What inspires me to ride?

Recently I was asked, “What inspires me to ride?” my bike. The short answer is “For enjoyment and fitness”. The long answer is a little more complicated. It’s a love of cycling I developed over a lifetime. 

Looking back over the years as a kid growing up in North Coquitlam, my bicycle was transportation and independence. Any friend you wanted to play with was usually a fair distance away and your parents didn't make a habit of driving you wherever you wanted to go so you got on your bike and peddled your butt over there and thought nothing of it.

Then it was commuting to work to save money to buy a house. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s commuting by bicycle was not a common thing to see or do so most people thought I was a little crazy. Later my commute became more of a way to keep fit for bicycle touring in the late 80’s and 90’s. This again was viewed as a little strange for a mill worker so the ‘Crazy’ label stuck a little longer. Later, most of my co-workers thought I wasn't so crazy after all when adding up the tens of thousands of dollars I saved over a twenty year period.

My commute now is a five minute walk so cycling is for fitness and enjoyment over a means to save money. If you noticed, I reversed the order of “Enjoyment and fitness” to emphasize the fact that a curtain level of fitness can greatly affect ones quality of life and the enjoyment it brings. Thus I ride to help keep chronic illnesses associated with aging at bay and enjoy life with the people I love for as long as I can.

This is the paragraph I wrote in response to the question, “What inspires me to ride?”

I live in Nelson, British Columbia located in the West Kootenays' of this Canadian province. The culture here revolves around remaining active well into your senior years and on any given day, while the roads are clear of snow, you will see cyclists heading out to rack up mileage on their road bikes. The majority of road cyclists you see mid day are retirees. Men and women 60 to 70 years of age riding east from Nelson down the scenic west arm of Kootenay Lake completing various distances before heading back to town. Having a community of retired senior riders reinforces the fact that aging is no reason to hang-up your skinny tired bike. As a road cyclist approaching my mid 50’s, I’m inspired to be one of these cyclists. Twenty years from now I’ll be chugging up a mountain pass on my loaded touring bike or taking a turn at the front of a draft line heading for the bakery 40 km away to enjoy a warm sticky cinnamon bun with a cup of strong black coffee. I find myself looking forward to the next twenty years of cycling.