December 30th bike ride with Charlie

So today I went for another bike ride with Charlie. He has been gracious enough to let me use one of his bikes to help get into shape as well as give me a verbal promise that he too will start working out and losing weight. I have a lot further to go then he.

Anyways, we rode for about 7 miles down at burns park. It was an incredibly beautiful day, with plenty of sun and warmth to make it bearable. This was in contrast to my first ride with him last week where it was just above freezing, overcast, and slightly windy.

I'm completely in awe as well as being disgusted by just how out of shape I am. I have always been the "big guy", "squishy", "cuddly", or any other complimentary self esteem booster you can think of, but i don't think I have ever been this out of shape. Growing up I was always very active on the farm and at school and in church. I lifted weights heavily throughout high school, I played volleyball competitively on a church league, I wrestled and ran track (well really i threw shot and discus, but there was a good deal of running involved too) in junior high, and I rode and trained horses for almost 10 years during all of this. Not to mention all the farm work; shit shoveling (40 pounds a day per horse!!), wood chopping, grape tending, and other crap my dad would come up for me to do. I have also been an avid bike rider during most of my life. In high school, I would bike all over the countryside. It wasn't unusual for me to bike 40 miles on a ride during the weekend or at least 10-20 during the week when I would ride to school. I also rode a lot after college. Not having a car after dropping out of college really forced me to get creative with my transportation needs! Much of what i experienced over the past two days has been a shock to me. My lungs hurt, my muscles are weak and completely un-toned, and I have little energy when I need it to actually make that bike go like i used to be able to make it. So anyways, last week i rode 6 miles and struggled. Today I rode 7 miles and struggled. My next ride will be even further and I hope less of a struggle.

-jonny