mine as a kid....except for the times I fell off. This happened more than once. I fell off, scraped both knees and the owner of the house across the street would carry me home for mom to doctor.
If I were to fall off my bike now, as an adult, I am sure I would do more damage than scraping my knees.
My sister-in-law, Jennifer, got a bike for Christmas too. A very PINK one. I can remember a few years ago my EX and I talked about getting bikes and riding for exercise, but talk was as far as it got. Actually riding is so much fun you don't realize its exercise. Since I've been riding I can tell a difference in my stamina and the way my clothes fit.
When I told my doctor I started riding a bike he gave me a high-five, then he said, "Wait, a real bike or stationary?" I said, "A real bike, out doors is the only way to do it." He was excited to hear that. He said that had a lot to do with my health improving and explained the 3 pounds I lost in a month's time.
I encourage everyone I know to do some type of exercise. If I had not been down with bad health the last 10 years, I may not have realized how important future health is. Yes, 10 years of ill health. It started with the flu which turned into pneumonia, resulting in a hospital stay. That was in 1999. I missed the New Year's Eve parties of the millennium because I was home, on oxygen. I got out of the hospital Dec.31. That's no way to start off 2000. Then a couple of years later I started having orthopedic issues. That turned into a nightmare which I still live with daily.
As I mentioned, if I had not experienced so much illness at such a young age, I would not understand the importance of current and future health. I was 19 when my grandmother passed away. The last thing she said to me was something I didn't understand then but now means so much. She had outlived all of my other grandparents, and at the age of 73 she seemed quite frail. I took her home after a family Christmas party. Walking her inside, she must have been frustrated by walking slowly. Maybe she knew she would not see me again and wanted to leave with words of wisdom.
"Lisa," she said softly, "Promise me that you will take care of yourself and not let your health become as bad as mine." I could hear the aggravation in her voice. At 19, you think you will always feel the way you do then. You don't realize you will one day wince with pain while getting off the sofa.
We've got to take care of ourselves now so when we do become aged, life will be more enjoyable. Start now, no matter how old (or young) you are.
