I rode my bike

That sounds so silly to say as if it is a big deal. To me, it is.

To give you an idea, I wrote this blog post back in August:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/downsizinghoss/view/the-bike-ride-362120

When I got up to over 500 pounds, I did nothing but sit. During that time I lost any and all flexibility that I used to have.

I bought my bike almost 2 years ago. When I went to ride it, it hurt my hips, my knees, and my pride. My gut got in the way. I couldn't lift my legs high enough to make a full revolution with the pedals. It just flat out hurt.

My 6 year old could ride a bike, but I looked like a circus bear in training.

As of last summer, I started pulling the bike out about every 2 weeks and just seeing if I could push off and make a full revolution of the pedals. It slowly got better. I was stretching more every week, but it just didn't seem to be enough.

Well, today was the tipping point. I usually go to the gym and do big burns lifting and on the elliptical machine, but I wanted to see if I could start the New Year off by mixing things up. I tried it in the back yard and made 3-4 full revolutions. I got a lump in my throat and loaded up the bike and drove to an empty soccer complex where no one could see me.

I doubt I covered more than a half a mile in short bursts around an isolated parking lot. The only thing that still hurts is my right knee. But whenever it tightened up I just stood in the pedals like I was back on my BMX bike when I was a kid.

It sounds silly to want to shout from the rooftops that I rode a bicycle, at 42 years old. But you know what? Screw it.

I RODE MY DAMN BIKE!



edit:fixed the link