Old Lady, New Bike

I’m no spring chicken.  The better part of six decades is behind me, and that’s amazing to me.  I should not have made it this far; I’ve survived a couple of serious illnesses and two near-drownings.  God alone knows the number of other close calls I’ve had that I’m not aware of.  Yet I am still here and in reasonable health for my age and am the happy beneficiary of a recent hard-won weight loss.  I’m grateful.  Very grateful.

And so I’ve gotten a new bike.  My husband, who already has and rides both a road bike and a mountain bike, was thrilled to find e-bikes (or electric bikes) available for rent recently while we were on a little get-away.  I decided to join him in giving them a go, and did.  It was an absolute delight.

I’d not been on a bicycle in 20 years, maybe longer.  I was a little wobbly at first, but it didn’t take long to get the feel of one again.  And off we went.

The special beauty of these bikes is that they have a battery pack and small motor attached.  That means, as you may be aware, that you’ve got power besides your two legs to move you along.  You can use as much or as little assist as you want, or need, to use.  I discovered immediately that lots of assist on a steep hill is wonderful.  Most wonderful, indeed.

Before our ride was over I knew I wanted one of my own.  Now I have one and so does hubby.  I’m accumulating riding gear of various sorts and anticipate many joyful hours on the road with Rick and our new wheels.

I share this because I’m just a little bit giddy over it all.  Over the weight loss, over my having regained some measure of my squandered, much-taken-for-granted health, over God’s great goodness to me, over the new bike.  And because it’s just fun to share happy things.

Each of you is . . . well, wherever you are.  Some of you have remained active right along, and my hat’s off to you. Some have suffered/are suffering ill health, rendering certain activities impossible at this time.  But I’m here to tell you that for most of us, more is possible than we believe.  We can lose weight, we can move more, we can make new and different choices.  We can and should be taking full advantage of what God has blessed us with regarding our time, our energy, our resources, our intellect.  I believe we should continue to stretch ourselves, learn new things, enjoy fresh experiences through our lifetimes.  We grow that way.  And growth fends off stagnation.

The Lord has richly blessed each of us despite any of our present circumstances.  Whatever is possible for you is yours if you want it badly enough.

Take it from an old lady with a new bike.