And the thing is, all my friends had bikes and we could go over each others' houses in groups or on our own. I didn't think about - "Oh man, I just got back from a long day at school and wanna just relax in front of the TV." I just needed to hang out with my friends, doing whatever - it so didn't matter ... everything was about school, or card games, or parents, or finding aliens (yes, for all that don't know, I'm a Trekki/Space Crazy Person) or crushes or stuff I don't wanna write down because - Dude, it's private - or what so and so said about so and so and how it affects the entire universe because ... it. just. does.
My point is, life wasn't an excuse then to not be social or active. Now, don't get me wrong ... some people have special issues or circumstances where a bike ride won't cut it. But, for those that rode in the past and tucked their bikes away cuz they'd rather drive to whoever's house a mile or two away ... or anywhere that's not an unreasonable distance for a kid to get to ... well, why not ride your bike instead? Do you just not want to stink? Maybe you want to not look disheveled? I don't know. Pick your battles ... but, let's focus this end of summer and coming fall into getting places actively and not caring so much about "looking adult."
Hey, today I decided to ride to my niece's tournament about 13 miles away and back (total) because it was a beautiful day, I didn't have to "look pretty" for it, no one cared if I stunk like outside, cuz they did too ... and, quite frankly, I got so many people smiling at me and waving for riding my bike, I felt like the coolest adult in town.
I don't want to be that person that gets home from work and doesn't feel the wind brush against my face while I still have the health to head out and experience it. I even got to talk to passersby along the way! And if I didn't want to, I didn't have to, but I wanted to, so it was nice.
Get outside and visit your neighborhood like you did when you were a kid. And if you didn't, try it now. And if you can't ride a bike, walk. And if you can't walk, sit on a porch, get to a park, play with some welcoming acro yoga peeps ... but, let's set the "exercise" intention aside and just be active without an expectation (fat burn, 30 mins minimum, sweating ... you know what I mean). See if you have an option to walk or take the bike or rollerblades, skateboard, etc instead of a motorized vehicle. I'm a fitness professional telling you to remember what it's like to be involved with life outside of a car or a TV set ... and let's see what happens? Who knows? Maybe you'll discover something wonderful?
