Bike Riding Yields Another Major Benefit


Biking for just two months has made my legs so much stronger I can actually kneel and get up without second thought now!

I couldn't believe it.

Late this afternoon I went on a photo shoot with my friend Megan, the one whose garden I am chronicling) walking along the Erie Canal in Pittsford, to Shoen Place, which is near her home. Megan showed me all these great places she where likes to walk and take pictures. I'll write more on that later. A few pics here.

The big deal (aside from having a wonderful time with Megan) was that after I'd been taking pictures for a while I noticed something amazing. I had been kneeling down for some angles, then getting right back up, without having to grab onto anything. No struggle! No agony!

I have been having trouble kneeling for 22 years. I remember, back in graduate school at U Iowa, kneeling down to get books on the bottom shelf of the library, and having to grab onto shelves to pull myself back up. I hurt like hell. I was freaking 35 years old then, for heavens' sake! Arthritis at that age. That was the Sjogren’s, but who knew then?

And now, I can do squats without a second thought. This, after only two months of bike riding.

Of course, I've really been pushing myself -- 70 to 90 minutes a day now, every single day, with at least one major hill. I don't do Highland Park much anymore simply because the route involves so much traffic and can be dangerous. But I do Cobbs Hill every single day, and that hill is a lot steeper. And I'm getting better at it each time. I'm faster, and pushing the higher gears a lot longer. My legs are getting incredibly strong.

I am positively thrilled. It had never even occurred to me that this would be one of the benefits of riding!

Ok, now I'm thinking maybe I need to get a winter bike -- a real mountain bike (I have a hybrid now) with wide, thickly treaded tires to handle ...maybe...some of that ice and snow. We'll see. Bike riding is now almost as much second nature to me as eating and sleeping. Gotta figure out how to keep going!

Just braggin’...

Posted: Fri - November 4, 2005 at 08:27 PM          

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